Everyone knows that when it comes to holiday gifts, it’s the thought that matters most, and this is the year of personalization in the print and promotional products industry. Did you know that 62% of people prefer personalized gifts over costly store-bought items?(1) In this blog post, we’re going to discuss the reasons to leave generic gifting in the past, including:
- Creating Meaningful Connections
- Standing Out from the Crowd
- Word-of-Mouth Marketing
- Increased Customer Engagement
Creating Meaningful Connections
Personalized gifts have the potential to foster emotional resonance, recognize individuality, and prove to the recipient they are valued. Whether it’s for a client, prospect, or employee, a personalized gift goes beyond corporate cookie-cutter presents. The personal touch evokes positive emotions and creates a sense of connection and loyalty.
A generic gift doesn’t send the same message as a gift engraved with the recipient’s name, anniversary, or a special message. For instance, personalizing a mug with a photo of an employee’s first day at your company and the date goes a lot further in creating a meaningful connection than a mug with just the company logo on it. These are the type of relationship-centered moments that personalized gifts can create. Everybody wants to feel valued.
Standing Out from the Crowd
Most households own an average of 30 promotional products.(2) With about 123.6 million households in the US and roughly 15.3 million households in Canada, we are talking about more than 4 billion promotional products in circulation in those two countries alone. How can you possibly hope to stand out in a crowd of that size? The answer is personalization! I may have 10 pens in my desk drawer, but only one may have been given to me in a special casing with my name engraved into it. I may have a few whisky glasses in my cabinet, but how many have my initials stenciled into them? How many were given to me by my boss who knows I love a good Woodford Reserve? These personal touches set you apart from the crowd in the eyes of your employees, clients, prospects, or customers.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
58% of people will tell others about their gift if it’s personalized.(3) The personal element says, “I put some thought into this, especially for you,” and people love bragging about being loved. Word of mouth marketing accounts for $6 trillion of annual consumer spending, or a whopping 13% of all consumer sales.(4) You can pour all the money into ad spending that you want, but it’s hard to beat the effectiveness of someone having a positive experience with your brand and telling someone else about it.
A thoughtful personalized gift for an important employee, client, or prospect will not only make that person happy, but could eventually result in securing another important employee, client, or prospect. Adding the extra step of personalization could be the sparkplug that ignites a chain reaction leading to the biggest client you’ve ever had. It also turns customers into de facto brand ambassadors that are willing to advocate for your brand and represent you out in the world. One of the greatest testimonies someone can give about you will be based off of tangible examples of how you showed your appreciation, and personalized gifts are a great start.
Increased Customer Engagement
Personalized gifting can also drive customer engagement and interaction. Whether through personalized messages, interactive elements, or unique packaging, it encourages recipients to actively engage with your brand. The right personalized gift can strengthen relationships between businesses and customers by showing a company’s commitment to maintaining a long-term relationship, in turn leading to increased customer retention and loyalty.
One great example of this is companies that give out birthday gifts to customers signed up for their loyalty programs. Chili’s may send out an e-card with a coupon for a free molten lava cake along with a nice birthday message. A fashion company could track preferences for customers and send them a personalized bag with a style the customer loves as a token of appreciation for shopping with them. Gestures like these may not be a big deal for the business, but they are a big deal for the recipient and could result in repeat business.
The Takeaway
This year let’s make gifting personal. By adding a little bit more to your gifts, you create meaningful connections, stand out from the crowd, add the dimension of word-of-mouth marketing, and increase customer engagement. And it’s never too early to start thinking about the holiday season. The year flies by quickly, and now is the time to start strategizing and crafting a plan for personalized gifting. Consider putting your orders in early to beat the holiday rush and ensure your employees, clients, customers, and prospects get that perfect personalized gift that makes them feel like a valued part of your process.
Contact us today to set up a call with a dedicated member of our team to discuss how to implement a personalized gifting strategy for this year’s holiday season!