Giving gifts to clients or business associates is a good practice and you should certainly do it to keep your relations smooth, but it can be an embarrassing experience if you don’t know the proper etiquette behind it. If you buy a gift that is too expensive or not aligned with the interest of the recipient, your good intentions may be taken as a careless and thoughtless act. Of course, you won’t want to spend your money on such gifts which are not appreciated by the receiver. So next time when you begin your search of gift options for clients, colleagues or employees, the following business gift giving etiquette tips might be handy to make a right selection of gifts.

Make Gifts Personal

Your clients, associates, employees and colleagues always want to know that you appreciate them and you like to work with them as a team. So gifting something like a gift card that is specifically aligned with their interests can mean more than a generic token or promotional item from your company, and if you write a personal note to it, then you are multiplying its value for the receiver.

If you have too many clients that you can’t possibly buy a gift for each one individually, pick out a small but useful item or even a gift card. Don’t just send cheap promotional items like diaries, calendars, pens or key rings or ones that are too specific to benefit each client or colleague, though.

Know How Much to Spend

Deciding on a budget for your business gifting, or other gift-giving occasions throughout the year, largely depends on your own company’s finances. Even if you can’t afford much, a small token or even gift cards in small denominations like Rupees 500 or 1000 will let people know you’re thinking of them. A personalized Gift of a smaller value is worth more than a standard expensive item. It would be a big mistake to spend too much on gifts. So plan your gifting budget very carefully or if need be you can discuss with storecheq’s corporate gifting team where you are certain to receive valuable suggestions.

Be Sensitive to Religious Beliefs

Don’t just assume that all of your clients or colleagues celebrate Christmas, Holi, Diwali or Eid. Giving a festival gift to someone who can’t accept it because of their beliefs can make both you and them uncomfortable. To avoid this, you can simply ask if they celebrate Christmas, Holi, Diwali or Eid, without getting into specifics about their religious preferences.

Be sensitive to each person’s religion or beliefs. If someone doesn’t celebrate Christmas, Eid, Diwali or Holi and would be uncomfortable receiving a gift on that occasion, you can show your appreciation in other ways. Send a small token after they complete a big project or offer an end-of-the-year bonus for them.

Include Everyone, When Possible

The most significant thing you can do when giving gifts is to make sure you remember everyone. Don’t offer gifts to only certain team members. Your employees are likely to talk to one another.

Even clients within a certain industry or group may talk with each other. A kind gesture meant with the best of intentions, may turn negative if someone feels slighted. You don’t want anyone to feel less significant or forgotten.

To avoid overlooking anyone, keep an updated list of clients and employees and check it cautiously before sending out gifts or gift cards. And think about any other people who you should send gifts or gift cards to, this might include certain service providers or consultants. Even a small gift item or a gift card can make people feel significant to your business.

Send a Signed Personal Note

It’s always a good idea to send a personal note of appreciation along with your gift or gift card to the receiver. They love it more than the gift, because everyone wants to be praised and pampered. Of course, when you send gifts or gift cards to hundreds of your business partners, vendors, employees, associates you can’t write and send them a personal note. So the best way is to make a list of your gift receivers and group them into clients, business partners, vendors, employee etc., and add one personal note for each group. Use Storecheq’s email templates which will help you send personal notes with each user’s name in his/her email along with the gift card. It’s very easy and delivers your gift and personal note instantly.

If you want to find out about our business gifting solution and program which can be tailored for your requirements of business gifting  to motivate your employees, clients, business partners, suppliers, vendors and others, don’t hesitate to call +91-9811990223 to get in touch with our Business Gifting team through our contact form