Don’t assume things! Just because you like a gift idea doesn’t mean your recipient will! Think hard before you finalize a gift idea. Once you have done so, the task of choosing from a wide array of corporate gift possibilities is not so difficult. Let’s consider the pros and cons of some of them:

It’s great when a corporate gift has personality, but the core issue is whether it reflects the personality and interests of the receiver.
Is he or she a sports car buff? Does the person love art and craft? What’s her favorite color? What is that he or she avoids or dislikes?

It is necessary to discreetly find out all these things instead of randomly picking a gift. The gift can never be bigger than its recipient?
When you make a thoughtful choice, your gift invariably reflects your sensibilities, and gives the impression that you indeed care about the person beyond business relations and hence have taken the time and efforts to understand his or her style, taste and even moods. In other words, you need to be doubly sure of your client’s choices and preferences.

Tickets to live entertainment and sporting events can make great gifts. Scarce seats for a sold-out concert or show can enhance your standing in the eyes of a client. Office-related items like pen sets and desk blotters are the safest bets. Exercise caution when presenting art prints and other decorative pieces, since tastes in office decor can vary.

Gift cards are preferable, if you want to take out much of the guesswork of giving. They are available from a wide variety of FMCG companies, super stores, malls and book stores that offer the buyer freedom of choice. The only problem is the amount printed on the face, which, for some, can be discomforting. In essence, the key is treat your gifting program as a full-fledged target-marketing and relationship-building strategy

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Corporate gifts is a perfect way of expressing appreciation since convey your genuine sentiments. It can be anything from a pen set, a calendar, and a diary to more expensive items such as plaques, personalized consumer products, crystal ware and gadgets. But the core idea should always be to create a lasting impression in the mind of the people directly or indirectly attached to your organization and imbibing in them a feeling of pride to be a part of your business.

The gesture of corporate gifting helps build goodwill and in turn make the prospects aware of your brand. A Corporate gifting and incentive plan is also necessary to enhance team building. This can be achieved in numerous ways. Choose a corporate gift idea that would be appreciated by the recipient and will be cherished for a long time.

As companies try to make sure that their employees give their best to sustain their growth rate in today’s challenging times, they must take steps to ‘motivate’ them by offering small but timely and ‘real’ incentives so they deliver quality results. After all, motivation is what makes a business grow.

The best way of motivating people associated with your business is to offer products of their choice as special incentives like T-shirts, pens, cell phones, diaries, bags, a holiday package or even a treat to their favorite restaurant. This will prompt everyone to view your business favorably.

A gift properly wrapped in a silver shining paper laced with a superb ribbon will add extra glitter to it. It would be a good idea to write a small handwritten note appreciating the person along with the gift. Ultimately what really matters is the sincere efforts made by you to bond all the members as part of a spirited and united team.

Remember that anything you do to motivate your business stakeholders will have a rewarding effect in the long term. A corporate gifting plan is your best option for this. A customized and properly presented gift will do wonders for your business

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Always remember word of mouth is the best method of advertising. Companies do not have control over consumers, especially in this era of social media.

Employees form the backbone of a company. If they are happy, the positive buzz is not going to be missed by your clients. And if they are disgruntled, the negative vibes are only going to be obvious. That’s why it becomes so important to keep your staff happy. Beyond applying the performance metrics and carrying out regular assessment, make it a point to appreciate their efforts. Do not make the mistake of underestimating or undermining them, at least publicly, at any point.

The idea on your part should be to build a creative and contrastive environment. Once you do so, you can leverage it to create a positive impact of the brand to your target audience as a whole. In other words, the process of brand building should start with your own people. In this context, this article will try to explain the importance of gifting to the employees.

As we discussed above, a favorable brand image or company identity is so very vital. Keep the basics of gifting to your employees in mind. If a firm is large, with people spread across departments and sections, it won’t be possible to customize your gifts.

Of course, budget is another key consideration. In such case, you may run a personality contest for them, or even institute an award for your best performing employees, asking them to choose a gift of their choice from the available options. This will encourage other employees to do well, making them feel a part of the organization.

As an offbeat idea, employee in a senior managerial role or with a higher designation should be allowed the privilege of visit to a health spa making him or her feel that the company really cares about the person’s physical and mental well-being, well realizing the need for a timely break.

Niche gift or promotional items, especially for your female employees sure would add a new touch to the whole program.

