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What to Give Your Clients for the Holidays. . . A Marketing Firm’s Perspective.

Written by: Ed Delia

Article Overview: Every year the holiday rush begins a little earlier. When I was growing up, you really wouldn’t think much about the December holidays until the day after Thanksgiving. Today, come mid-September, it’s not uncommon to see displays featuring Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah right along side the much anticipated Halloween costumes candy, and home décor at your favorite retail store.

What to Give Your Clients for the Holidays. . . A Marketing Firm’s Perspective.

Every year the holiday rush begins a little earlier. When I was growing up, you really wouldn’t think much about the December holidays until the day after Thanksgiving. Today, come mid-September, it’s not uncommon to see displays featuring Thanksgiving, Christmas and Hanukkah right along side the much anticipated Halloween costumes candy, and home décor at your favorite retail store.

As a quick aside, according to statistics from the Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey sponsored by the National Retail Federation, Halloween now ranks sixth in holiday spending, and ranks second (following Christmas) on the amount spent on decorations.

People are starting the holiday shopping drive earlier, and many have opted to shop online in lieu of experiencing the madness and stress that accompanies holiday shopping sprees at the local mall.

With the holidays around the corner, it’s also a time for businesses to answer what often becomes a nagging annual question: What do we give our clients this year?

Since we’re in the marketing business, we thought to shed some light on what we’ve done over the past few years, and offer insights into what works and what doesn’t.

Several years ago, we started getting rather lavish with our holiday gifting to clients. Quality wines, chocolates and gift baskets were the norm. But in recent years, we realized a growing trend: fewer clients were calling to thank us. Some didn’t even acknowledge the gift in any manner whatsoever. So, in thinking that holiday giving had lost its impact, we dialed back our efforts with simpler offerings. And the result: even less response.

What we came to realize was that many companies are inundated with holiday gifts, and at a time of year that is inherently stressful. It’s not that they didn’t appreciate the gesture. It’s just that they didn’t have time to even think about it, let alone acknowledge the gift.

Last year we made a decisive change in our giving approach. For the first time in our 40 year history, we did our holiday giving in early November, with a more seasonal offering. We decided to go with an American theme: Home baked apple breads and spreads along with a 100% American made “Pride Country” tee-shirt. A portion of the proceeds from every shirt purchased was donated to a non-profit organization called Mothers of Military Support, which gives financial aid and assistance to families of military personnel serving overseas. The thematic gifts, coupled with the somewhat unexpected time we delivered them, were a huge success. Not only did clients vocally respond. They also showed appreciation for the tie-in to a very positive and worthy cause.

This year, we’re trying something different. We’re capitalizing on the growing popularity of poker, offering a set of poker chips and cards, in a neat-looking attaché case (not unlike those used in the hit game show “Deal or No Deal.” The gift comes with a personalized, custom gift box and a set of deluxe Virginia peanuts to seal the deal. The gifts are shipping out this week and we’re anticipating another favorable response.

Here’s a recap of things to think about either this year or next with regard to gifting for your clients:

1. Send your gifts well in advance of December and stand out from the crowd. (we’re even considering October timeframe next year)

2. Change up the offering so it doesn’t get stale. The last thing you want clients to say when opening your gift is, “Oh, that again.”

3. Avoid chocolates and cookies, unless they are truly unique and positioned accordingly. Remember, you’re trying to stand out.

4. Tie your gift into a popular trend. For us, last year it was “American Pride.” This year, it’s clearly poker. And next year? We’ll see what’s hot and what’s not.

5. Make the gift personal. Realize that in sending it, you are making a statement about your company, and about how much you appreciate your client.

6. Have fun with it. If gift giving seems like a chore and feels routine, it will likely be received with the same sentiment.

Good luck, and happy holidays.

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