The annual Giftex show embodies the creative, trend-setting spirit that defines the corporate gifting industry. The ability of bringing the best in business under one umbrella can be attributed to the fact that the event is conceptualized and managed by a team of experienced professionals.

Specialists in the gifting industry belonging to Trade & Technology Exposition Co. (India) Pvt. Ltd have conceived it as a complete and comprehensive exhibition and event management platform. They have successful hosted several events on different themes, and Giftex is a testimony to their capabilities.

Even in the season of lean corporate spending, the importance of corporate gifting has by no means diminished. Corporate gifting is vital for the purpose of reviving and reinforcing crucial business contacts! The consolidation phase of a business can perhaps be the best opportunity to appreciate the association with them.

Top businesses also understand the importance of sticking to employees who provide excellent service and bring value to them. Presenting a gift will only enhance ties with them. This is the perfect time for a meaningful corporate activity. The times are challenging, but such challenges call for dramatic measures.

In this context, Giftex is a one-stop shopping event for bulk purchases by corporate entities and traders, giving everyone access to India’s top sourcing hubs. All the earlier Giftex editions had been a huge hit, and this year’s edition to be held at Mumbai’s Nehru Centre in just about a week from now, promises to be a blockbuster.

And here is a word of advice to make the most of your gifting program: Tuned to the changing times, look to experiment and come up with innovative ideas. Personalization is a vital factor in gifting to select top-level executives, and even your employees. Generic promotional items are passé because people are trying to get be more personal with things. It is often seen as ‘unfashionable’ to be extravagant with gifts today, especially in international context.

For many more such ideas and gifting options, visit Giftex 2012!

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Thanks to a truly challenging business environment, today’s businesses have been forced to think beyond lofty or impracticable promises of big bonuses and lavish retreats.

As all of us would readily agree, businesses cutting across domains and irrespective of scale, are now facing the tricky challenge of sticking to stringent budgets as well as conceiving newer, more novel ideas to show their ‘human’ side to clients and employees and to express their heartfelt appreciation. In such circumstances, a little help from outside is always welcome. This is where Giftex 2012 will come into play.

A gift is an ideal tool, object or gesture, whichever way you consider it, when it comes to making a permanent and fulfilling impression on your clients, business associates as well as your valued employees. Gift giving is not a mere ritual. It has emerged as a crucial corporate strategy as part of a larger jigsaw. Generic gifts picked by harried administrative assistants are giving way to personal gestures designed to indicate just how much your truly care for your corporate buddies.

An old cliché goes that ‘it’s the thought that counts’ has perhaps never been more dead-on that now! Today’s corporate culture demands more creative, more innovative and more thoughtful ways of expressing genuine appreciation to the people you care the most – clients, business contacts and your own employees.

In the field of sales & marketing services, clients expect gifting-industry consultants to be right on top of trends; be innovative and tuned to new technology. Part of their responsibility and role to our clients is to come up with innovative ways to get their messages across. For those keen on sourcing the best corporate gifting options, Giftex 2012 provides the perfect opportunity. The event spread over the spacious halls of Nehru Centre will bring together the best from the gifting industry under one umbrella.

A trendsetter and torchbearer in every sense of the corporate gifting industry, Giftex is bound to be a grand success. Be a part of this grand event to grasp various finer aspects and get practical ideas to simplify the task of corporate gifting.

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A major attraction of the Giftex show every year is the wide array of options it offers on corporate gifting. It also looks to create an awareness of techniques and advantages of a corporate gifting program thanks to experts with a vast experience in the gifting industry attending the gift.

Getting the right gift to impress clients has always been a tricky topic. There are so many decisions to be made like how much should be spent on corporate gifting exercise. It depends on your business scale and the worth of your crucial clients.

However, an expensive item may not go well with some clients. So the first rule of thumb for you as a gift giver is to know your respective clients first before you select a gift for them. You need to be discreet and selective.

After you have determined the dynamics including purpose of gift giving to fit the budget, your next challenge is deciding what? Depending on the situation and the occasion there are many options available (as you will find out at the Giftex exhibition). Something with an inherent thought behind it is always appreciated. This sure will strengthen your bonds with your corporate clients.

Logo or no logo is another decision to make. Whether to put your company logo or not is a matter of personal choice. Everyone loves seeing their company logo on products, but not every recipient would appreciate it. If you are confident of having selected a gift, which will make a lasting impression, you need not put your company logo on it.

The recipient will remember you by the gift itself if it is ‘different’ and thoughtful. It must help you and your brand stand out from the clutter. So instead of going for plain diary as a gift, you may get one made from exquisite handmade paper with the recipient’s name nicely embossed on it. Being distinctive in approach towards gifting would make sure that the person would always remember you every time he or she sees or uses your gift.

The Giftex 2012 will provide you with various such clues to getting the right corporate gift.

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A successful organization thrives on high-performance, dynamic culture. The key is to build a base of people, at all levels that will critically scrutinize their own practices and voluntarily ask themselves if they are doing all they can to their full potential. The mindset needs to be changed, though! But how to make this happen, you must be wondering! This is where gift certificates come into play.

