The Importance Of Corporate Gifting

We have all been on the other end of a sales cold call or automated e-mail enquiry. They can feel super impersonal and are usually pretty easy to ignore. Now, think of a company that has gone the extra mile and sent you a gift basket or a company gift.

Sending gifts to key stakeholders is a tried and true business strategy for a reason: corporate gifting tends to create an immediate emotional connection between the company and the gift recipient.

What is corporate gifting?

Corporate gifting is typically an act of sending a physical or non-physical gift to a prospect, client, or employee in the hopes of creating a connection between the gift recipient and the company or brand.

Examples of the best corporate gifts online would include company swag items such as t-shirts, tumblers, or personalized notebooks. Whereas the non-physical gifts include experiences, perks, or digital gift cards.

Corporate gift giving is an amazing way to bolster brand engagement among the prospects, clients, and employees alike.

Corporate gifting is important as it helps build brand recognition, engagement, and overall loyalty. It does this by creating an experience (opening the gift) that sparks emotional connection, strengthening the recipient’s relationship with the company/brand.

The psychology behind corporate gifts

Receiving one of the best corporate gifts online in physical form triggers the Endowment effect- a feeling of ownership of an item- which results in the recipient associating meaning and value with that particular item.

This gift valuation tends to directly effect a consumer’s thoughts and feeling towards a company, creating an almost instantaneous positive brand association. The Theory of Reciprocity even comes into play with corporate gifting as the recipient is more likely to respond to your inquiries as you have taken that first step through gift giving.

Why corporate gifting works

- For Prospects

Corporate gifting is a great way to entice people who are not currently your customers to become one. A consumer may not be hyper aware of your company, so receiving a gift can help raise that awareness and result in new client acquisition.

- For Clients

Customer appreciation gifts can be key to client happiness and retention. Providing gifts, even small ones, shows current clients that their business is greatly appreciated, creating a positive association with your company. Gifting to current clients strengthens the business relationship between the consumer and company. Corporate gifting to existing clients further helps foster brand loyalty and consumer longevity.

- For Employees

When creating a corporate gifting strategy, you should not only consider gifting externally to prospects and clients but look internally as well. providing gifts for employees, particularly high quality or personalized gifts, bolsters employee engagement, happiness levels, and even productivity.

Author’s Bio: The author is an avid blogger. This article is about corporate gifting.