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In this article, we shall go through some unspoken norms of giving and receiving a gift in the corporate world:

• Even though your intentions may be honest and it may just be a small gift, if the client firm objects to receiving any gift, giving a gift should be avoided. It will be inappropriate on your part to force a gift on the person.
• Conversely, if receiving a gift makes you feel slightly uncomfortable or you believe it can cause some damage to an important business relationship, it is correct to refuse the gift, but in an appropriate manner.
• Do not ever think of recycling a gift that you have received, at least, within the same circle of friends or else you will be caught. (Remember, that TV commercial of the same gift changing hands, doing rounds of different homes, and ultimately landing with the first person who had gifted it, to start with.
• On other hand, if you receive something that you know is not original, try not to look dejected or disappointed. Accept it with a smile on your face and set your mind to it. If you want to return the gift, do so without opening it, if possible.
• Avoid the temptation of what the ‘generous’ giver has opted to gift. This gives the person the option of recycling the gift. In fact, it always makes sense to check your office policy on accepting any kind of gift from clients.
• Though it might just be a small gift, if your company’s policy says that accepting any gift from the clients is not appropriate, it should be returned. If a gift from one of your business associates looks like a favor, it should be returned.
• In certain cases, a giver might refuse to take the gift back. In such a case, do not make a coworker or a client feel embarrassed about giving. Keep a formal record of your correspondence, if any. Make sure you’ve notified the senior person in your office about the chain of events.

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Find gifts that are unique in terms of appearance and usage. The next step is elegant packaging and actual presenting with grace so that the receiver is happy and not embarrassed. Last but not the least, avoid a gift in cash – either giving or receiving it. Following are few more important codes and ethics of corporate gifting:

• It is essential that you first review your office policy on accepting a gift from clients. Even though it may be a small token gift, if your company policy states that accepting favors in form of gifts needs prior permission or is inappropriate, it makes better sense to return the gift. If a gift from one of your business associates is questionable in nature, it should be preferably returned or refused.
• As far as possible, never make a co-worker or client feel embarrassed or ashamed about generous giving. It may happen that a generous giver refuses to take back his or her gift. In such a scenario, keep a proper record of your correspondence with the person and try to make sure that you have notified the appropriate authority in your chain of command or hierarchy.
• There’s also a way of taking a gift back from the person whom you happened to send a wrong gift item by mistake. Now this leads to a dilemma whether to take it back or let it go. If you indeed have made such a mistake and have ended sending up a wrong gift to a wrong person, the best recourse would be accepting it and explaining the mistake you made and apologize for it. If you wish to take back the gift given for whatever reasons, be polite in talking to that person.
• On other hand, while giving a gift first check what exactly the guidelines are for corporate gifting in your company and also of the person to whom you are planning to gift. If there are any stipulated norms for budget, logo printing etc, understand them clearly. Once you have done so, you can start looking for an appropriate gift.

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Below are the vital factors that are extremely essential for chalking out a corporate gift program:

1. Determine your budget first to get a clear understanding of your corporate gift program. Once you set your budget and scope, next you should define the exact purpose of giveaways.  This will depend on what domain you are and your end user.  Your budget will though, will largely dictate how much you should allocate for the gifting program.
2. When deciding how much to spend, key thing to take into account is the intrinsic value of your business relationship. Based on it, you should make sure you give an ‘appropriate’ gift. Also, consider specific guidelines of that corporate entity and industry. You would never want it to appear as a favor.
3. Just reverse the roles. What if you receive an over-expensive gift? Talk to the giver in person if you think that the gift is too costly, too personal or not really suitable to the occasion or the relationship you share with the person. However, never discuss these things in public with the person concerned.
4. Corporate gifts can serve various roles like Thank You gifts for clients and colleagues; motivational gifts; recognition gifts for employees; new client acquisition; retention of business clients; building brand awareness; promotional products; holiday gifts for clients; trade show giveaways; premiums incentives and incentive programs; award programs; advertising specialties; service and safety awards; and general purpose business gifts and awards.
5. One discreet way to place your logo is leather portfolios. It is normally de-bossed on the cover. Some people prefer to customize with the recipients initials. If you believe you have selected a gift that will make a lasting impression on the recipient, there is absolutely no need to place your logo on the gift. The person will remember you by the gorgeous gift itself.  Also work out how you will distribute it - in person or by courier mail.

In other words, sourcing, packaging and dispatching the gifts demand an on-time and high quality solution providers to manage the specialized gifting related tasks on continual basis.

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An exciting festive season that will extend to Christmas right into the new year has set upon us. The shopping frenzy reaches its crescendo during this period.

Shopping for corporate gifts invariably reaches its peak as marketers try everything possible to woo customers with some unbelievable offers and great discounts. Many of the special offers are available online for tech-savvy buyers.

While online shopping is easy, simple and fast; one must take care of certain things. We have listed some of them for you below:
First and foremost, make sure that you buy gifts only from websites you know are reputed. Ensure you use a credit card to purchase a gift. In case, you do not receive the ordered purchase from the website you ordered, you can apply for a charge back with your credit card company.

