Holiday gift giving for clients and customers can be a less-than-sparkly experience. Thankfully, it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ve developed the ultimate client gift guide by dividing up your list of clients into three categories to determine the perfect present.
Category 1 Clients
Who: These are the top income producing clients for the firm – The VIPs.
Gifts:
Bottle of Wine, Scotch or other Spirit ($100 – $500)
Tickets (good seats only!) to an upcoming event based on their interest ($300 – $500)
Charitable donation to a passion cause of a client ($1,000 – $5,000)
Customized large leather item(s) or a set of items ($100 – $1,000)
Gatekeeper gifts for assistants and secretaries ($50)
Presentation: The gift should be beautifully gift-wrapped with a handwritten card.
How to deliver: In person. The client contact with the strongest personal relationship with the client could invite them to dinner or to an event, depending on their interest (e.g. a sporting event or symphony).
Category 2 Clients
Who: These are solid income producing clients for the company. Most likely have been a client for at least a few years and could have the potential to become Category 1 clients with the company’s assistance in growing their empire.
Gifts:
Engraved item for desk ($50 – $100)
Gourmet food basket to feed the office ($100 – $500)
Company labeled succulents for plant lovers ($20 – $50)
Coffee or tea blends ($25 – $100)
Customized small leather item ($25 – $100)
Bombas socks that give to charity for every purchase ($20 – $30)
Presentation: The gift should be gift-wrapped, with a handwritten card.
How to deliver: In-person if there is an upcoming meeting; otherwise mailed or delivered.
Category 3 Clients
Who: The third group is for new clients, smaller scope clients, or even project-based clients from the past that are content without major services growth. While you still want to recognize this group of clients with a thoughtful gift, we recommend a more scaleable approach and selecting only one gift you can order in bulk and send to all Category 3 clients.
Gifts:
Company branded Tervis Tumbler with lid ($20)
Company branded bluetooth speaker ($15 – $25)
Company branded YETI ($20 – $50)
Presentation: The gift should be boxed neatly, with a hand-signed card. The message in the card may be generic or typed.
How to deliver: Mailed or delivered.
To make holiday client gift giving headache free next year, go ahead and create a calendar event for the first week of November to sit down and pull your gift giving lists and divide them into three categories. Make a second calendar event for Nov. 15 to place all orders. That way you’ll go into the Thanksgiving holiday with all your professional shopping done – giving you sufficient lead time for customization of items with the company’s logo, and delivery by mid-December of all gifts before offices empty out.
Have you gifted or received a great client holiday gift? We’d love to hear about it!