Better Than BaseBall
In this tough economy, every top manager is looking for a way to improve employee productivity and customers’ perception of the business. During better times, tickets to sporting events, dinners at fine restaurants, and nights on the town were the perfect way to say ‘thank you’ to an employee or client, and to let them know that you appreciated their loyalty to your company. These days, however, such expenses are hard to justify when they rarely convert to customer or employee loyalty. Such perks are also too often misinterpreted as personal gestures, and inasmuch as they are aimed at attracting business, business is almost never the topic at hand during a baseball game, fancy dinner, or heavy drinking session. That’s why corporate gifts are trending towards lower expense and higher impact – with corporate gift baskets leading the charge.
In life and in business it is a good policy to have others’ remember your gratitude; and what better way to have them remember than with a really great gift? Gift baskets – chock full of goodies from chocolate to wine to foie gras to flowers – will be that reminder if they are given as a corporate gift. Indeed, the vestigial bottle of 30 year old balsamic vinegar or the beautiful Riedel decanter that accompanied the Opus One will serve as reminders that you and your company appreciate your employees and your business partners.
And you need not send your secretary out on a mission to get all the goodies for your basket. Many online retailers exist who are more than willing to assemble to choicest selection of gourmet foods, ripe fruits, and world-class wines for a small premium – a premium that seems negligible given the high impact and relatively low cost of a gift basket versus the traditional baseball game or dinner (for all the reasons listed above.) What’s more, you don’t have to be an expert in wine, fruit, flowers, or desk ornaments to ensure that your employee or customer is getting the best of the best when it comes to product quality and value to you, the person paying. A gift basket company will ensure that your corporate gift is reflective of your company and your brand – appreciative, classy, and thoughtful.
So if you’re in a spot where you need to cut the fat from corporate expenses, consider upgrading to gift baskets and downgrading in price tag from your usual incentives: your shareholders, customers, and employees will thank you for it!
