Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine October 2016 | Page 20

Four Tips to BUSINESS Gift Giving By Brian Stottlemyer, Vernon Graphics & Promotions [email protected] Today’s business world is all about relationships. Take a step in the right direction and cement your relationships with clients, colleagues, employees and partners with business gifts given during the holidays. When you make an effort to offer a gift, it can make business dealings easier and the relationship stronger for a long time. Listed below are three do’s and one don’t in the quest for perfect presents to strengthen those bonds. DO give with a purpose and measure how well you achieved it. Don’t give just to give. Find the best way to present your brand with a clear communication of the message the gift is supposed to get across. For example, if you want to thank recipients but also stay top of mind on a regular basis, then a useful gift is going to mean more impressions over a given time. DO use the right presentation to increase a gift’s effect. Creating a big deal around a gift’s presentation will raise it’s effectiveness. A thoughtful presentation not only boosts the perceived value of the gift, it boosts the perceived value of the recipient. If your gift is a nice pen, use a lined box wrapped with ribbon, accompanied by a hand-written card with a message specific to the recipient. DO customize and personalize as much as possible. Evidence of your thought and effort in selecting the gift pays big dividends.When you personalize a gift, the recipient knows that the gift was meant for them, and this creates a greater emotional connection and a feeling of being valued. Plus, personalization is a classy touch that encourages frequent use. DON’T live in the low end of a product category. It’s better to choose from the high end of a lesser product category. If you’ve got a smaller budget to work with, pick a higher quality item in a more modest product category. In other words, always choose quality. If you go too cheap, the item won’t be used.You want to deliver a gift with a perceived value that equals a favorable cost per impression. 20 MOMENTUM / October 2016