John Ruhlin from the Ruhlin Group is my gift-giving-guru, and here are a couple of his tips for what to give for the holidays:
5 Holiday Gift-Giving Tips
- Don’t give gifts at Christmas – Crazy, right? John’s point is that your gift will be lost in the other gifts. It is better to give in an off-season or 3-4 weeks after the holiday season.
- Skip the clothes and food – Apparel with your company’s logo on it, or consumable items like popcorn, wine or food baskets will not stick out or show any true thoughtfulness.
- Thoughtfulness isn’t an event – The sending of gifts, notes and tokens of appreciation should be built into your brand and approach if it is appropriate to your company’s culture, not just done once a year and on birthdays.
- Plan – General gifts receive little notice or appreciation. It is better to connect the gift to the relationship. If it is not your natural skill to design programs, then use a specialist to help you. We use John, but you may have someone you know who is good at this.
- Connect – There is something about the relationship with a customer that should be remembered or honored in the gift. The attached note should connect the dots between the gift and the memory.
For some companies, it is against their policies to give gifts. For other companies, it is against their policies to receive gifts. Be aware of the policies before starting the effort.
