Ideas for Corporate Holiday Gifts

Christmas (or even the New Year} is a wonderful opportunity for business owners to express their gratitude to their clients and associates. Business gifts are given to customers, employees, and clients for thanks, to develop business and to recognize performance. It is also a chance to make clients and business associates feel special.

With the holidays rapidly approaching, the anxiety associated with choosing the appropriate items for corporate gift giving is increasing. Tired of giving the standard corporate” trinkets, weary executives are looking for new gift ideas which convey their company’s good taste – something that is contemporary, chic, and useful. Ideas for corporate holiday gifts this year include personalized wine and champagne. Unless the recipient is an absolute abstainer from all things alcohol, you can never go wrong with fine wines.

When personalized with the corporate logo or a special holiday greeting, ordinary bottles of wine become the gift that really stands out from the crowd. Gifts of fine wine are always enjoyable to receive, and today, with many online catalogers and merchants offering a wide selection of California wines, your corporate holiday gift giving has become so much easier. You will be able to take care of all your shopping with just a click of mouse.

Ideas for Corporate Holiday Gifts Must Include a Few Important Considerations:

The first and, probably the most important is to decide who gets the gifts. If you have the funds to give gifts to all your customers, by all means do so. However, unless you are an extremely large company with unlimited funds and you’re like the rest of us, only give gifts to:

1. Your best customers

2. Customers who regularly refer others to you

3. Good customers you know well

This is extremely important. What does he (or she) like to do away from the office? Which holiday does she celebrate at this time of the year – Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, none? Would he prefer the gift delivered to his home or his office? What gifts from previous years has she liked enough to display in her office? Does he have a favorite charity to which you can donate in his name?

Know your client’s company. To give gifts that are well received and memorable, and avoid giving gifts that offend, here is what you need to know. Does the recipient’s company set limits on the number or value of gifts their employees can accept? Some companies limit it to “token” gifts. Some specify a dollar. Others prohibit them altogether. Find out what that policy is and abide by it. You don’t want to put your customer in the awkward position of having to decline a gift from you because it violates their company policy. know.

And, don’t give gifts to prospects you’re wooing. It would have the appearance of bribery, which may turn them off — or they may come to expect that something extra for every job you do for them.

There aren’t rules written in concrete when it comes to giving gifts, but it would be in your best interest to:

1. Present a professional image.

2. Include a hand-written note

3. Wrap the gift

4. Present the gift in person, if possible

Ideas for corporate holiday gifts include the traditional gift baskets, many of which are offered online with good corporate discounts and the opportunity to personalize the gift baskets with your corporate logo. The list of online merchants and catalogers is quite extensive and will make your gift giving relatively easy. Price ranges are also varied so you will be able to stay within your budget.

As mentioned above, donations to charities in your client’s name is a good choice—particularly in this year of unprecedented natural catastrophes.

Ideas for corporate holiday gifts could certainly include gift certificates. If you know the recipient’s interests, consider gift certificates for books, video clubs or even a day at a spa. All these are available to you online. By using your browser, you can simplify your corporate holiday gift shopping. You’ll be able to do comparative shopping quite readily and you’ll also be able to pick up some wonderful ideas that you perhaps would never have thought of.

Of course, there is always that favorite among favorites, chocolates. No one can resist candy or fudge or caramel pretzels. The selections are endless and mouth watering. When in doubt, consider this tempting gift that is available in an array of baskets, tins and boxes. However, if you know that someone is diabetic, steer away from this unless you purchase candy that is specifically targeted to diabetics.

Happy Holidays!