Think early about customer gifts
By Joyce M. Rosenberg
Associated Press
NEW YORK — Although the holiday season might seem like it's far away at this point, savvy small business owners are already thinking about gifts and other ways to thank their customers and suppliers.
Many don't plan to wait until December, and don't plan to send coffee mugs, pens or greeting cards.
Margie Fisher says she sends her gifts out right before Thanksgiving, so they don't end up in a pile of packages delivered at the height of the season.
"My things stand out," said Fisher, who runs a public relations firm under her name in Boca Raton, Fla. "It works very well for me. They seem to appreciate it."
Fisher also looks for unique and interesting gifts, sometimes using products or services sold by one of her clients — beauty items from a spa service, for example.
Other company owners agree that sending holiday gifts early — and choosing gifts creatively — goes a long way toward cementing good business relations. And businesses shouldn't look on gifts as just some trinket; they should be looked on as a marketing tool.
"It's very important when the company thinks about what the gift is, to be strategically and is thoughtful about it," said Samantha Ettus, president of Ettus Media Management, a public relations and branding consulting firm in New York.
A gift should help remind customers what a company's products and services are about, Ettus said. She advises clients to keep in mind that their competitors are also trying to be unique in gift-giving.
Ettus recalled a client, a restructuring firm, that gave as a gift a set of wooden blocks that recalled the company's mission to rebuild struggling businesses. Recipients kept the blocks on their desks, making them a constant reminder of the giver.
Traditional gifts such as a jar of chocolate kisses aren't necessarily wrong; they just might not be effective in marketing, she said.
Companies like insurance firms might be at a loss for how to market themselves through a gift. Ettus suggested an insurer could give customers a lock as a reminder of security. And if the insurer really does want to give chocolates, give them in a lock-shaped box, she said.
Instead of sending gifts, some businesses opt for parties. They also have a chance to do them early, and do them creatively.
Unreal Marketing Solutions, an Internet advertising agency in Narberth, Pa., holds its party the night before Thanksgiving.
The company invites customers and vendors, and has a two-hour open bar.
Holding a party early in the season means more people are likely to show up, since their calendars aren't booked solid with other commitments.
Many companies just send greeting cards. They need to keep in mind that cards can end up in an unopened stack, defeating the purpose of being noticed and acknowledged by customers.
