When holidays come closer, it’s only natural to start thinking about finding gifts for your loved ones. And most of the time it’s not an easy task.
And it’s even harder when you have to decide what the appropriate gift for your clients is. You want it to be something meaningful but you don’t want to go overboard with the whole thing. Follow these few tips and you’ll get it right.
1. Keep the clients’ taste in mind
Of course, nobody expects that you know personal preferences of all your clients. Maybe you really don’t know enough about any of them to buy a personal gift. Still, it’s possible to know just enough about some of them to make it slightly personal or at least to know what to avoid. For example, if you know that a client of yours doesn’t drink alcohol, don’t buy them a bottle of fine wine even though you are planning to give it to the rest of your clients.
2. Set the budget
Set the budget for buying gifts before you decide what you will buy. And don’t spend more than you can afford. If you like, you can decide to buy the same thing to all of your clients, but it would be fairer to spend a different amount on each client, that is, depending on how much each one of them contributed to your business. Pay more attention to clients who made a big difference to your business and show them you appreciate it.
3. Set the gift levels
Once you know what your budget is and which clients deserve more than the basic gift, think about whether to make two or three levels of clients, starting from those who will get the basic gift and ending with those who have made the greatest contribution to your company. Next, decide on the same gift for each of the levels – maybe you’ll even get a discount if you buy more of the same item.
4. Choose quality over quantity
Of course, your gift will be limited by the amount of money you can spend, but there still will be better and worse solutions when it comes to choosing what’s better. In general, you should always opt for a better quality gift (even if it’s just one item) than buy a lot of average things that can be found anywhere. Your clients should get something memorable and different than everyday items. For example, it’s better to get them carefully arranged gift baskets with a couple of quality items than to buy a pile of sweets and drinks that you found on the store shelves.
5. Think beyond the usual holiday season
When holidays approach, people expect to get something and be done with it. The secret is to use the advantage of surprise. Don’t just by gifts for that one period of the year. Even a much smaller gift that comes out of nowhere and for no reason can help you score more points with your clients than those sent around Christmas. It shows your clients you did that because you appreciate them and not just because an approaching holiday demands it.
6. Creativity always pays off
Nobody is saying that your clients will choose you over your competitions because of your great gifts, but it will definitely send them a signal that you appreciate them. If you can, try to be original when it comes to coming up with a great gift and don’t stop at the gift; make an effort to find unique packaging, too.
7. Forget about the logo, but stay professional
Maybe you will be tempted to put your logo on the gift. Don’t turn the act of giving into a commercial strategy – it should just be a sign of your appreciation, and not another effort to advertise your company. It could be even seen as a tacky move, so avoid it at any cost.
Still, don’t forget about the fact that you have a strictly professional relationship with your clients, so make sure you don’t get too personal with the choice of gifts. There are some lines that you shouldn’t cross.
Final words
Coming up with a great gift for your clients doesn’t have to cause you a headache if you do it right. Moreover, it could score you some points with your clients in the future.