If you want to encourage loyal and hard working employees and are keen to hold onto them, you need to increase their motivation levels and learn to recognize performance with timely presents like gift certificates.

You may consider the following types of incentives and rewards for your employees:

• Create an attractive incentive structure. For example, give an opportunity to your employees to win a gift certificate equaling a certain percentage of their total sales achieved.

• Set up a ‘points’ ladder, which allows them to win certificates of higher value for increased levels of sales.

• Offer gift cards as part of yearly bonus rewards plans so all team members will encourage each other to improve their productivity. For instance, announce that the team that records the most sales, manages to get the highest customer satisfaction index rating, and completes the most projects on time will get large denominations of gift certificates to the store of their choice.

• Give gift certificates to those employees who exhibit effective leadership skills, brainstorm outstanding solutions on key projects, go an extra mile to help a co-worker or come up with a money saving strategy for the company.

Let the employees select what gift certificate they want to keep from a variety of gift cards options from bookstores, music stores, shopping malls or restaurants. The customized and personalized format of the giveaways will sure motivate the staff to contribute valuable inputs to its growth.

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A popular form of a gift card is the one issued by retail establishments. A retailer will give a card instead of a voucher. This type of card is an improved version of a gift voucher, as it allows multiple transactions to be carried out. Landmark, for instance, has similar cards on offer.

On such occasions, shopping reaches its peak across India. A festive season is obviously one for shopping clothes, accessories, furniture, gadgets and much more as there are lots of discounts, cool deals and offers available during this period. Keeping this in mind, gift certificates are ideal for grand festive occasions like Diwali, the festival of lights that brings a large family, a group of friends or even a work unit together. And obviously when a group of people meets at one place during a major festival, there is bound to be some gossip, partying as well as exchange of wishes and gifts…

Gift vouchers are in keeping with the tradition of gifting during a festival as part of the time-tested ritual of wishing each other joy and prosperity as well as exhibiting the spirit of sharing and caring. Every person, who looks to make a gifting gesture, also makes an effort to save money. From this angle as well, a gift voucher is a smart corporate gift option. An individual can present it to family members, friends, colleagues, employees and relatives.

Gift vouchers are widely presented on festive occasions as they entail a lot of benefits. First of all, they would enable the receiver to buy a gift of his or her own choice. Next, they also enable the receiver to save money that would have been spent in buying their choice of gift anyway. On the other hand, gift vouchers allow the giver to save the hassle of customizing a gift. Whichever way you look at it, a gift-voucher is a smart way to gift during a festive occasion. So what are you waiting for?

To sum up, keep in mind the following keys to successful gifting:
1. Define the Purpose of Giveaways

2. Set Your Budget and Quantity

3. Logo or no long and personalization

4. How will you distribute? - In person, mail, trade shows

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When giving a corporate gift it is of utmost importance to incorporate the branding in the right manner thus highlighting your organization. Like business cards and corporate event signage your gift should reflect your organization through strategic positioning of the logo.

1. First and foremost, understand the difference between a promotional giveaway and a gift. The former is given when introducing the product, when publicizing a product whereas a gift is given to recognize the company’s top clients or to commemorate a top deal or a big project. In such cases the branding can be simple because the recipient is already aware of your company/ brand/ product. So logo need not be elaborate or prominent. In any case, it is always advisable to have a smaller logo, placing it in the corner.

2. A corporate gifting program is mostly run to create a favorable brand identity in the minds of its prospective clients or immediate stakeholders. Expectedly and rightfully, it’s the major clients who will be given priority in the corporate gift program, and will get bestowed with most precious business gifts. After that it’s the turn of employees and then obviously prospective clients.

3. While branding a gift, it is important that the placement of the brand is subtle and effective. Mostly high end corporate gifts are suitable for imprint methods such as embossing and laser-engraving. For apparels, bags and promotional clothing embroidery is the best way to have your logo put with. Another way to have your logo create an impact is by printing your logo in the same shade as the gift itself.

4. Then there’s the vexing issue of whether to courier the gift or present in person. If the relationship warrants it, the idea of sending it to the recipient’s home can be considered to add a personal touch, especially when the gift commemorates your corporate friend’s personal occasion coinciding with a festival.

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One thing that will differentiate a sub-standard vendor from a quality one is the value addition the latter can bring to clients. The process is not just restricted to manufacturing, purchasing, or disturbing the gift. A winning and long-lasting association with the clients is possible only by striking a rapport and understanding their psyche. It requires a great deal of insight and sensitivity on part of the vendors.

An understanding of factors such as budget constraints, timeliness of a gifting plan, correct choice of occasion, relevant theme for gifting is essential. The success of a corporate gifting business is not merely about the “art of selling’. It’s more to do with discovering the ‘joy of gifting’ them. Packaging ideas also matter a great deal (not to forget ‘out of the box’ gifting products!)

A unique selling proposition will help to transform the gift into a motif of relationship-building. This again is never an easy task. First study what a bunch of business players around you are doing and think how you could do it better. Before you push forward with your gifting business plan, be clear about its focus. You then can sell the idea itself.

