Some gifts are big. Others are small. But the ones that come from the heart are the best gifts of all – Twitter
This the season of giving. 2022 is almost upon us, and the remaining months mark the advent of the corporate gifting season. Companies of all sizes and industries swing into action and engage in corporate gifting to promote their brand, build goodwill, and show appreciation to their employees, clients, and customers.
The future looks bright for corporate gifting as the market is projected to increase from $258 billion in 2022 to $312 billion in 2025 at a 6.5% CAGR over three years.
So, what has been fueling the corporate gifting trend all these years?
The widely adopted shift to new work models like remote work and hybrid work that demands recognition of employees working far away from office. A huge shift in gifting behaviour, limited celebration of festivals during the pandemic; and support for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives have increased corporate gifting frequency.
Corporate gifting is being reinvented as a tried and tested cool tool by companies to boost the onboarding of new employees, clients and retain & recognize the existing ones.
Before diving into great details about corporate gifting, let’s understand everything from scratch.
What is corporate gifting?
Before we describe it, we will reveal the biggest secret about corporate gifting.
Every professional in the world wants their work to be appreciated – be it junior employees, or middle or senior management. They desire it secretly and aspire to have it to make themselves happy and highly contributing employees. The problem is some get appreciated, while others do not.
Corporate gifts fill that void and value the hard work and contribution of the gift receiver.
Simply put, it means a physical gift used to create a valuable touchpoint with clients, employees, or business partners. It is a positive way to show appreciation, build relationships or a sense of connection with the giver.
Things to be kept in mind while planning corporate gifting
If you are considering corporate gifting for businesses, you should keep a few important things in mind.
First, you should set a budget for your gifts.
Second, you should make sure your gifts are of practical utility, high quality, and complement the occasion.
Finally, it would be best to personalize each gift so that the recipient knows it was thoughtfully chosen for them.
Why is corporate gifting important in 2022?
It’s time to see corporate gifting with new eyes, as a powerful tool to solve modern-day business issues related to clients, employees, sales, marketing, and more.
These discussed points would help understand why corporate gifting is important in 2022.
1. Boost Return on Investment (ROI)
A gift is a relatively small investment to improve client relationships, establish lost communication, and multiply sales and business for your company.
The ROI of gifting is all about how much money was spent on purchasing the gift and how much revenue is expected from giving the gift to the client.
So how does ROI on gifting work?
When you send gifts to the clients, they feel appreciated, valued, and understood. By upping your gift game, you can strengthen those connections, stay top-of-mind, and grow your revenue throughout the year.
Does it work? What’s the proof??
Yes! It does, for sure. A survey has found that when business gifts were labelled “memorable” by their recipients, revenues for the gifting campaign increased by 40%.
Another important but least talked aspect of ROI on gifting is
- Employee engagement- When asked what leaders could do to improve engagement, 58% of respondents said “Give recognition”. Gifting is a tested way to engage and motivate your employees in a highly competitive world. It indicates companies value their employees a lot and take pride in working with them.
- Attracting quality Talent- Organizations are finding it hard to attract quality talent, as its demand is more than available talent. Gifting gives employees an edge over the others in attracting the best talent.
- Employee retention- Studies have shown happy employees are productive employees. So, not only will employee gifting help you retain your best employees, but it will also help boost your bottom line.
2. Increase brand awareness
Corporate gifting is the only intelligent way to reach & meet your clients, which acts as a quick trigger to boost brand awareness for your company.
Every gift, big or small, can be personalized for individual professionals. You can put your company logo boldly on BT speakers, hoodies, T-shirts, stationery, caps and more.
But before you carry out the branding exercise on the above products. Please ensure that the selected gifts are high-quality, long-lasting, memorable, and within your budget.
When the gift receiver sees your brand logo on the gift, your company will be at the top of their minds and they will connect with you on a positive note.
You can mark these powerful words in bold – “the client or customer would be aware and have trust in your brand only if the gifted product performs really well for them.”
3. Get high-quality prospects & customer conversion
Gifting can motivate those who are not yet your customers but can become ones if gifted at the right time.
Research has found that, on average, sales representatives generate more than 2X as much revenue when they distribute a small gift at the onset of their negotiations. Another research indicates that 80% of customers say they are more likely to do business with a company if it offers personalized experiences.
Sending the right gift at the right time is necessary for prospects to act during –
- First-time meeting— Corporate gifting in this scenario would make the first impression an ever-lasting impression, as it will make the meeting memorable and inspire the prospects to become your evergreen client.
- Signing up for a service— Corporate gifting at this stage would inspire prospects to take bolder and more positive steps. They may partner or subscribe to a more effective long-term plan and get you more sales.
4. Build authentic connections
Are you hit by poor email responses, rejected calls, and unavailable clients or prospects?
We are sure you must have seen such expected responses from your potential and existing clients. Finding new clients using automated emails and cold calls has become a new norm with technology. But let’s not forget that we are dealing with humans, not robots. The human touch would disappear in relationships without personalization—how you introduce, approach, and talk to the client, adversely affecting the human ability to bond with them.
The business world is in dire need of a magic wand that will humanize all relationships. Corporate gifts have the inherent capacity to bring back that organic smile and build authentic human connections with ease.
Even the research confirms that 94% of top business executives believe that gifting can impact a business relationship, and 27% of organizations say that external gift-giving resulted in their clients referring their business to new customers.
So, what are you waiting for? Click here to start building authentic connections with new and existing clients.
5. Improve customer onboarding & loyaltys
Are you hit by poor email responses, rejected calls, and unavailable clients or prospects?
Customer onboarding is a surefire way to delight and make an incredible first impression with your new customers. Welcoming them with a gift sends a strong message that you are excited to have them onboard. It makes them feel they are extra special and are receiving their due attention and importance from the concerned company.
Corporate gifting is a tried and tested way to recognize, appreciate, and show gratitude towards your client and employees’ immense contributions and hard work. Acknowledging and appreciating them through gifts would ensure they remain loyal to their company.
Even a psychological research proves that showing appreciation can boost performance, engagement, and the client or employee’s well-being, health, and loyalty towards your company.
Conclusion
As we move to the next year, we must be aware of the trends taking over the corporate world. Though corporate gifting is done round the year, it will trend higher in the third quarter before we welcome the new year.
Thoughtful corporate gifting is swiftly becoming crucial for doing business every year. It shows clients and employees that you appreciate their association with your company. By giving thoughtful and unique gifts, businesses show that they understand & value their clients and are willing to go the extra mile to build a strong relationship with them.
At Swageazy , we believe thoughtfully curated swag or corporate gifts go a long way in building authentic relationships and are a powerful tool to drive company values, engagement and marketing your brand. Our vision is to simplify gifting and make sending gifts as easy as a push notification. Our unique platform uses swag on cloud to curate and sends a gift pack of your choice to anyone from the comfort of your home or office across India & international markets.
We welcome you to Swageazy—the trusted swag partner of LinkedIn, Coursera, Amazon, Chargebee, Binance, and many more.