Gift ideas your clients will love and what to avoid
(5 minute read)
When done right, client gifts can lead to more meaningful relationships as well as increased business. But when done badly, they can ruin all the hard work you’ve put into building a good rapport. The best gifts keep your business front of mind (for good reasons) every time your client uses them.
When it comes to client gifts, we’ve seen it all. From simple, handwritten thank you cards (which we happen to think are very effective) to cases of the world’s most expensive Champagne.
But why do so many businesses get it so horribly wrong?
The biggest cause of bad client gifts, in our opinion, is that it’s a job often left to the last-minute – it becomes a rush to find something you think clients might vaguely be interested in. This results in gifts that are more thoughtless than thoughtful and can even ruin a good client relationship.
As a business, it’s important to remember that the gift you choose to send says a lot about who you are and the way you work. If it’s cheap and thoughtless you’re probably not sending your clients the message you intended to, at least we hope you’re not!
One of the biggest misunderstandings when it comes to client gifts is that you have to spend a fortune. Clients don’t need big, expensive gestures – they will probably start thinking they’re over paying you if you have the money to send them on an all-expenses-paid weekend away – they need something that shows that you appreciate their business, genuinely enjoy working with them and have taken the time to get to know them.
It’s not about how much you spend, it’s about how much you care and how you communicate that in a thoughtful and creative way.
So, what should you give to clients to show them you genuinely care?
Before we get started, here are a few things you should definitely avoid when buying client gifts.
Please don’t put your logo on things
No matter how tempting it is to put your logo on a pen or USB stick and send one to everyone you know, please DON’T DO IT. This is not a gift, it’s marketing collateral for YOUR business.
A gift shouldn’t be about you, it should be about them.
When was the last time you told someone how great a company you work with is because of the pen they sent you? Generic gifts like this are cheap, impersonal and show a lack of understanding of what your clients want/need.
You will be unintentionally lowering your brand value in the eyes of your client, which can take a long time to recover from. You may end giving your brand a bad reputation for life.
Your gift should be memorable, but for the right reasons.
Expensive but thoughtless
An expensive bottle of Champagne is pointless if your client hates Champagne and will end up re-gifting it. Yes, spending more on clients that do a lot of work with you makes sense, but it should still be thoughtful. Make sure spend the money on something they’ll value in the way you value their business.
No matter what your budget is, the most important thing is understanding who you are buying for. These are your clients. You should know them well, and your gift should reflect that.
Discounts or special offer on services you offer
We shouldn’t have to explain this one but…
Firstly, this devalues what you do as a business. Giving a client a discount suggests you don’t believe they value what you do for them already.
Secondly, this is not a gift.
It’s an up-sell. And, last time we checked, that’s not what people want to receive as a gift.
Generic gifts
While there’s not necessarily anything wrong with the obvious gift baskets or stationary sets (when done well), it all depends on how you go about sending them. For example, if you’re going to send a gift basket take the time to find one your client will really love – you could even try creating one yourself – don’t send the first one you find on a gift website and think ‘that will do’.
Generic, boring gifts will tell your clients that you did not put any thought into what you chose to give them. It will also, most likely, end up in a sea of other generic gifts and quickly forgotten about.
Here are a few other things to bear in mind when sending corporate client gifts: 6 simple rules of corporate gifting.
Now, here are our suggestions for client gifts that are both thoughtful and memorable.
How to give gifts clients will actually appreciate
Remember what you’re trying to say with your gift. The easiest way to give the wrong message is with a badly chosen gift, so think about what you want to say before you buy.
It’s often not the gift choice itself that makes a difference, it’s the way you go about it.
For example, if you are thinking about sending wine as a gift, instead of finding a random bottle online why not use a personalised service from a company like Bespoke Wine Collection where the year the wine was bottled matches that of a significant event in your client’s life?
Simple but thoughtful
As we said before, grand and expensive gestures are not always the best way to show your clients you care. A simple, thoughtfully-made card can send the right message just as well as a crate of Champagne.
Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you need to get the glue gun out and start crafting – you can still print your cards in a batch – but, hand writing a personalised message in each card is a nice way to show that you have taken the time to consider that particular client and the work you do with them.
The forgotten power of handwritten notes.
Another simple option is email. While it may feel a little less special, for those on small budgets, it’s an affordable way to say thank you and it can be quite effective if you do it well – email doesn’t have to be boring or impersonal, it all depends on how creative you are.
If you’d like to learn more about the power of email when it comes to growing a business, take a look at David Hieatts DO OPEN book.
Find something the whole team can share
Your gifts will vary depending on the size of each client’s business, but there’s no better way to get the whole office talking about your brand than sending something that encourages the opener of the delivery to say, “look what [your brand name here] sent us!”.
Just remember, avoid the tacky gift hampers, find something different that will serve as a talking point in your clients’ offices.
If you know your client will love a throwback, perhaps a retro sweet collection for the office to enjoy. Or, if they’re a smaller team perhaps send them to an escape room.
Personalised gifting
Now let’s be clear, when we say personalised we don’t mean pens with people’s names on them (don’t do that), we mean gifts that show you know your clients and the things they care about.
Remember, the goal is to be memorable.
Being memorable keeps you top-of-mind whenever your client sees or uses your thoughtful gift. The idea is that they think positively of your brand rather than feel a sudden frustration because of the branded stress ball you thought they needed (please don’t try and assess your clients’ well-being needs).
Personalising gifts really depends on your relationship with your client and the number of people you are addressing.
If your client is a solo business owner who you know well then, by all means, find something unique that you know he or she will truly appreciate. Try not to think about work but about the things they enjoy outside of work. Are they into a particular sport? Do they travel a lot? Do they love eating out?
If you’re client is a larger business it makes sense to send gifts to key decision makers as well as your day-to-day contact as these are the people you will know the best.
Something different
While creative food boxes, well-made personalised stationary and hand-written cards can work well, something truly unique is what will set you apart.
John Ruhlin, corporate gift-giving expert and author of ‘Giftology’ swears that a paring knife is the best client gift. And, when asked, “But why a knife?”, Ruhlin said, “"Most people only focus on business-oriented things when they're doing gifting, or they focus on consumables and gift cards and crap that's not very thoughtful," Ruhlin told Business Insider. "A knife is one of those things that's generic enough that you can give it to anybody, but it's useful and unique enough that it kind of hits people off guard. It flies under the radar, it doesn't feel too flashy, but it's one of the things that you end up using."
As a business, being front of mind when your clients have a particular problem is what your aiming for. This doesn’t happen by overloading them with branded pens and USB sticks, it means showing them that you care, you understand them and their business, and that you’re there when they need you.
Timing
One more thing to take into consideration is that most businesses will send gifts at certain times of year, mainly Christmas. Your clients will be expecting gifts and will probably be receiving them from all of their suppliers.
So, perhaps it’s time to shake things up? John Ruhlin also says that he never gives gifts during the holiday season. Instead, Ruhlin recommends buying your clients gifts at unexpected times to ensure your client remembers it and keeps you at the top of their mind.
The January blues get us all sometimes, so perhaps sending a little something in January could be the perfect way to show your clients you care.
There are also plenty of awareness days that you could take advantage of. For example, sending dog treats for their office dog on International Dog Day or sending a box of doughnuts on national doughnut day.
Something to think about.
What are you going to send to your clients to show them you care?
If you need help coming up with something different that will make sure your clients never forget you, perhaps we can help? We’ve helped clients send all sort of gifts over the years from iPads to personalised cupcakes. Drop us an email.
