Client Gifting – Psychology, Importance, Do’s & Don’ts

Everybody loves receiving gifts. Not only do they make us feel special, but they also make us happier. And in most cases, giving or receiving gifts or free content has also been associated with gaining compliance, as well as creating long-term bonds between the giver and the recipient.

People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. –Maya Angelou

Gifting in a business also works on the same principles. Festive gifts account for happier clients and business prospects, and happier clients mean better chances for positively boosting your business.

In most corporate cultures, giving gifts is important, whether you want to acknowledge a loyal customer, appreciate a hard-working employee or a partnered vendor, enhance the relationship between you and your client, or reach out to a prospect.

The Underlying Psychology Behind Client Gifting

Business gifting is essentially a compliance tactic at its very core, where you can reach out to your clients, preferred vendors or prospects with tokens of appreciation with no obligations.

Not only does this convey to your clients that you care about the individual relationship or bonds you share, but it also highlights your business values and identity. Customers and vendors recognize the importance of maintaining a healthy professional relationship and are also very helpful in gaining customer loyalty.

It is also a way to let your employees or clients know that you value the hard-work they have put into your business. Client-gifting has always been associated with morale-boosting, which brings about a positive change to your clients’ work-place attitude.

Even though the best time to send a gift or free content to your client or a vendor is usually considered to be before the start of, or during a festive or holiday season, it is always the right time to send them a token of your appreciation. This helps to create a personal connect between you and your preferred clients.

Why Is Client Gifting Important?

We all like being reminded that someone always cares. While sending your clients a gift seems like a great idea morally, it also has several other benefits.

Your clients are more likely to pay attention to you when they receive gifts. Gifts also help in conveying your helpfulness and goodwill to your current and prospective clients. This shows your business in a positive light, and improves your image.

In case of promotional gifts, adding your brand’s logo or contact information in the gifts sent to your clients helps spread awareness about your business. For example, sending office stationery with your logo printed to your clients indirectly makes your business a part of their workplace environment, thus also positively boosting their opinion of you, as well as the sales.

Customers and clients who receive corporate gifts are often more likely to give you repeat or continuous business. It also helps to reinforce the partnership or link between your business stakeholders, while also increasing loyalty to your business.

The Do’s of Client Gifting

• Check the client’s company policies- Before picking out a gift for your clients, do your research on their company policies regarding receiving corporate gifts. Some companies’ compliance departments require the gifts received by their employees to be priced at $25 or under. Any gift that is valued at more will be sent back by the HR. Some companies do not allow gifting at all. So, it is important to contact HR and gift accordingly.
• Consider your audience- To make a good impression on your clients, it is better to understand what kind of a gift will be able to help create a positive image of your business. While office stationery is the most obvious and popular choice for corporate gifting, making sure that your client can resonate with their business shows them that you care, thus increasing their interest in your business.
• Timing is important- If you plan on sending out festive or holiday-themed gifts to your clients, it is important to plan a few months ahead so that you have enough time to order them, get them packed and attach personalized notes to them. Also send out the gifts a little ahead of time so that your clients receive their gifts on time.
• Consider cultural differences- Different cultures and countries have their respective rules regarding client-gifting. It is important to research about the various gifting and holiday traditions of various countries, especially in the case of multi-national companies. Being sensitive towards each others’ cultures ensures a strong bond between your client and you.
• Personalize the gifts- Adding a hand-written note along with every gift shows your clients that you care about them. Besides, printed cards are impersonal and do not convey the goodwill as well as hand-written notes do. Adding a sentence or two about your client in the notes you send them also helps create a positive image of your business.

The Don’ts Of Client Gifting

• Overly branding the gifts- The gifts you send your clients should be all about them, with a small reminder of who they’re from, and not the other way round. Therefore, whether the gift sent is office stationery or coffee mugs, it is important to very subtly position your brand’s logo so that it does not decrease the appeal of the gift itself.
• Sending the same gift to everyone- When you send everyone the same gift, the appeal of a personal touch is lost. It also doesn’t feel as special anymore, which loses sight of the whole point of gifting. It is important to gain some information regarding your clients’ likes and dislikes before picking out a gift for them.
• Over-the-top gifting- Gifts are all about establishing a personal connect. So, while an elaborate gift sounds like a good idea, there is no guarantee whether your client would like your well-thought-out gift or not. Sometimes, very minimal, but classy gifts are a lot more effective than expensive ones. Therefore, get to know your client a little better before you decide on a lavish gift for them.
• Gifting personal items- While creating a personal connect with your clients is a very crucial aspect of client-gifting, sending out gifts of extremely personal nature like jewellery or clothes is a strict ‘no’. Maintaining a healthy professional relationship with your clients is a must, and care should be taken so as to not overstep.
• Don’t misspell your client’s names- It might seem like a very minor precaution, but it is important to spell your clients’ names right if you want to show them that you care about them. Small gestures go a long way when it comes to client gifting, and spelling the recipients’ names right is a very crucial aspect to it.

Bottom Line?

There are a lot of aspects to client gifting that vary from one business to another. So, it is necessary to note what your clients and customers may like or dislike, before elaborately planning out a client-gifting campaign. No matter what the gift is, the prime message that needs to be conveyed to your clients and business prospects is that you appreciate their presence and partnership. Therefore, client-gifting should be meticulously planned and well-researched, in order to maintain a good professional relation

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