Businesses in the corporate world do plenty of charming, persuading and schmoozing. They’re looking to build a network of clients and customers who’ll come to them when they need their goods or services. A good way to build those relationships is through gift-giving, such as gift cards, which is an age-old way of building trust and mutual feelings of affection In this article, we’ll look at five unusual or unique corporate gifts that’ll set your firm apart as one with personality and imagination, which will help further cement you in the good books of gift recipients.
Socks
Everyone wears socks. They’re something we need in our daily lives, and often they’re something we have bought for us, when a partner or parent notices that our current stock has become a little hole-ridden or threadbare. So receiving an elegant pair of branded socks is an unusual but useful gift to give to your clients.
Of course, you’ll want them to be high quality and comfortable, so that they’re actually worn rather than working their way to the back of the recipients’ sock drawers. They’ll also need to be bland enough to be worn on different occasions, or vibrant enough to be worn on special ones. They should bear your brand subtly so that recipients don’t just feel like their ankles have become a walking billboard for your firm. Design your custom socks online with the help of branding companies who know how they ought to look.
Water Bottles
We all also drink water. With disposable plastics becoming less and less acceptable in a corporate world rightly concerned with global warming and environmental degradation, a reusable water bottle makes a brilliant gift. Again, you needn’t plaster your brand along the side in big letters and with a giant logo – a small, stylish branding might be preferred.
Water bottles are highly likely to be used by recipients, plus they serve the purpose of showing that your firm is interested in reducing single-use plastic. They’re practical and ethical, which is why they make a brilliant gift – a little unique, but hugely important in a changing world.
Sunglasses
If you can establish a relationship with a sunglasses manufacturer, it’s possible for you to give out branded yet stylish sunglasses to your customers and clients. Here, sunglasses will best suit companies that are in some way associated with the sun – like beverage firms, or those that run vacations or flights. Stylish sunglasses are always worn, meaning that this is another gift that won’t go to waste.
Let’s so you partner with Ray-Ban. You can have their logo on one arm of the glasses, and yours on the other. It’s perfect, subtle marketing, and associating your brand with the style of Ray-Ban can pay dividends in terms of your recognizability and what that association says about your brand. So sunglasses are a great bet as a unique corporate gift.
Social Justice Products
If you’re a firm that strongly believes in progress and social justice, then branded items that make a nod to those issues may go down very well with your customers and clients. It’ll show that you’re committed to the social issues of the day, be that through the Pride Flag that shows your alliance with the LGBTQ+ community, or a black branding that makes a nod to the Black Lives Matter movement.
There are certain firms for which this might not be a practical option. There remains principled opposition to these movements, and certain firms may be unwilling to give these gifts in case they’re rejected. But young, progressive firms can achieve a lot with these kinds of branded items – be they wristbands, water bottles or laptop cases. If your target customers are young people, then this is a form of branded item that has support.
Smartphones
This one’s really pulling out all the stops – and should be given only to the choosiest of corporate clients who you’re really looking to impress. A high-quality smartphone is a huge gift, often coming to well over $1,000 in up-front cost. So it’s a statement gift, and something that you might find turns the right executives in your favor if you give them out at the right moment.
It’s up to you whether you decide to add your branding to the device. A simple phone cover or sleeve will be the best way to do this, though you may expect the recipient to simply remove this and continue life with their brand new phone. Still, though, you’ll really show that you’re serious about negotiations and relationships if you give a smartphone as a gift to high-value people. It’s a nuclear option that could turn the tide in your favor.
When you’re considering corporate gifts for your clients and customers, these five options are both unique and useful, each transmitting a different message to the recipient and the people around them.
