'Tis the Season to be Gifting
The holiday season presents a traditional opportunity to show appreciation towards your employees and clients for their hard work, loyalty and the contributions they have made towards the success of your business during the previous year. Client gifts, employee incentives, corporate gifts and loyalty rewards provide an opportunity for you to show your recognition that these people and organisations are vital to the health of your operations. These gifts also provide an excellent means for you to reinforce your brand recognition, build on existing loyalty and gain further exposure to your unique branding image. There are a few things to consider when choosing an appropriate gift program for the upcoming holiday season.
Stay on Target
In choosing the appropriate gift, be sure to weigh in on all of the potential variables that will affect how your gift program will be received. A successful gift should be something that meets the interests or needs of the recipient. A successful gift should be useful, aesthetically pleasing or both. A really successful gift will be one that continues to remind the recipient of the value that your organisation adds to their everyday life. An extremely successful gift will be one that the recipient wears, uses or refers to every day. What type of gift will best suit your clients’ needs and also speak volumes about your organisation?
To Brand or Not to Brand
Ultimately, the decision to place your brand image and logo on a gift is a personal one. However, it may be difficult to pass up the opportunity to reinforce brand recognition, gain further exposure of your brand image and to remind your clients and employees just who this gift was provided by. A gift of suitable form and function will get regular use. And with your logo on it, there will be a regular reminder of your brand image. In addition, when the gift is an item such as an umbrella, a bag or a piece of apparel, your brand is made visible to the general public every time the gift recipient goes outside. Is this an opportunity for you to gain branding leverage at the same time you are rewarding loyalty and showing thanks?
Spreading the Joy
How exactly will you be distributing your gift program? Will you be holding a holiday function and providing gifts at the party? Will you be conducting a mail out and be required to provide postage costs? If your gift of choice includes edible items or drinks, are there customs or postage regulations that need to be considered? Easily mailable items may include calendars, office accessories, apparel or a variety of slim-packed novelty items. For gift programs that include personal delivery or if delivery costs are not a concern, you may consider gift baskets, health and beauty kits or executive desktop accessories.
Cost and Quality
There is no doubt that we must all be cost conscience in these, less-than-ideal, economic times. However, a successful gift program is no time to forgo quality. A key lesson of promotional gift programs is that the quality of the gift will be directly attributed to the quality of the organisation that provided it. When a poorly made promotional pen leaks ink and destroys a shirt, it is not the pen manufacturer that catches the negative impact, it is the organisation who provided it that wears the result. Promotional gift programs, employee incentives, loyalty rewards and corporate gifts can be expensive, but they do not have to be. These same programs can also be of poor quality, but they most certainly should not be. How can you be assured that your gift program is receiving the best quality product and at the same time remaining true to your budget needs?
Guidance
Seeking the assistance of a promotional products consultant will help ensure that your gift program delivers the impact you desire, maintains the quality you demand and still fits the budget you define. Raving Fan Promotions provides quality promotional products, sourcing from only from the most reputable suppliers and decorators. Contact a Raving Fan Promotions consultant today, to begin a discussion on your upcoming holiday gift programs.
