Top 4 Tips on How to Give Business Food Gifts
Business gifts provide a thoughtful way for you to acknowledge customers, clients, and colleagues while keeping your brand front of their minds. Yet business and corporate gifts can be trickier than choosing a casual gift for a friend, as there is certain etiquette you should keep in mind. After all, you want to give the right impression. Follow these four tips to give a business gift the right way.
1. WHAT SHOULD YOU GIVE?
While it might be tempting to send promotional giveaways with your logo on them, those will feel more like a sales pitch and less like a gift. Instead, give something that’s more about the recipient’s enjoyment than about your own company. Also, it’s best to avoid gifts that are overly personal, too generic, or gag gifts (or anything that could be embarrassing).
Remember to keep professionalism in mind.
While you may choose various types of gifts over time, a great go-to for the business world is a food gift. This offers something that anyone could enjoy without you needing to know too much about personal tastes, and it’s also a great option for a group. Of course, we recommend some of our handcrafted gourmet Scottish shortbread, which comes in a beautiful gift box for the perfect presentation.
2. WHEN SHOULD YOU SEND IT?
While you’re not required to constantly give gifts, there are certain situations that are perfect for a gift of thanks or acknowledgement. Consider a gift for the holidays, yet keep in mind that not everyone celebrates the same holidays. You may want to consider an end-of-year gift of thanks instead, which could have the bonus of keeping your gift from getting lost in the shuffle of corporate gifts.
Beyond holidays, there are many other occasions for giving in the business world. For professional gifts, you might give something after completing a project, to thank a guest speaker, or to acknowledge a job well done, for example. You can also give personal gifts for occasions such as a wedding or a new baby.
Overall, you can give a gift any time certain sentiments are in order. For example, if you have the chance to tell someone thanks, congratulations, happy holidays, or another important sentiment, consider sending a gift to express it.
3. WHO’S GIVING AND RECEIVING IT?
Etiquette determines certain rules and expectations based on the giver and the recipient, most notably between managers and employees. In the business world, managers may give employees gifts from time to time. Generally, they would keep gift-giving to those they directly supervise, while they could give smaller gifts or a gift meant for the group if they manage a large number of people.
On the flip side, employees generally do not need a gift for a manager, although they may decide to give one for certain occasions such as holidays. Ideally, these should be reasonably priced, simple gifts, while a more expensive gift could be acceptable if the team pools together to give the gift together.
With gifts going outside the company, consider things like cultural factors that may dictate gift-giving etiquette. When in doubt, do some research.
4. ARE THERE CORPORATE POLICIES?
Before you choose and send a gift, make sure you’re following any gift-giving policies your company may have on the matter. If you’re not sure, find out before you do anything. Your company may have specific guidelines on the gifts to give or gift parameters for types of recipients, how much you can spend, occasions for giving, and so on.
If your company doesn’t have anything laid out, go back to etiquette standards. Of course, you can always run your ideas by a supervisor before giving anything. There may also be certain expectations or norms that are specific to your industry, so keep those in mind when gifting.
Overall, food gifts can make some of the best business gifts for a range of occasions. If you’re looking for the perfect food gift, browse our gourmet Scottish shortbread that we hand-make from a long-standing family recipe and package in a decorative box to help your business make just the right impression.