Thank your Clients and Staff with Promotional Gifts

Giving gifts to your clients and staff is one of the very best ways to show them your appreciation for their loyalty to your company. The benefits of giving promotional gifts as casual or more formal gifts is significant—both employees and clients will enjoy using your gifts, they will feel that you value the benefits they provide your company, and just as important, they’ll be raising awareness of your company every time they use the gifts you provide.

Promotional Products for Employees to use in the Work Place
Giving employees a selection of promotional gifts may not seem like an important thing to worry about—after all, they’re not going to be placing large orders with your company, are they? Consider the benefits, though. By distributing promotional gifts to your employees, you’re reinforcing a particular company image, and you’re also helping your employees to feel like members of your business team. Equipping your new employees with a supply of items such as pens, stationery, a coffee mug and mouse mat does not really cost you anything—they’ll need those items anyway—but by making a “welcome to the company”” presentation of those items, you’ll instantly make them feel at home, and they’ll get the best start from their very first day.

Items of apparel such as shirts and jackets, as well as other promotional gifts such as conference bags and folders, are also ideal to present to your employees. These are items that your employees will use outside the work place, so you get the additional benefit of some extra public advertising.

Seasonal and Celebration Gifts for Employees and Clients
Giving certain types of promotional gifts to celebrate the holiday season or for employees and clients who are celebrating a personal event is definitely appropriate. Note, however, the phrase “certain types”. This is not the time to be giving out office supplies—if you want to give out promotional gifts on such occasions, you have to choose them carefully.

Leisure-oriented promotional gifts can be an ideal choice for the holiday season. Definitely avoid giving items that are work-related—employees won’t appreciate being reminded of work while they’re off for the holidays! Travel accessories are often welcome gifts, such as personal radios or MP3 players, or travel game sets such as Chess and cards. Don’t overlook the value of a Christmas hamper! A selection of fruits and cheeses or confectionary is an ever-popular gift, and you can include a company-branded coffee mug or bottle of wine to the gift, too.

Special gifts such as wine are also ideal for personal events. Your employees and clients will definitely appreciate that you remembered their wedding anniversary or a similar occasion by giving them a bottle of wine that’s been personalized with your company logo. Consider adding another item such as a photo frame to make the gift more personal—but don’t use one that has any type of company logo or promotional message. Promotional gifts have a wide variety of gift applications, but in some situations the addition of a promotional message will make the gift seem tacky and inappropriate.

Gareth Parkin is the co-founder of Ideasbynet, the UK's largest online source of promotional gifts and promotional items. He has taken the UK gift market by storm by the application of modern business thinking and the latest search engine marketing techniques. For more details on promotional gifts visit www.ideasbynet.com