It’s hard to run a business and you’ll especially find this to be true in the world of maintaining business relationships. You want to be close with clients and customers but always drawing the line between personal friend and business friend. As Michael Corleone once famously said, “It’s strictly business.”
You’ll find this fine line becomes even more definitive when giving corporate gifts. Depending on the choice you make, you can either use it as solid business relationship tool or a weak and inexperienced business partner. Remember, your intention is to thank or congratulate someone or to encourage business relationships with each other but a little personal attention doesn’t hurt, either.
If you’re in this kind of situation and wondering about the in’s and out’s of business gift-giving protocol, here are some ideas to help you out. Take your time and do a little research. An added touch of creativity and personality will make sure your present doesn’t get lost in the shuffle of the corporate world.
The first thing you’ll want to do is to be sure of the company’s policy towards receiving gifts. There a few companies to do no allow their employees to accept gifts from clients or business partners. If they do allow gifts, there is often times a dollar limit as to how much they can allow. Usually, a receptionist from the company or someone from their personnel department can help you this, eliminating the chance of an awkward conversation with a recipient of gift they cannot have.
Take into consideration how the gift will be received. Think about what it will say about your company, how well of a representation of your company will the gift be, if it's will be benefit for them, and will the gift will remind them of you and your company. These are all important points to think about before making a decision.
You’ll want to purchase an impersonal yet meaningful gift, which can get tricky. Try to get to know the person you’ll be giving the gift to. Take some mental notes whenever they talk about their recent dieting efforts, movie experience or their recent low score during a game of golf. Travel accessories, personalized desk accessories, entertainment tickets, computer accessories, books and CDs are safe bets.
Pick out top-quality items when purchasing business gifts, but pay attention to the price tag. Cheap, poor quality products will send a negative message about the value of their relationship with your company. On the opposite side of the price tag, be careful not to spend too much money. An expensive gift may make them uncomfortable or uncertain about your intentions.
If you are giving a business gift to someone make sure you give a suitable gift at a appropriate and reasonable time. If you send a potential client a gift right before a contract is supposed to be signed there is a chance you may offend them and lose them as a customer. It can also be unintentionally taken as a form of a bribe.
Most importantly, make sure you check the names on the gift or card spelled correctly. If you need to double check it and if in doubt triple check it.
If you choose to personally deliver the gift, try and keep it low-key. Don't force them to open the gift in your presence and don’t make a scene about it. Write a short note to accompany your gift if you would like to add a little extra personal touch. It will help add further emphasis to the thoughtfulness of your gesture.
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