So, it's that time of the year, and not only do you have end-of-year budgets, meetings, and events to organize, you now have the “privilege” of being in charge of the corporate gifting.
When I say corporate, I'm covering everything from gifts to customers, stakeholders, Brad from accounts, and your executive's mother. As anyone who has ever been in charge of holiday gifts knows, it's a tricky thing to find the perfect gift for someone you barely know, while pretending it was bought by someone else. My husband is almost as excited as the guests to find out what he's bought them each year. Finding a great gift can take time and effort, now multiply this by a hundred, or a thousand and you can see where it starts to get tricky. Here are my tips to help lift the pressure.
Congratulations - You're Now Santa
The first thing to remember is that YOU are not giving the gift, your company is. What you or I might buy for a friend is vastly different from what's appropriate to give to a client. So, step one, figure out who you are buying FROM. Is your company a young, relaxed, “hey look at us, we have a ping pong table and crazy hair” type of place, or are you at a suited and booted “when my great-grandfather founded this company” kind of place? This needs to be your starting point. It's not going to be appropriate to gift the biggest client of a 200-year-old company a shot glass chess set, however much fun it looks. So, remember who you're buying from, first and foremost, then consider who you're buying FOR.
Reading the Room - Be More Sherlock
What's your budget for corporate gifts and who is your audience? More than likely you'll have more than one of each, so try and break them down first. You'll have neither the time nor, I imagine, the inclination to be personally searching for 100 separate gifts with 100 separate budgets. So figure out your demographics. Are you thanking old clients for sticking with you for the year? Wooing new customers to hopefully join you next year? Think about why you're actually buying them a gift and try to find something geared towards that. Make it memorable and make it FEEL unique to them. There are hundreds of companies that can help you do this, one of my favourites being Corporate Gift. The best part about these sorts of services is how much easier they can make it for you.
Spend It Like You're Rockefeller
One very important thing. You will either be given a budget or you'll have to suggest one. Keep in mind that a gift that's obviously cheap is worse than no gift at all. Have a look at what you can spend and if you genuinely can't buy anything that doesn't scream tacky, then just don't buy it. You're better off buying 3 gifts for $50 than 15 for $10. The way to a clients heart is through a $2 stickerbook, said no one ever. If your executive has given you a really tiny budget and a really long list, please feel free to show them what they can buy at this price so they can reassess.
The Ultimate Corporate Gifting Checklist
OK, some last things to keep in mind. There are a LOT of variables here and unless you know everyone you´re buying for intimately (not THAT intimately- you know what I mean) then there are a couple of rules I would stick to.
No booze. Unless you´ve personally seen this recipient have a drink, just steer clear. They may love nothing more than a decent whisky, but you can´t be sure. There are a myriad of reasons why they may not appreciate a gift of alcohol, from religious, health, or moral reasons, to simply not liking it. It would be like someone sending you a pipe. You probably don´t use it (does anyone anymore?), don´t like it, and wouldn´t know what to do with it.
No meats. Same reasons. There´s no point in sending a beautiful charcuterie hamper to a client only to find out they´re vegan. They´ll just throw the gift away, and probably consider whether you actually know them at all. Not the look you were going for.
No risqué/funny gifts. Again, this is in the main. If you know your client VERY well, then you´ll probably know what they might find amusing. Otherwise JUST DON´T. What´s amusing for you is probably offensive to someone else. Remember, YOU are not buying this gift, your company is and the last thing you want is to give the wrong impression.
Stay in budget, it is there for a reason. If you feel like you need more, get it signed off at the beginning of your search, not once you´ve sourced and designed 100 gifts.
Outsource if you need to. As mentioned above, there are a myriad of companies whose sole purpose is taking this out of your hands. Set up a call, tell them what you need, what your budget is and when you need it sent. Work smarter not harder.
Now go and have some fun doing some shopping!
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