Top 10 corporate gifting tips

Corporate gifting can be a real hassle!  We know from personal experience how difficult it can be organising a gift for somebody and can remember several instances where we've given up due to the work involved in arranging one.  We always start with great intentions when somebody has a Birthday or special day coming up, when someone's done a great job, or we need to say thank you for an introduction or new business.  However, the effort of finding something within budget that doesn't require hours of our own time and that we can trust will be delivered safely is often enough to put us off!  The recipient usually ends up with a card, Amazon voucher or, worse still, nothing at all! 

We've set out our top 10 tips below to help you find and give the ideal corporate gift.

Tip #1: Set your budget first

This is an obvious point but set your budget right at the very beginning!  Not knowing how much you want to/can afford to spend on a gift will lead to a load of wasted time and effort reviewing gifts that might end up out of your price range.  Don't forget that you need to factor in the costs of packaging, personalising, and delivering, which can sometimes be almost as much as the gift itself and often breaks budgets!

Tip #2: Decide how much time you have

Decide how much time you can afford to spend searching for and arranging the gift(s).  This is really important and, in our experience, the main reason for a gift not being given.  Remember the reason for the gift here: if the gift is being given for achieving a once in a lifetime deal, then it's probably appropriate to spend a lot of time looking for that perfect, personalised gift!  However, if you're giving a regular birthday gift to your team of 50 you probably need something that's reasonably quick and easy to arrange.  Most people would prefer to receive a simple, effective gift than nothing at all because you've run out of time and energy trying to track down the perfect one!

Tip #3: Don't leave it too late

This is another big reason for gifts not making it out of the door!  As with most things, the further in advance you can plan the easier things are.  Although we've become used to getting everything next day thanks to Amazon and the like, some gifts will need a bit more notice.  Where you need something specialised, something personalised or something that needs to arrive for a certain time on delivery day you should always allow extra time when placing your order.  Also bear in mind that lead-times will often increase around busy periods such as Christmas, so ordering early at these times is even more critical.

Tip #4: Consider delivery carefully

Think carefully about the logistics of getting your gift(s) to the recipient(s).  This is particularly important if you're trying to organise many gifts and, even more so, if they're all being delivered to different locations.  The first consideration here is cost, as delivery of anything larger than a standard letter is likely to add at least £5.00 to the cost per delivery address.  We've heard several stories of people agreeing a quote for a quantity of gifts only to find out that it will cost them far more than they'd realised to get the gifts to the recipients.  The other consideration is time, as it can be incredibly time-consuming gathering address details, booking deliveries and following up on issues if you decide to organise this yourself.  Some businesses will be able to take care of the delivery process for you and may also allow you to benefit from preferential delivery rates because of their existing courier arrangements.

Tip #5: Ensure the packaging is fit for the product

Receiving a gift isn't just about what's inside the box, after all that's why we carefully wrap presents at Christmas!  Consider the bottle of wine that turns up in a dirty brown postal box versus the one that arrives in a beautifully presented and well protected gift box: the wine is lovely regardless, but the experience is unquestionably enhanced when the product is lovingly wrapped and well presented!  This is often overlooked, but it's well worth checking how your gift will arrive if you want to be sure the person receiving it feels special!

Tip #6: Decide if it needs to be personalised

You should be clear from the outset if your gift needs to be personalised or if that isn't important.  If it does need personalisation, either with a simple gift message or with something on the product itself, look for options that offer this personalisation as standard.  Businesses that offer this as part of their daily business are far more likely to do this quickly and professionally than those that are trying to do it as a one-off.  Trying to personalise products that aren't usually personalised normally means extra lead-time and extra cost at the very least.

Tip #7: Don't forget that one size doesn't fit all

This is more relevant when sending out large numbers of gifts but remember that one gift isn't always appropriate for everyone.  One of the clearest examples here is a gift of food or drink.  Whilst it probably isn't possible to cater for all tastes and preferences, there are some important considerations such as allergies and products not appropriate in some religions (e.g., alcohol) that you do need to think about.  It's also worth noting that just because you love something it doesn't necessarily mean others will!  Consider if the gift you're giving is going to be suitable for everyone (or at least the majority) receiving it.

Tip #8: Prepare for the occasional delivery hiccup

We all have our own stories of delivery nightmares!  Although delivery services in the UK are now very good, there will always be the occasional problem such as a damaged gift, late delivery, or lost parcel.  Obviously, the more gifts being sent the higher the chances of you having an issue with at least one.  It's important to consider here how much of a problem a possible issue will cause you.  For example, if it's vital that your gift arrives in time for a certain event then it's worth allowing an extra day or two as back-up in case of late delivery.  Also think about your appetite for getting involved in resolving issues as they can be painful at times!  If you really want to avoid this hassle personally, you may want to consider using a company that offers a fully managed service on deliveries.  They will take responsibility right up until the last package has been safely delivered, including expediting free of charge replacements for any lost or damaged gifts.

Tip #9: Consider if the gift or service is the most important factor

There are 2 distinct elements to corporate gifts; the gift itself and the service that comes with it.  Don't dismiss the latter.  The best gift in the world won't be well received if it comes with a load of hassle for the person receiving it.  Similarly, the person organising the gift probably won't appreciate having a poorly managed process from the supplier which involves them having to constantly get involved if they're short on time.  Consider how important the service is to you and be sure to check reviews, etc. that cover the service given as well as the products themselves before committing.

Tip #10: Consider if you have a one-off or regular need

Look beyond the gift you're ordering today and think about future needs too.  If you only have a very occasional need for a gift, then it's probably appropriate to find something that just fits this specific requirement best.  However, if you're likely to be ordering gifts on a regular basis, you might want to consider finding a gift that's going to be suitable time and time again.  This will save you having to go through the same process of finding a different gift every time you need one and it also ensures that there's consistency in the gifts people receive, rather than just a random selection each time.

Hopefully these tips have given you some food for thought and help make your next corporate gift order a little bit smoother!  At The Homemade Brownie Company we've made every effort to eliminate all these well-known pain points in our own corporate gifting offer, so please do contact us if you feel we can help with your corporate gift requirements.