Managing Corporate Awards and Gifts
The purpose of corporate awards and gifts is to reward achievement, loyal customers and celebrate special events while enhancing the company’s image through quality merchandise and high value items. It’s a worthwhile investment to keep existing relationships as it costs more to acquire new customers and hire new people. It can also be used as a promotion tool to target new markets by building buzz and adding value to existing offers.
Selecting personal gifts are difficult enough. And despite of this hurdle, this still not enough to warrant that your gift will be appreciated the way you expected it to be. Thus, it is often hard to brainstorm on what you can give while maximizing the budget you have set for it. Nevertheless, one thought should always be kept in mind- a corporate gift, more specifically an award, is a measure of your appreciation to your valued employees, workers, clients, customers and those people who participate in your company’s growth.
On the other hand, corporate awards and gifts can also be used as a source of motivation for increasing the sales via giving rewards to your top performers and business teams and units after meeting and exceeding their pre-set goals. This way, it works pretty much like an incentive for a work well done.
What are the basic protocols in handling corporate awards and gifts? The keywords are timing and appropriateness.
The Importance of the Receiver Typically, the value of gifts increases for those higher up on the organizational chart. If everyone gets the same gifts, then its value will decrease as the whole process becomes impersonal to the receiver. Aside from that fact, it’s also accepted practice to reward close friends with much more than the average work colleague.
Economically-wise, you must also take into thought how much you are willing to spend for an award or gift through maximizing the budget and giving enough justifications on the relationship you have with the receiver. You would not give a $50 corporate award and gift to a million-dollar investor, would you?
Unless you are giving something to a personal friend in the firm, it’s best to check with company policy regarding gift giving and corporate awards.
The Timing Occasions must also be taken into consideration when sending a corporate award or gift. This is much like thinking of what to give for a birthday celebrant or an anniversary party. There are again, various considerations that you must mull over to fit your gift into the occasion.
Corporate gifts and awards for major celebrations – Big holidays like the new year, anniversary parties, the CEO’s birthday and big company milestones will need specific gifts to commemorate the event.
Corporate gifts and awards for social parties – Make sure it’s something fun but tailored to the affair, exclusive event tickets, special dining coupons and paid travel are some of the freebies that people love to receive.
Specific occasions – Important events in every person’s life like weddings, the birth of a baby, birthdays, and retirement. Specific company events include team building weekends, major conventions, establishing a new base of operations and much more.