For small business owners, there are many challenges to introducing and growing a new company. How can you establish yourself in a new market? How can you attract clients? One tactic that can help address these questions, yet often goes overlooked, is corporate gifting. Corporate gifts are small tokens of gratitude that, given on appropriate occasions, remind the individuals important to your business that you value them. Done efficiently, it can benefit every aspect of your business.
1. Create a Good First Impression
Introducing your company into a new market can be scary. After all, you likely have little to no client base, few vendors or leads and a tight budget to boot. The first few bites you get are critical to establishing growth momentum for you and your brand.
Not only will you need to impress with your services and expertise, but you should also set the foundation for a strong business relationship. Thankfully, corporate gifting can help address this challenge and can be easily incorporated into your business model, making it well worth the time, effort and investment.
Through corporate gifting, you can leave a lasting impression on potential customers. Whether it’s a follow-up gift for a trade show lead or a parting token after your first client meeting, these gestures may be simple, but they produce invaluable effects on your reputation as a company and business leader.
2. Network With Vendors
When it comes to meeting the needs of your customers, vendors not only make or break your bottom line, but they can also be a valuable source of new business as well.
Maintaining an appreciative atmosphere of goodwill with your vendors sets the tone for cooperation and assistance when you need it most. They can not only provide you with products or services but also connect you to new customers, business partners or event opportunities. Budgeting for a small gift to seal a new partnership will affirm that you see them as valuable members of your team.
3. Retain Loyal Clients
Over time, loyal clients also become valuable ambassadors of your organization or company. Despite study after study, however, what researchers have discovered is really quite simple: Customers return as long as it’s easy and rewarding to do so.
While a quality product or service is important, it’s also expected; the same goes for a fair price. What determines client retention is whether a company actively acknowledges the loyalty of its customers and works to resolve problems quickly.
Be sure to acknowledge their continued business or large purchases with a token of gratitude. It won’t be forgotten.
Jady Regard is the Chief Nut Officer of Cane River Pecan Company, located in New Iberia, Louisiana. Taking full ownership of the company in 2002, Jady used his corporate executive background to expand the product line, introduce custom gifting services, enhance the mail order catalog, initiate new digital marketing opportunities and fine tune a the brand’s national identity.