Corporate Gifts
Corporate gifts go a long way towards strengthening relationships both within a company and with new and existing customers. Small tokens of appreciation or items branded with a logo can do a lot for a company’s reputation while also making their brand visible to hundreds or potentially thousands of customers.
For employees, corporate gifts can improve morale in a team and help to motivate employees by offering up a little something that says “thank you” or “good job” and lets them know their hard work and dedication is valued. Whether it be a product branded with a corporate logo or a new gadget that just hit the market, employees take great pride in getting acknowledged and rewarded for their hard work. Some larger corporations choose to have something like an “Employee Recognition, Gifts and Rewards Program” that provides a bit of an incentive for people reach their goals. It has been proven that employee recognition programs are the best way to keep employees engaged and motivated to do good work, so the small initial investment on a company’s side is well worth it. Constant recognition of your employees’ efforts not only rewards the employees, but the company as well. Installing such a program can help reduce employee turnover rates, create a happier work environment, increase employee desire to work and produce great results, and establish a healthy competition within the workplace.
Corporate gifts are often a nice gesture and can work wonders on improving morale, but there is one thing that must be kept in mind when choosing a gift for employees: quality and usability count. If a product has a less-than-standard quality, it will likely not last very long, and it may end up in the garbage can soon after it was given out. A quality product that can stand the test of time and durability will continue to represent your brand well, be admired by the receiver and will continue to serve as free advertising for your business for years to come. Usability is also an important factor. If an item is handed out to employees that has little use, it will likely not result in appreciation from your employees or in increased sales or new customers. Choosing an item that can be worn well or serves an actual purpose will far outlast a product that sits on shelf and collects dust.
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When used as promotional products, corporate gifts can be a wonderful way to reward existing clients while also generating new business. Items like pens, t-shirts, flashlights, tote bags, and more can be branded with a company name or logo to increase a company’s reputation and raise awareness of products, services or upcoming events. Brand recognition is normally key to growing a business, and using corporate gifts or promotional products can definitely increase brand awareness and recognition. As a promotional giveaway, companies can almost never go wrong with the items that they choose to brand, and because one satisfied customer is likely to spread the word to his or her friends and family, your business has the potential to increase by almost three times.
Quality and usability are just as important with promotional items as they are with corporate gifts, but there are also other factors that need to be considered if you want to launch an effective promotional campaign. The place where your target market thrives should also be considered, as you want your items to be seen and used by those who would most likely turn to your business’ goods or services. For example, a company that makes baby products like bibs, diapers and toys, will likely not have much success handing out free products at a neighborhood basketball court. However, they would probably have more luck at a local children’s park where kids and their parents play.
Relevance to your industry is also important. While most promotional products like t-shirts or pencils can be used for any industry, it may, in some cases, be a good idea to relate the product specifically to your business. An IT firm, for example, may choose to create promotional pens to hand out to the first fifty customers in the store that day. While this is a great idea, one that may have more of a direct relation and impact to their business would be to hand out promotional USB flash drives imprinted with their logo. A car dealership may want to hand out free key chains with their logo or name on it instead of a calendar or planner. A golf course may want to give away free tees or umbrellas to their patron golfers instead of a mug which they likely will not use on the golf course. Identifying and targeting your specific market and tailoring specific products to them will greatly increase your brand’s equity.
Corporate gifts can be a great gesture of appreciation to your current employees or be a great introduction to your company for prospective customers. With their positive return on investment and motivational factor, corporate gifts bring a company many benefits. Relevance to your audience, quality and usability are the three important factors that must be considered when making a corporate gift purchase to ensure their optimal impact.
