Monday, December 28, 2009

Gifts Are Great - Market Your Business The Easy Way

By Don Wong

While individual gift-giving to those close to you is an age old practice, few people are aware of the tradition of giving corporate gifts. Corporate gifts are very distinct from individual gifts as they are a token of thankfulness given to employees or customers.

Corporate gifts are most of the times valuable products, and they are often gifted without any mark of the organization on the gift, as they are not for promotional purposes. However, businesses often do promotion through distribution of small items like key chains, mouse pads, dongles, and other gifts to the workforce and potential customers.

Similar to any other gifts, the selection of a corporate gift should be according to the liking of the individual to whom the item is to be presented. Companies usually like to present personalised and expensive gifts to their clients, but to their workforce they normally give out a moderately expensive, but useful gift.

The effect of the corporate gift on the rapport with a customer or a team member depends on how valuable the person believes the gift to be. Prior to giving a corporate gift, you should enquire with your legal department about any constraints that may have been enforced by law on this practice.

Before purchasing corporate gifts you should prepare a budget, find out the number of gifts to be presented, and look for good deals for a mass purchase from the wholesalers. This is obviously more useful in case of gifts to employees, especially if yours is a big business. You should procure the right number of gifts so that no employee whom you plan to thank is left out.

Giving away corporate gifts to employees and clients helps in strengthening the professional relationships, and it is a healthy business practice to adopt. But don't forget to keep the law and expense related aspects in mind.

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