Corporate Gifting - Why Your Company Should Be Doing It
Thomas Hilton
Overview
Corporate gifting has become a business necessity due to the Covid-19 pandemic, with many businesses seeing beneficial results across the board. Over 80% of companies surveyed claimed they noticed improved relationships with both employees and customers, leading companies to continue gifting and, in many cases, increase the gifting budget and frequency.
The number one occasion for corporate gifting reported by the 300 companies surveyed was to show appreciation for employees. Gifting became a priority for companies seeking ways to keep employees connected and engaged. The pandemic prevented in-person interactions, and employers worried about ways to keep company culture together.
About half of the companies surveyed also gave gifts as tokens of appreciation to clients and partners to thank them for their continued support. It doesn't need to break the bank, though you'll probably want to consider gifting a little more than a new, impersonal coffee mug.
So, let's dig into corporate gifting and get to the bottom of why and how your company should be doing it.
What is Corporate Gifting? How Does it Differ from Free Swag?
The difference between corporate gifting and free swag is primarily the intent. Free swag is a marketing tool focused on spreading your brand awareness and getting your name in front of people. Corporate gifting intends to show appreciation for the employees that keep your company functioning day-to-day and the clients and partners that support your business's success.
Corporate gifting is not that different from personal gifting. The essential goal is to build a deeper emotional connection and nourish the existing relationship between the gifter and gift-receiver. Like personal gifting, the best corporate gifts show an understanding of the recipient and thoughtfulness in gift choice.
Why Should You Do Corporate Gifting?
The CoreSight Research survey found the ten key advantages noticed by corporate gifters, with the top five all emphasizing the emotional or sentimental benefits of gifting:
43% - Improved relationships with customers and employees
39% - Improved employee productivity
38% - Making the recipient feel valued
36% - Improved customer loyalty
30% - Improved employee retention
27% - Nurturing new relationships with prospects
26% - Improved sales
22% - More effective new product launches
22% - Increased brand awareness
16% - Lead generation
What Should You Give as Corporate Gifts?
As mentioned above, corporate gift-giving doesn't differ all that much from personal gifting. Gifters look for high-quality products with a wide variety to choose from and timely delivery. It gets tricky when corporate gifts need to be appropriate for many gift receivers.
Finding a thoughtful gift for a single person might be a struggle for many of us, but how can you hope to choose the right gifts for 500 people or more?
One of the easiest ways is to give recipients gift options to choose from before the gifts ship. Many promotional products companies are happy to help you set up an online catalog of gift options for recipients that streamlines the process for gift-givers and the retailer and helps ensure people get the type of gift they want.
As for how much you should spend per gift, you might be surprised by the survey's findings. Most companies reported spending between $25 and $125 per gift, with the most significant percentage of businesses reporting between $75 and $100.
Best Corporate Gifting Options
One of the effects of companies leaning towards more sustainable business practices is the prevalence of many choosing to ditch the impersonal freebies like overly branded t-shirts that often end up discarded by recipients. Instead, companies have realized they save budget while boosting revenue by giving people gifts they'll want and use.
That's not to say you should scrap the idea of giving company-branded gear. If that's what you choose to do, make sure the items you gift are high quality and appropriate for your recipients. Think Columbia rain jacket or knit pullover versus no-name "5 for $50" quality items.
Below we'll cover a few ideas for corporate gifts that companies are noticing recipients appreciate that make the gift selection process less of a headache while remaining beneficial.
Gift Cards
Data from the Coresight Research survey of 300 corporate gifters showed that gift cards are the most purchased type of gift, accounting for 37% of the overall corporate gifting market. This is an easy one, too, ideal for gifting many people.
Recipients can view a selection and choose what they're most likely to use, and typically the corporate gifter won't incur hefty fees from organizing and will be charged only for what they send out.
Snackmagic
Specialized snack gift box creators Snackmagic know the way to many peoples' hearts is through their stomachs. Snackmagic's curated snack selection offers over 600 snacks and beverages sourced from around the world, so there's something for everyone, regardless of your location or tastebuds.
Your gift recipients can choose their favorite goodies or be adventurous and choose their own snack adventure with treats sourced from manufacturers worldwide — it's all up to them.
Setting this up is a breeze, too. Your company sets up your budget per box, inputs the recipients' email addresses, and that's it. Recipients will receive an email, enter their shipping address, choose their snacks, and Snackmagic handles the rest. Easy, personalized, and tasty.
Gifting as a Service Companies
One of the easiest, most effective ways to give your gift recipients something they'll want is to let them choose. Companies like Alyce take over the logistics entirely and give recipients the option to swap their gift before it ships or even to donate the gifts' monetary value to charity.
Others, like promotional products company Stitchi, make it simple for your recipients to choose items from a lookbook catalog and handle fulfillment every step of the way, making gift-giving as simplistic as possible for busy corporations.
Have Someone Else Wrap Up Corporate Gifts
Whether you send out gift cards to show employees they're appreciated, customized snack boxes, or their favorite company-branded gear from an online catalog, the bottom line remains the same: give people something they want and make sure it's quality.
The results are in, and corporate gifting is becoming more priority and less second-thought routine, with the overall corporate gift market reaching around $240 billion last year.
The benefits are many and quickly noticed among those that choose to give corporate gifts. So, all that remains is the question: What will you choose for your employee recognition and customer appreciation gifts? It better be something good.