The logistical issues will then come into play as you will need to explore things such as distribution & partnerships, and work out establishing relationships with a host of corporate gift representatives to market and sell your product portfolio to their corporate clients.

It may not be always easy to approach end-users directly when you are likely to compete with an entity that has almost everything else on its side, including a strong sales relationship with your potential customer-base.  Before you make a move, get some sense of the market dynamics and what exactly you are up against!  This is critical to make foray into the domain of corporate gifting business successful.

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There is a definite link between festive corporate gifting and tangible increase in business. Should this proposition be enough to give you the confidence to make specific RoI (return-on-investment) projections in your marketing plan? Well, several surveys conducted on corporate gift giving indicate that vendors who come up with innovative gifts were twice as likely to enhance their chances of being contacted by customers as those who didn’t have a well-thought gift program.  In this context, here are some key aspects of a festive corporate gift program that are often overlooked:

Understanding the “Occasion” and “Theme”

Creative ideas are desirable when it comes to the “theme” and the “occasion” of gifting to clients, employees and trade partners. It becomes imperative for the vendor to develop innovative themes and packaging ideas that not only suit to the occasion but also encapsulate the corporate identity.

Based on a peculiar scenario, a manufacturer/vendor automatically makes some assumptions like:
a. The gift cannot be perhaps too expensive if the recipients are large in number.

b. The target audience has focused domain knowledge; therefore give something that would help the receiver in his or her work.

c. It has to be something really meaningful as stakeholders are evangelists of the firm in question.
To put a logo or not?

Many businesses prefer customized gifts, which carry a logo, hoping to create a lasting impression in the minds of recipients. When the item is a utility one likely to be used on day-to-day basis like a calendar, or coffee mug, there is a tackiness quotient to consider. The customized items with a logo may make great trade show premiums or perfect leave-behinds, but they could never be considered deeply heartfelt gifts. It makes sense to indulge in blatant self-promotion.

Make it a ‘personalized’ present

One simple thing you can do is composing a nice personalized, ideally handwritten note or card. It will create an impression that it’s personal gift, and not a generic one! This gesture can be as meaningful as the gorgeous gift itself, since it conveys to the recipient your genuine, non-business-like intentions and also the sincerity of your gift giving act.

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While talking about corporate gifting, it is vital to understand the whole process from the perspective of a vendor. It becomes inevitable for a vendor to understand the dynamics of corporate gifting, its main objective, the diverse organizational cultures and also the psyche of target audience during the gifting process.

• Breaking into the competitive corporate gift industry is easier said than done! It is all about conceiving innovative and creative ideas to win over prospective clients. No doubt, corporate gifting is a highly competitive and crowded field.
• A start-up business might have a range of generic products to be given as a corporate gift. But it should ideally be built around a unique proposition. End-users should be able to recognize and identify with your core product range. It will act as your USP.
• From a vendor’s perspective, it is critical to grasp the basics of corporate gift industry. It may seem easy. But the task process demands immense business acumen. Cultural aspects also matter when suggesting an apt corporate gift idea.
• In a vast country like India, where different festivals and occasions are celebrated with great fervor, gifting plans need to be ever-evolving and all-encompassing. They need to match the joy and spirit of important regional festivals.
• Remember, it’s the spirit of the occasion and not the price tag that counts! This is where the research and knowledge factor comes into play. A smart vendor, who possesses an insight into the organizational and regional culture, will capitalize on every such opportunity to suggest and to ‘sell’ a corporate gifting plan. It’s a win-win situation for everyone, isn’t it?
• It is very crucial for a vendor to understand the “purpose” or the “objective” of gifting by a particular organization for a specific occasion. There are so many ways in which captivating corporate gifts can be designed. A client may not have the time and energy to think all these things.

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The task of marketing and relationship building is partly executed through timely and appropriate gifts to key personnel holding senior positions in the hierarchy of a client firm.

The job does not get over only with finalizing the choice  of a gift item for a particular occasion. Once the modalities are finished internally, the next critical tasks for gifting strategists are sourcing the gifts from a reliable, quality resource; negotiating prices, and packaging them in an elegant manner.

All these steps involve a lot of research and planning. In this post, we shall consider how one may look for corporate gifting avenues. The choice will depend on the scale of gift-giving exercise, its overall nature and budget allocated for it.

Other important points to consider from your end when making choice of a gift company are as follows:

• Are you looking for customization?

• Do you want them to be generic?

• Do you desire drop-shipping to recipients?

You will need to handle the entire exercise in a thorough professional manner or else there will be goof-ups, resulting in embarrassment for the company. You might be required to outsource some of the tasks and coordinate between various agencies and people to ensure that deadlines are met.

Also, if you are purchasing gift items in bulk, the parameters will change. In the past, retail gift services were not equipped to handle major corporate assignments. A growing number of retail companies and department stores now have exclusive corporate departments to offer end-to-end services.

Make sure you interact with the corporate sales department. Bulk pricing is another critical factor. If you are a savvy shopper, you will certainly look for discounts for bulk purchase, resulting in significant savings.

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