“Relationships are the only thing that matters in business and in life.”

– Jerry Weintraub

It’s rarely just about the product. As every successful businessman knows, building strong relationships is the cornerstone of every business. Your client wants to know he is more than just a chequebook to you. He needs to trust you and know that you value him. These relationships don’t develop overnight, they take thought, time and effort.

Even with the vaccine, it will be another couple of quarters before we can go back to our pre-pandemic way of life. In a time when business lunches, golf tournaments, charity runs and meeting-for-cocktails are out of the question, how do you make sure you are on the mind of your most important client and more importantly, that he knows he’s on your mind?

The most elegant solution is a gift. Everyone loves receiving one and it’s a great way to open the door to a friendly call. Gifting is one of the most effective relationship-building strategies you can employ, provided it is properly executed. A poor attempt means your client doesn’t value your gift, will probably re-gift it and you end up having spent money on something that added no value to either side.

Every successful strategy must be able to answer the 5 Ws and H. We’ve covered ‘Why’ so let’s continue with ‘How’ you choose something i.e the principles that should guide the selection of a gift:

Cost is not always a reflection of value: A study has shown that one of the chief disconnects between the giver and the receiver is that the gift-giver equates cost with thoughtfulness while price actually has no bearing on the receiver’s actual feelings of appreciation.

Sometimes the best gifts have nothing to do with you: Companies are always looking for ways to get their brand and logo out there. Brand recognition is an important consideration for every company but on occasion you should consider leaving your branding off your gift. Your client is unlikely to carry a pen emblazoned with your logo to a family wedding; by leaving your name off the pen but putting theirs on it, you’ve gifted them with something that they will use more often and will have thereby reinforced your connection, without being obvious about it.

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s breakdown the elements of a perfect gift:

The ideal gift is something that is long-lasting, has a personal connection to the recipient and is a practical luxury he or she desires but wouldn’t necessarily buy for themselves.

Long-lasting: What do box of chocolates and an iPad have in common? They’re both done for in a matter of months. A gift should remind the giftee of you for a long time to come.

When should you gift?

“Florals? For spring? Groundbreaking.”

– Miranda Priestly, The Devil wears Prada

This iconic, sarcastically delivered line should be at the forefront of your mind during every gifting season. Simply put, standing out in a crowd is much harder than standing out when you are alone. You need to put in a lot more effort and possibly cash to make your gift memorable during Christmas than say on Labour Day.

Who should you reach out to?

We tend to focus on C-suite executives and decision makers at the expense of building relationships with those actually involved in the execution of the work. CEOs are accustomed to receiving multiple gifts so a personalised pen, even from an ultra-luxury brand will not have as much as an impact on them as it would on a second-line employee who will take over in about 15-20 years. Never offend or forget the VIPs, but instead of concentrating the bulk of your resources on gifts for the top level, make sure your gifts go to those who will value them more and who will one day be the decision makers.

While doing this it is important not to spread yourself too thin. Instead of buying gifts for everyone and pleasing no one, identify your key clients/employees and invest your gifting capital in strengthening your relationships with them exclusively.

Where should the gifts go?

Everyone knows the best way to get promoted is to make your boss look good. The gifting-equivalent is to gift on their behalf. Find the perfect item and then ask your client if you can gift it to their important customers/vendors on your client’s behalf. This is an unconventional approach that, at the very least, intrigues your client.

The final question and the one that probably caused you to read this article is “What to gift?”

William Penn is India’s premier gifting destination and after 19 years in this space our catalogue has been curated to satisfy even the most discerning customer. As a licensed distributor for some of the most iconic brands in existence, we’ve earned the loyalty and respect of our customers by bringing them genuine products and exclusive collections. We’ve built our reputation and our brand by offering our customers unparalleled customer service and products that offer no compromise on quality. With us, what you see is what you get.

Browse through our entire selection online or choose from our most popular corporate gifts.