Corporate gifts are an excellent way to convey thanks to a client for a good business relationship. That’s why promotional items such as key chains, note cubes, pens, pencils, and other tools are so useful in reinforcing the positive feelings of a vendor/client relationship. But it is needless to say that some business relationships deserve more, sometimes much more, than a simple and inexpensive token of thanks. That’s when a more valuable corporate gift is in order.
Corporate Gifts
Let’s face it, when you are having a client sign a multi-million rand contract, the last thing you want to give him or her is a R2.50 pen to sign it with. How much greater the impression that would be made would be if that client was given a nice brand name pen as a gift for signing such an agreement.
The point, however, is not the big dollars, but a gift that expresses the sentiment that “this is special, and you deserve more.” It’s for this reason that a corporate gift that expresses thanks for a particular transaction and/or a long term relationship has special meaning to both the vendor and the client. Further, the amount spent on the gift doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive, only more than what would ordinarily be spent on a customer, either in terms of the amount spent or the perceived value.
The point, however, is not the big dollars, but a gift that expresses the sentiment that “this is special, and you deserve more.” It’s for this reason that a corporate gift that expresses thanks for a particular transaction and/or a long term relationship has special meaning to both the vendor and the client. Further, the amount spent on the gift doesn’t necessarily need to be expensive, only more than what would ordinarily be spent on a customer, either in terms of the amount spent or the perceived value.
Fortunately, vendors of promotional items know that this is important and offer a huge variety of items that make excellent corporate gifts. It is also important to understand that these salespeople are often very knowledgeable about not only what is available on the market, but also what would make a corporate gift special to the client you are looking to please.
The key to selecting an appropriate corporate gift is being open with a vendor about what your needs are. And don’t be hesitant to say no. And don’t be hesitant to make your sales representative work for the sale. It might take several appointments and some serious searching to find just the right corporate gift. After all, the last time you went shopping for a gift for a spouse or special friend, you didn’t just pick the first item you saw, did you? Certainly not. You looked until you found just the right gift that expressed your feelings. Corporate gifts should be no different. And just as the right gift effectively conveyed your sentiments, the right corporate gift will reinforce a good business relationship for many years to come.