How to Get Corporate Christmas Gifting Right

Brendan October 31, 2019

The holiday season is a time for celebration and giving. Businesses, like individuals, have a traditional of sharing gifts. But when it comes to corporate gifting, the rules can be slightly different. Like personal gifting, it’s generally about the types of relationships you have with employees, vendors, and clients and then gifting accordingly.

There are a lot of elements involved, so we’ve broken it down a bit for you.

Why is Christmas corporate gifting important?

Christmas corporate gifting is a great way to touch base with all of your clients and employees, and you can do so easily by using a single provider who has multiple options to suit different budgets, preferences, etc. It can also be used as a subtle form of advertising or promotion while telling your customers you appreciate them, and your employees that you are grateful.

Gifts help maintain relationships by keeping your business top of mind. Gifting is also a really good opportunity to ‘check in’ with clients and find out how you can best continue serving them in the new year.

Who should you be gifting to?

Your business likely works with a combination of vendors and clients, and relies on employees to get things done. Ideal recipients are customers with bigger accounts or regular purchases, often-used vendors, and employees.

• Clients and customers – The right gift shows your appreciation for your customers’ business, allows you to stand out, and could enable you to strengthen your relationship with valued clients.
• Service providers or vendors – Your virtual assistants, consultants, suppliers, cleaning contractors, lawyers, accountants, delivery partners, and other service providers support your business in its success, so you may want to acknowledge your appreciation in some way.
• Employees – Your employees are the backbone of your business, and you could build loyalty and show your appreciation for their hard work with a gift.
• Other parties – It could be appropriate to give something to other stakeholders and parties you’ve worked with on a one-off basis. For example, you might not have a long-term relationship with a service provider but, if they helped out your business significantly this year, you might want to show your appreciation with a one-time Christmas gift.

Explore the Gourmet Basket Christmas range here.</

Checking before you gift

Christmas is widely celebrated, but in some rare cases it could be inappropriate to make a gift if your client, employee, or vendor doesn’t celebrate the day. Check your clients, vendors, and employees celebrate Christmas before making a gift, as it could be inappropriate if they’re from a culture that doesn’t celebrate it. If they don’t, you could send them a gift at another time of the year, or change the messaging from a Christmas gift to only ‘thanks for your work this year’ gift.

Additionally, check if their business has rules or regulations about receiving gifts from clients, vendors, and other parties. Some companies might have these rules to prevent conflicts of interest.

Finally, if you’re giving consumables, make sure the recipient doesn’t have any relevant food allergies or sensitivities.

The right time to give

It’s a good idea to avoid interrupting your clients’, employees’, and vendors’ holiday period with reminders of business or work. This could give the impression you’re crossing personal boundaries.

As a general rule, try to gift at the very beginning of the season, near the end of November/beginning of December, and around the time at-work Christmas parties start.

What to give

Use your judgment when deciding how much to spend on a gift. An overly expensive gift could give the wrong impression and make the recipient uncomfortable.

Customised gifts

For larger clients with significant accounts, try to customise the gift as much as possible. Take note of client’s habits and preferences. For example, if you notice they enjoy coffee, chocolate, or wine, they might appreciate a gourmet gift basket with these particular items. If you have valued vendors and employees, a customised gift could also be appropriate.

Note that customising or personalising a gift isn’t the same as getting personal. Keep the gift and gifting process professional by staying with general interests and preferences and not getting too personal.

General gifts

If you have a large number of clients and vendors and don’t have a personal relationship with them, opting for smaller and more general gifts could be a good approach. For large teams of employees, a gift that can be shared among team members or partaken in by many could be best.

Getting creative

Use your creativity when deciding on gifts. Some examples are holiday treats like gourmet goodies in a hamper, mugs, affordable technologies like memory sticks, and stationery sets. Promotional items are generally to be avoided if you’re gifting to clients as it could come across as pure advertising, however this is not to be confused with branding your gift to show best who the gift has come from.

Give a Christmas gift this year

The festive Christmas period is a wonderful opportunity to show your appreciation to clients, vendors, and employees, but it’s vital to get your gifts right. By giving appropriate gifts, you can demonstrate you value the recipients while strengthening your all-important business relationships.

Show the people important to your business how much you value them with a Gourmet Basket Christmas Gift Hamper. Explore our Christmas catalogue here.

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