Client holiday cards and gifting can be a huge sigh of creative relief or a giant burden wrapped in a bow and shoved on your back in a bright red sack. Either way, it translates to time and money spent. It also, however, presents the opportunity to show your clients how much they are appreciated by differentiating your holiday gifting from the slew of digital cards and crappy chocolate/fruit/meat and cheese baskets piling up in the conference room. We’ve come up with a few ways to stand out this holiday season:
Make it Personal. It’s easy for holiday cards to get overlooked or lost this time of year. While many people are switching to digital e-cards out of convenience, to save on mailing costs and increase green efforts, we encourage you to do the opposite. Pick up a book of stamps, dig out your fancy pen and do a few practice runs to acquaint your hand with cursive writing (it is going extinct, after all). Beyond sending snail mail, write a personalized message to your client reminding them of their successes in 2013 and why your company values working with them–a few kind, handwritten words can go a long way in developing client relationships.
Make it Useful… or Edible. Take the time to brainstorm a creative gift (or basket of gifts) that your clients will actually use. Nothing is worse than receiving (or spending money on) a gift that will collect dust and end up in the trash when deep-cleaning day arrives. Always consider this before purchasing anything in bulk from Oriental Trading. You will thank us later. Whenever possible, incorporate your logo into the gifts–coffee cups, wine glasses, recycled totes or stress balls. If that fails, find some fantastic food to send their way. No one denies free food. No one.
Give the Gift that Keeps on Giving. Instead of pouring extra resources into gifts that may or may not be a hit, donate to a local non-profit or organization your client supports in their name. The organization receiving the donation will be thrilled, those in need will be provided for during the hardest time of the year and your client will see that your investment in their company extends beyond a paycheck every month. Even the biggest Grinch values investing in others.
We encourage you to return to these gifting tips throughout the year. There are plenty of holidays (and 364 days) to show your clients why they matter to you.
