PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS - CORPORATE GIFT IDEAS

‘Tis the season – I have been in various sales & marketing roles during my career, approximately 12 years. Each year, top customers are sent gifts to celebrate the relationships that were formed and the business they have provided. So, what are you sending – cookies, food baskets, etc.? While each of these things are nice and mostly effective, the goal is to show your appreciation and create a deeper relationship – ultimately making it harder for them to leave. What are you doing to connect your audience to the gifts you are sending?

One year, while working for a print marketing firm that focuses on the real estate industry, our National Association of Realtors (NAR) conference (over 10,000 attendees) was held in New Orleans. That year, rather than sending the usual gifts I stopped by Café Du Monde - a popular local coffee shop, and ordered a couple cases of their most popular coffee. I sent over 100 containers, each with a personalized letter to my top 100 customers/prospects. The response was amazing! I received 9 hand written thank-you letters and several emails sharing personal experiences from Café Du Monde. Not only did that $5.00 gift show each of these customers that I was thinking about them, it helped tie back in an experience and joyful emotion the French Quarter and New Orleans has to offer. Not to mention I retained 100% of those clients and gained 5 new accounts because of it.

The letter went something like this…

Dear Customer,

I hope you had a fun and successful trip to New Orleans for the NAR conference. I am not sure if you had a chance to stop by Café Du Monde while you were there, but the coffee and beignets were truly amazing. Their one-of-a-kind flavor made me think of you and how you might enjoy a cup this holiday season. Bring it home or share it within your office, either way I am sure it will be a hit.

Thank you so much for your business this year, I truly appreciate it.

Cheers!

As you see, the majority of the letter is geared towards drawing out certain emotions - connecting them back to the conference, Café Du Monde, the French Quarter and New Orleans in general. Although you want to be sure and thank them for their business, you do not want to dwell on it and say “thank you for spending $XXXXX with us.” They do not care about your year and your sales; they care about how you were able to help them and that you will work hard for them.

What gifts have you been successful (or unsuccessful) with?