Corporate Gift Marketing Readies for Year-End

Corporate holiday gift-giving lies ahead, including the food and wine gift baskets and promotional products offered by many AccuList clients. So what are major factors for corporate gifting in 2019? Corporate gift buyers and gift marketers will want to consider some essential issues affecting gifting success, as cited in a recent The Balance Small Business blog. To generate the desired client response, corporate gift givers should keep in mind 1) organizational policies, which may limit the dollar value of gifts or even prohibit gifts; 2) the personal preferences and needs of the recipient (note that today’s customer expectations of personalization apply); 3) any cultural/local differences (for example, a white-wrapped gift may not be well-received in Asia where white is the color of death); 4) the perceived quality of the gift and its packaging (although gift value should be proportional to client value so that a $200-a-year client doesn’t get a $300 gift); 5) today’s preference for a personal touch, such as a handwritten note or in-person delivery; and 6) IRS deductions (business gifts in the U.S. are tax deductible up to $25 per person for the tax year, although rules differ by business structure). What type of gift will meet most businesses’ requirements? The American Express Semi-Annual Small Business Monitor survey found that today’s top corporate gifts include cards or calendars (49%); gift certificates for retail or restaurants (26%); company-branded items (23%); a fruit/food basket (18%); a charity donation (18%); flowers/plants (10%); and wine/liquor (10%). For more ideas, a 2019 Hubspot post listed 23 gifts rated as likely to keep clients thinking positively about a company throughout the year. Most fell within the general categories noted above, but six gifts involved a food and/or beverage basket. In choosing that basket, gift buyers may want to consider the 2019 ratings just out from Top Ten Reviews. The reviewers tested baskets from the top 11 gift basket companies for taste, presentation, pricing/value, payment and delivery, customer support, number of basket types and special options (such as Kosher). Harry & David’s Founders’ Favorite Gift Box was rated “best overall,” while Wine Country Gift Baskets’ Gourmet Choice Gift Basket received “best value” for the amount and selection of foods for the price. For more details on Hubspot recommendations and food gift basket ratings, go to https://www.acculist.com/corporate-gift-marketers-buyers-ready-for-year-end-holiday-push/

B2B Gifting Survey Finds Keys to Gift ROI

We recently ran across some interesting data from a study by Knack, a Seattle gifting company, that should help both corporate gift suppliers to craft the most appealing packages and business gift buyers to maximize their gift effectiveness. The good news from the Knack "Business Gift Satisfaction Survey" is that corporate gifting works well when it is done well: 57% of respondents said that "gifts can impact their opinion of a business partner both positively and negatively." In fact, over 80% of C-suite executives surveyed said they believe that business gifts generate measurable positive ROI in addition to intangible benefits. Since there's a huge investment involved annually, with the market for non-cash business gifts estimated at $125 billion, getting the most positives and fewest negatives is clearly vital. Return-on-investment for a business gift to high-value targets, such as C-suite executives, is highest if the gift tells a story and facilitates a deeper personal connection, per the survey. Quality is more important than the quantity spent to achieve that personal connection; the survey finds that the right amount to spend per gift is between $50 to $150. What defines quality? The best impression comes from good presentation/packaging and the kind of personalization that logo items and gift cards lack, per gift recipients. A memorable gift will seem selected just for the recipient; will include a personal message and will have "value attributes," such as a handmade/artisan item or a gift supporting an appropriate cause, such as ecological sustainability or made-in-U.S.A. For a checklist of fail-safe business gifting tips, see our website blog at http://www.acculistusa.com/b2b-gifting-survey-finds-personal-memorable-score-roi/