Christmas in July? Oh No? or Oh Yes!

Category: Hot Marketing Tips
By: Drew Dinkelacker

8 Reasons Why the Holidays Are the Worst Time for Business Gift Giving

The Conundrum of Holiday Business Giving

With the 12 Days of Christmas coming on us in just 5 months, I want to share with you why I think the holiday season is the worst time to give a business gift to your key customer. *

 

1. Too much gift giving competition.  Your gift simply won't stand out from other gifts.
   
   
2. Too much investment.  To make your gift stand out you will have to spend more time and money.  Chrysanthemums and cans of popcorn won't separate you from the pack.
   
   
3. Your gift may add stress to your client's life.  During the most stressful season when people are concerned about overeating, do you really want to give chocolates, nuts and sweets?
   
   
4. You are too busy.  To maximize the marketing benefit of the gift, it will require personal time from you and your sales team.
   
   
5. Your client is too busy to take the time to appreciate the gift.
   
   
6. You're not prepared.  This holiday gift-giving tactic always creeps up on you  and ends up getting rushed through.
   
   
7. You're just going through the motions because you think your customer might be offended if you don't give them a gift.  Do you really want that kind of customer?
   
   
8. Your client is distracted.  There is far  too much noise in the market place  for your message of appreciation to be heard by the client.  The advertising buzz starts to roar just before Thanksgiving and continues to scream until Christmas Eve.

 

4 Steps to Maximize Business Gift Giving

 

1. Make it personal.  You or your sales team personally delivers the gift, looks the customer in the eye, says "Thank you for your business" and hands them the gift.  No matter what the gift is, you will stand out from most of the other  gifts given because your gift to them is more about how you spent the time to greet them rather than about the gift itself.
   
   
2. Make it quick.  Your gift (and unexpected visit) will be most appreciated if it is contained in a 1-2 minute visit and quickly finished with a handshake.  This will be hard for your sales team but is "a must" to show the client that this is not a sales call.
   
   
3. Avoid the Holiday Rush.  Don't give a gift between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve for all of the reasons stated above.  Instead, you will gain improved exposure if you give a gift the week before Thanksgiving. After all, you are thankful for your clients aren't you?
   
   
4. Want to really stand out?  Give a Labor Day gift.  This year, Labor Day is on Monday, September 7th, 2009.  Your low cost gift will get little attention on December 20th, but will bring unexpected delight to your customer on September 3rd.  I've personally done this and it works.  Recognize that your customer works hard.  Find a gift that makes their "labor" a bit easier.  Below are a couple of gift ideas from my colleague Tracie Sargent at Brilliant Promotions.

 Solar Calculator - always handy to have around especially with big button.

 

Hampton Yo-Yo - brushed metal finish with case - Tell your customers to keep this on their desk to remind them to take a break now and then.  This is professional looking and an interesting desktop decoration.

Action Dice with Leadership Phrases - Every business owner or executive needs a little help getting started making decisions.  These dice can help.

 

* If your intent is to celebrate a religious holiday, then I would be cautious about how you deliver the message.  Companies do not wish other companies a "Merry Christmas".  Instead, a truly heartfelt holiday greeting  is personal in nature.  It is from one person to another individual. It is not mass produced.

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