Corporate Gift Giving Hints for Business Success

Unique business gift ideas are constantly being sought out by successful business leaders who seek to make a lasting impression.

Gift-giving in the business world can be a double-edged sword. Get it right and you're a hero, get it wrong and it can haunt you forever.

On the one hand, gift-giving can be an excellent way to build lasting business relationships. Whether we actually use the gift or not - is irrelevant.

There is something about receiving a gift that just makes you feel good and consequently, makes you feel good about the person who gave you the gift.

However, if a gift is inappropriate (in content or context), it can be viewed negatively and even damage relationships by casting a negative perception between business associates.

Inappropriate gift-giving usually takes the form of bribes, pay backs, or apologies. Each, in its own way, asks for something in return from the recipient of the gift. Because of the detrimental effects of these types of gifts, it is best to avoid them at all costs.

To avoid any potential errors in judgment when it comes to giving business gifts, it helps to have some unique business gift ideas and suggestions on tap. Consider for a moment our business protocol surrounding professional gift-giving.

General Rules To Business Gift Giving

Unique business gift ideas for the workplace are most effective when you follow many of the same rules of personal gift-giving. The best unique business gift ideas provide a positive impact. Effective business gifts are:

• Personalized and thoughtful. Have the recipient in mind when you pick out a gift. Try to avoid generic gift-giving where everyone receives the same thing.
• A surprise. Everyone likes a pleasant surprise.
• A gesture of friendship. Gifts should be genuine and reflect a genuine effort to more deeply connect with the recipient.
• Humorous. Many memorable gifts are presented in a humorous manner, without pretense, but in good taste.
• b>Within your budget. Outrageous gifts may be perceived as over-the-top. Keep your unique business gift ideas in the workplace appropriate to the occasion to avoid any misunderstandings. According to the New Complete Guide to Executive Manners by Letitia Baldridge, gifts to clients and close friends in the workplace should never exceed $150, with an average amount being around $25 to $50, depending on the number of team members who contribute.

Why Give Unique Business Gifts?

Business gifts are given for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons are:

• To thank someone. Thank you gifts are very common in the business world. They are given when someone has gone beyond their normal call of duty to help you with something while receiving no compensation for doing so.
• To congratulate someone. When a person receives a promotion or a raise, or has accomplished anything of major consequence, it is cause for celebration. This is a perfect time to present someone with a thoughtful business gift.
• To encourage someone. People who are struggling with major personal goals often need encouragement. If you manage someone who is striving to improve themselves, a unique business gift idea that provides encouragement may very well be a strong motivator.
• To cheer someone up. Everyone has down days. By presenting an employee or co-worker with a small gift, it lets them know that they are not alone and that they are supported by others.
• To help someone. Sometimes people struggle because they don't have the proper tools they need to do their job. For instance, they may need to improve their human relations skills, or they may need to learn a new software program. Gifts that help people to do a better job at work are typically well received.

Appropriate Unique Business Gift Ideas

The key to good gift-giving in business is in knowing what is, and what is not, appropriate.

For example, sending a basket of fruit and a gift certificate to one of your customers for a referral she sent you is appropriate. Giving your male secretary a Rolex watch for Christmas for doing a good job all year is inappropriate.

The following list will help you determine what is and what is not an appropriate gift. According to Letitia Baldridge, appropriate business gifts include:

• Promotional giveaways
• Gifts inscribed with the corporate logo
• Electronic gifts
• Flowers
• Entertainment coupons or tickets
• Food
• Wine and bread
• Travel accessories
• Desk accessories

Company Policy Regarding Gift-Giving

Many companies have developed policies related to gift-giving. Some are more informal than others. For the most part, exchanging gifts in the workplace should be discouraged since it may lead to disruption and discord among your employees.

For instance, if a popular employee is recognized with multiple unique business gift ideas from fellow co-workers while another employee receives little or nothing for the same level of performance, this would qualify as favoratism and could easily lead to jealousy and competitiveness within the team. Eventually, this disruption could result in lower productivity and team morale.

Some companies have chosen to put limits on the value of a gift an employee can receive or give to a client. The purpose of this type of policy is to eliminate any chance of bribes taking place. In addition, the policy provides supportive guidelines for employees to maintain intergrity and make ethical choices.

Policies that limit gift giving/receiving are often combined with some type of ethics policy and/or training, which addresses the moral issues related to gift-giving.

It is important to note that whether or not you have an official gift-giving policy, employees should know what is expected of them. It is naive to believe that everyone knows the proper guidelines of gift-giving.

If one of your business associates from another company has a strict gift-giving policy, make sure that you respect it by not offering them gifts, which they would have to reject.

For the most part, gift-giving is a positive way to help build strong relationships in the business world. But you need to do so only when you are certain the gift is appropriate for the occasion and will be received in a positive way.

Time To Go Shopping

Unique business gift ideas can be difficult to identify, but not here. So let’s go shopping!

We have taken the time to research many unique business gift ideas. We have even put together a convenient online store that showcases many of the best unique business gift ideas that we have discovered.

Go to the following link to preview our corporate gift idea store for the most Unique Business Gift Ideas.

Best of luck in finding the best and most unique business gift ideas!

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