Whether it’s an end-of-year thank-you or an incentive for customers to attend an event, you have a lot riding on your business gifts for clients.
After all, your gift represents your company’s brand and supports its reputation. Choosing gifts wisely is part of establishing and nurturing ongoing client relationships.
You may be tempted to send a traditional fruit basket or a logo-emblazoned hoodie, and then scratch this seemingly simple decision off your to-do list. But taking time to consider how your gift may be perceived by your clients is a smart idea for several reasons.
Here are some of the most common mistakes organizations make when choosing business gifts for clients.
Let’s face it. Rewards branded with your company logo are really all about you, not your client. Business gifts for your clients should be just that — gifts. Not promotions.
When choosing what to give, put yourself in your client’s — or prospective client’s — shoes. They may be getting dozens of branded items from vendors and partners throughout the year, most of which they can’t or don’t want to use.
Digital gift cards, on the other hand, can be redeemed for items or experiences they actually like, such as dinner out at a restaurant, clothing from their favorite store, or even a streaming service like Hulu.
The pandemic fueled the popularity growth of digital gift cards, with nearly half of consumers buying more digital than physical ones, according to Retail Dive. Consumers are increasingly loving the immediate delivery of digital gift cards, which means your business clients will, too — especially because the delivery happens through email, the lifeblood of business communications.
As talk of a possible recession looms, you can bet budgets for business gifts for clients are going to be scrutinized. When coming up with your department’s per-gift budget, take a look at how much you are spending on shipping.
USPS, UPS, and FedEx all raised their rates for 2022, which means that when you switch to digital gifts, you’re saving even more money — money you can put toward the actual rewards.
READ MORE: 7 Ways a B2B Gift Card Is Better Than a Physical Gift
Can you imagine what your clients will think if you send them a digital gift card they can’t redeem? Unfortunately, this can and does happen.
Brand-specific cards such as Amazon must be used in the country where they were purchased. So if your clients are outside of the U.S., you need to think through your possible business gifts for clients.
Giving prepaid Visa and Mastercard rewards instead or using a tool — like BHN Rewards! — that can curate gift options based on location are two ways to easily address this dilemma for your international clients.
In the moment when your clients receive your gift, they’ll have plenty of goodwill toward your brand. Use that opportunity in the card or reward email to include a call to action, like asking them to leave an online review, submit a referral, fill out a feedback survey, or do a case study. Business gifts for clients can help you nurture relationships and turn those clients into advocates.
Finally, personalizing your business gifts for clients is bound to make a great impression. After all, customers want to feel as if you know them.
If you know the recipient well, tailor the reward to their interests — if they prefer Starbucks over Dunkin’ or love the great outdoors, for example. And even if you’re not sure of their interests, you can personalize the email message that delivers your digital gift card to underscore how much you value their business.
Distributing digital rewards is a lot easier with a great rewards management platform. Learn about what to look for in our Buyer’s Guide!
BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!
BHN Rewards puts the power of digital rewards to work for marketers, researchers, and HR managers. Don't forget to check out all the great content in our Resources section!