Next, do not forget to take a printout of the receipt for the purchase made. Retain it with you till the transaction is complete. Make sure you inspect the item when you receive it. If the item is not up to the mark, get back to the online merchants website or contact them by telephone and let them know your concern or even ask for a refund or a replacement.

As the rupee is depreciating against dollar, many people are shopping high value products online from international sites. Electronic and consumer items such as iPod’s, mobile phones, digicams, laptops, desktops, pen drives come cheap in dollar that is still falling.
Amongst other sought after items bought for corporate gifting purposes are idols of gods and goddesses, sweets, clothes, jewelry, diamonds and flowers.

There are a host of corporate items available online to choose from for gifting purposes. Make it a point to select a utility item instead of just a luxury gift with high face value but little functionality quotient.

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In the last blog, we discussed how women find it difficult to pick gifts for men. But then there are women who tend to take an easy way out — either by gifting cards, cash or a gift voucher. The men can utilize the gift voucher or cash to buy whatever they want.

A media professional mentions in the DNA article by doing this she ensures that none of her gifts is turned down. According to her, she either gives vouchers or takes her friend to shopping along with her. So there is no problem when it comes to understanding the persons’ likes or dislikes in terms of style, size, colors, etc. Many women opt for branded gadgets or electronics. But here again personal likes and dislikes cone into play.

Thankfully, many gifting stores and experts help you select the perfect gift. The owner of Nuggets, Anju Poddar, is willing to offer advice for buying gifts for men. Nuggets is an elaborate gifting store. The professional understands that shopping for gifts for men is often a problem since there are fewer options available. One of the safest options is a bottle of whisky or wine.

Ironically, the gifting expert herself faces a problem while selecting a gift for her husband. So what then is the perfect gift for your man, going beyond usual belts, bags, wallets, clothes and cufflinks? One way out is buying something useful. Accessories can be a safe option if you are not sure about his choice.

A partner at Gifted Lifestyles, Kanchan Khubchandani, suggests grooming products. They are a big hit, in the backdrop of the metrosexual mania. Some women simply follow their instinct, and buy what their heart tells them is right for their man, and that does the trick for them!

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‘What do get as a gift for your man?’ This the question women often ponder over with no definite clue. Though there is no unique or even generalized solution, you can certainly learn from experience or get tips from your more experienced friends. 

In fact, there was an interesting article on this topic by writer Joanna Lobo titled ‘The ordeal of buying gifts for men’ that appeared in the DNA News recently. The writer had a rather curious statement to make.” Ask a woman to climb a mountain, she will willingly do it. Ask her to climb it backwards; she may not do it, but will definitely give it a try!  However, ask the same female to get a gift for her husband/brother/boyfriend, and she may perhaps balk at the idea. For most females, getting gifts for their men is rather an arduous job.”

The main reason is non-availability of ideal gifts and also the fact that most men tend to shy away from memorabilia. Women will gush over how the clothes, jewelry, or a small knick-knack gifted to them. They will exclaim that it fits perfectly in so & so place or how the gifted item will match one of their particular outfits.

However, gift a showpiece to a man and his first question would be “where to put this?” The article quotes computer engineer Sandeep Bamane who faced this dilemma. Two of his enterprising friends presented him with a penholder.

It was a skeleton that held a basketball. “They thought it would be useful for me. But I hated it,” was his reaction. Many may believe that gifting a guy something weird and wacky is preferable. But that again does not always hold true. So what is the way out? We shall check out tomorrow…

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We are just through our Children’s day celebrations. Many Bollywood celebrities including India’s rising child star Darsheel Safary celebrated the day. Darsheel had a great time along with children from St Catherines Home on the children’s day.

We are just through our Children’s day celebrations. But when it comes to your little angels, there is no stopping celebrating and gifting. We shall continue with the theme of gifting for children.

This time, we draw your attention to an interesting article that asked ‘How much time do you really spend every birthday of your child to come up with a return-gift idea?’ It appeared in the Mint newspaper sometime back. But this is the perfect time to bring it up again to your notice as it deals with a very pertinent theme of birthday return gifts.

The writer of this insightful piece, Seema Chowdhry, mentions: “A birthday party is as much about the candles, musical chairs and cake as it is about return gifts for a child. The take-home tokens are an integral part of the celebration. Whether you like it or not, all children look forward to coming back home with goodies. When they get dried-up play dough, boxes of chocolates or crayons, they are disappointed.

The article quotes several parents and experts. Rabiba Gidwani of Mumbai-based b’ay party planner, Clowns R Us, mentions: “About 50 percent of parents tend to outsource birthday party planning, but they wish to do their own return gifts.”

Her advice to them is not to ‘deviate from the party theme and not to leave return gifts-shopping as the last or the least priority thing on their list because they will end up scrambling, and get the wrong things. Spending huge money is not the only way of making your gifts to stand out. So, how to go about it? We shall find the answer in the next posting.

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