What Is a Corporate Gifting Platform? Everything You Need to Know

According to the Advertising Specialty Institute, 70% of workers claim that receiving a holiday gift from their employer makes them want to work harder.¹

Corporate gifting refers to the process of establishing a touchpoint with employees, clients, or potential clients to either drive a positive response from the recipient or reward their behavior. Corporate gifting platforms provide automated places for picking, storing, packing, shipping, and delivering corporate gifts to your desired recipients. Corporate gifting platforms can automatically track shipping and deliveries and will help you better understand the impact of your gifting on your recipients and overall investment.

Corporate gifting removes the stress of finding the perfect gift for clients or employees. In lieu of this stress, corporate gifting platforms provide fantastic incentives that are more intentional (and potentially more valuable for your company) than cash rewards. Over time, your staff may become acclimated to the same types of rewards or incentive programs, such as bonuses, and this can sometimes cause the perceived value to decrease. Corporate gifting platforms provide a solution for this predicament.

Gifting platforms can not only provide specialized and meaningful gifts and make your recipient feel appreciated, but also provide a wide variety of assortments to make each reward different and special. These platforms correspond perfectly with the research into gamified incentives, as this evolution has great potential for improved productivity and employee satisfaction.

Implementing these procedures within your company along with Corporate Gifting Platforms to add enticing rewards can work wonders with your team building, rapport, morale, and productivity.

Corporate Gifting Benefits You Need to Know

There are many benefits to making use of corporate gifting platforms. Consider, for example:

Employee Loyalty

First, corporate gifting platforms can significantly encourage loyalty and support from employees and foster the growth of a positive work culture. For example, personalized or branded gifts may help employees feel recognized and as though they are a part of something greater than themselves. As a physical object, the feeling of ownership adds value to the gift and gives meaning and maximizes the impact of such a gift.

Promotion

Not only does corporate gifting allow you to foster a sense of loyalty on your time but it also is a great opportunity to promote your brand. High-quality items featuring your company logo will make both employees and clients want to show off the item you give them, which is great advertising for your business. This personalization positions your company as a thoughtful, considerate, and team-oriented workplace that cares for both employees and clients, creating a customer experience that makes people want to do business with you (or continue doing business with you).

Automation

A corporate gifting platform does all the work with research and organization, offering a variety of high-quality options for you including branding. That means you manage to provide thoughtful gifts without having to expend time doing so. As experts in the field, these gifting platforms know the best methods for improving employee and client satisfaction, leaving you free to perform other important duties.

Budgeting

One handy reason for these automated platforms is that budget control is easy. Decide what gifting budget you want upfront, and establish with the gift company as your guideline. With the parameters set, you don’t have to worry about going over budget as the limitations are in place and the corporation will take care of the rest.

Scalability

However, coming up with a scaling system for gifts to reward merit or improved productivity can be daunting. Fortunately, these gifting corporations can handle that for you as well. They can help you design a scalable reward system that fits your budget to have your employees happy and motivated in no time.

Corporate Gifting Platform: How to Choose the Right One?

A quick glance into corporate gifting platforms reveals an incredible variety of options, making it difficult to decide which is the right one to choose.

First, consider the purpose behind the gifting you have in mind:

• Birthday presents.
• Gifts for personal activities.
• Client appreciation gifts.
• Holiday gifts.
• Welcome gifts for clients or employees.
• Anniversary gifts for time as a member.
• Merit awards.
• Celebrations for milestones.

Some helpful advice when using these platforms is to make sure your company logo is always prominent and choose a gift that is related to your company’s activity or niche. Choosing an item related to your company’s niche in the field can have a compounded effect. Before sending the gift to your employee or client, be sure to ask yourself whether the gift will be useful, impactful, and memorable.

Research Options

Once you’ve determined which type or types of reward system you are looking for, it’s time to look into specific details to determine which gifting platform is best for your company. Here are important aspects to consider when making that choice:

• Reliability - Does your potential gifting company keep its word and come through on schedule throughout the entire gifting process? Does it have a reliable gifting strategy? Are the products they deliver exactly as advertised? Just as your clients expect this of you, you should expect quality and professionalism from your corporate.

• Reputation - You know the value of reputation. Before hiring a corporate gifting platform, be sure to seek out your potential company’s credentials, ensure they are qualified, and have a good record of customer service. If they have a high percentage of complaints or transactional issues, then you might be better off in the hands of a different company that can conduct business and provide quality customer service.

• Variety - Gift selection matters! Some corporate gifting platforms offer a wide variety of gift options and provide selections for many different situations. They may be good fits if you checked off several items on the gift considerations in the above section. The great benefit of variety is that there is a greater chance that you can find a gift that is tailored for each individual client or employee, making a statement of how much you value them. Some common gifts include snack boxes, personalized gifts, gift boxes, gift cards, and more.

• Prices - Of course you want the best price for the highest quality that you can find. Shop around options to see what options fit your budget and provide quality gifts that will demonstrate how important your employees and clients are.

• Quality - Speaking of quality, providing a low-caliber item as a gift can actually be detrimental to your loyalty and reputation factors. That’s especially disheartening if you spent a bundle of money only to discover the gift was sub-par. Make sure to read reviews on the gift items and possibly begin with a small sample size to evaluate whether the gifts are the right value for your business. Your gifting experience ought to be full of the highest-quality products and service.

Why Corporate Gifting is Important and Gaining Prominence

More and more companies are taking advantage of corporate gifting. The opportunities to strengthen your brand, reputation, and strengthen relationships between employees and employers translate directly into increased productivity and improved clientele.

Using them along with gamification will motivate your employees and allow them to enjoy their work more, providing a feeling of “companionship” which will allow them to work better as a team.

Being recognized for their talent will build loyalty to your company and that will emanate, drawing new talent and clients to your brand while tightening the existing bond.

FAQs

FAQ: How can I use corporate gifts to generate positive experiences?

Giving your clients, potential clients, or employees a high-quality, personalized product creates an emotional experience for your recipient. However, to truly maximize the benefits of your gift, perhaps try to make the giving of this gift an event. (If your team is remote, you could make this a virtual event). Take a little time out of your day to celebrate the reason for the gift with your team, and deliver a small, personalized speech before you hand your gifts out.

By doing this with your employees, you will demonstrate that you value the employee (or employees). Though it may seem like a small gesture, making your gift-giving a public event can go a long way to make this experience even more memorable for the employee and get your team talking and motivated.

Employees are always willing to go the extra mile where they feel appreciated. Similarly, clients who feel appreciated for doing business with you will feel encouraged to do more business with you. Customized gifts can create an emotional connection between you and the people who are important to your business, and this is always crucial to your business’s success.

FAQ: How much should I spend on corporate gifts?

Remember that these gifts are an investment -- the more that you invest, the greater potential gains that you can receive.

According to the Advertising Specialty Institute, some averages show corporate spending on gifts to fall into a range of $79 per employee for an occasion.² However, the amount that you ought to spend on gifting as an employer is ultimately your choice and depends heavily on the scale of your business, the purpose for the gift, and more.

The more you invest in your employees and clients, the more this will inspire them to provide you with loyalty and increased productivity. So, you may need to do a bit of research and experimentation to find a happy medium that grants you the highest return while showing how much you appreciate and value your clients, future clients, and employees.