There are plenty of moments throughout the year when giving gifts to clients and service providers is either genuinely appropriate or a sensible business move. Perhaps your major supplier has moved premises or a valued client is celebrating a milestone business anniversary; then there are all the regular holidays such as Christmas and Thanksgiving when sending a gift to show your appreciation can really count for a lot. These are natural times to send something, which creates goodwill and keeps you in the forefront of their minds.
While this may seem quite natural when dealing with clients in person, it is just as meaningful, and therefore as important, to not overlook the virtual relationships your business depends on. So long as your actions are timed appropriately – avoiding, say, a contract signing period so as to avoid any suspicion of underhand behavior – gifts do a lot for goodwill in a business environment.
Choosing Gifts for Remote Contacts
In some ways, it can be a little trickier to choose the right gift for a virtual contact, as you may never have met and had the chance to glean clues about things like the personal tastes or habits of key contacts, but there are still plenty of excellent, appropriate gifts you can safely give. Here are three solid ideas to help you out and they can all be ordered online and delivered directly to the client.
Items Which Are Personalized for Them
Although it may seem natural to spend the time and money designing attractive items like coasters, mouse pads, and similar items with your company’s details or logo on, these types of items are more suitable for promotional purposes than gift giving. Instead, add a twist to this concept and send something like personalized coffee mugs with name of each recipient. This transforms a fairly standard gift into a thoughtful and memorable keepsake, which will always be linked back to you.
Send a High-Quality Food Gift
Delicious food is always a popular gift and one that makes it easy to share amongst colleagues if you choose to send something to a group. There’s no wonder that corporate gift baskets & holiday gifts are so popular when they come in different size boxes, which can include delights such as fruit, chocolate, nuts, and cookies.
For Quirky Gifts try a Mini Gardening Kit
Plants and flowers definitely brighten up any office, but they aren’t the most exciting of gifts. Take the theme and add a twist by sending gifts of individual plants that each recipient can grow, and if space and light are an issue, why not go for a desktop herb kit? They are easy to grow, great for a situation where many gifts are required, and again create a long lasting good impression of you and your company.
Maintaining healthy virtual business relationships involves a different approach to offline interaction, but there’s still just as much scope for imagination and effort in the gift-giving element of your interactions.
