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When giving a gift give something that you would like to receive. Too many times companies will give away low quality gifts. When your customer receives a low quality gift from you they may perceive that all you have or do is low quality.

If your customer is willing to take time to drive past your competition and come to your store, surf past the thousands of web sites and spam ads to spend their hard earned dollars with you, then you need to take the time to put some thought and yes even some expense into a gift for them. Think of it as an investment toward future business.

Remember that a discount to your business is not a gift. A true gift is something that the recipient is happy to receive and does not have to spend any money or do any other thing to receive it. If you can give a gift that the recipient gets to choose, even better. If they choose it they will use it. It has become something that they want not something they were stuck with.

You want your customers to be excited about the gift they receive. You want them to brag about it. You want them to use it, display it and tell their friends about it.

When you promote your business using gifts you are getting a much better return for your advertising dollar. It won’t be a 30 second commercial or a discarded print ad, it will be the gift on their desk, in their kitchen or den that continuously reminds them of you. So when they need your type of product or service it will be you they think of first.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

Let me guess – your first thought was most likely about how much money it’s going to cost you… If you are like most people, you may look at the value of a gift in terms of price. Is it cheap or is it expensive. There is more to it than that.

Let me assure you that there is no single perfect gift. Defining what is considered the right gift can be a difficult task and will have as many variables as their are gift givers, gift recipients, situations, occasions, the list goes on. In order to make a great gift selection, you will want to consider the following:

• Who is the gift for?
• What is the occasion?
• What are the recipients preferences?
• What is your target price range?
• What is your relationship with the recipient?
• What message do you want to convey?

There could be a myriad of others…  but this list is a great start.  Once you have taken the time to gather the answers to these questions, the next step is to brainstorm some ideas – either on your own or with a trusted friend or associate.  You’ve heard the saying, “it’s the thought that counts”.  If you take the time to put thought and consideration into your gift purchase, you will do fine.  Often it’s the thought that goes into the selection process that makes the gift the right choice.

About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

While I primarily tend to write about building relationships, gift giving etiquette, etc., I would be remiss if I neglected the other side of the coin -the person getting the gift. Whenever someone gives a gift, awards a prize or offers an incentive there is a recipient on the other end. And although the phrase “It is better to give than to receive” clearing points towards the person doing the giving, it is equally important to be a gracious receiver.

How are you doing in this area? If you are generally someone who likes to give gifts, you are probably less comfortable on the receiving end. However, some of the tips below will be very easy for you. If you are the one who just loves being on the receiving side of a gift, you may have more of a challenge giving back. Either way, you should always express your gratitude. You don’t need to prepare a long dissertation, two words will do: Thank You.

A hand written thank you note or card is always best. This lets the person that sent the gift know that you received and appreciated it. A card also adds a personal touch and could easily end up being a keepsake. If you’re just not a card sender, that’s okay, but at least pick up the phone and give them a ring.

Also, don’t be ungrateful when you receive a gift. It shouldn’t even have to be said. Just say thank you. Even if it’s the wrong style, wrong color, wrong size, wrong whatever… Even if you don’t like it at all you should at least be thankful that someone cared enough to give it to you. A gracious receiver is genuinely appreciative and would never look a gift horse in the mouth.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

Imagine… Your name was just called, you are the lucky winner of the raffle, you rush to the front of the room to claim your prize. It’s an envelope and you wonder what’s inside as you excitedly walk back to your seat. You can’t wait to open it to see what you won. Is it a gift certificate to a restaurant, a gift card to a local store??? Guess again – it’s a discount on products or services…

If you’re like most, your mood just went from happy and excited to disappointed. You went from winning a special prize to getting a discount. If you are lucky, it just might be for something you were planning to purchase anyway. However, that’s not usually the case – now, to claim your ‘prize’ you have to spend money you had no intention of spending to get your reward. Or… you do nothing and you won nothing – bummer. What a waste!

Now let’s look at this same scenario from another angle. You are representing your company or the one you work for. You are the person giving the door prize away – you need to market your business, right? Offering a discount or credit towards a purchase will bring in a sale. What’s the problem?

The problem is not in offering a discount or a credit towards a purchase, these are great ways to market your business. The problem lies is using a discount as a gift. Gifts are just that – gifts. They should not require the recipient to have to do anything in order to get their gift, especially not have to spend more money. They should not have strings attached.

Giveaways, raffles and door prizes are a marketing expense and need to be treated as such. When marketing your business the last thing you want is for a potential customer to go from being excited about receiving something from you to sheer disappointment. Obviously this is not good for business.

Invest the time, and the money, into selecting gifts that people will want to receive. Choose something that will have them go from excited about winning to ‘Wow! This is really cool!’ While it’s true that offering a ‘cool’ gift does not guarantee the recipient will ever do business with you, they will talk about what they received. They will tell their friends. They will remember. And that is good for business.
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About The Author:

Sally Liddicoat is a Wife, Mother, Speaker and the Founder & CEO of AttaBoy! Solutions. Her goal is to help businesses increase sales, generate ongoing referrals, strengthen relationships and create loyal customers and employees through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.

Contact Sally

Giving gifts in the business environment is different from giving them to your friends and family. The best way to give a business gift is to do so in person whenever possible. This makes your gift appear more sincere, and shows effort and consideration. If you can’t deliver the gift personally, at least make sure you’re giving the gift to the right person or persons. If your contact is a manager but most of your business is done with the administrative assistant, get a small gift for both. You should be showing appreciation to those who deserve it!

Make sure you offer the gift at the appropriate time. When celebrating an achievement or milestone, don’t let too much time pass between the event and the delivery of the gift. This makes you appear lazy and demonstrates a lack of respect for the people you’re trying to recognize. If you’re giving gifts for holidays or special events, try to space it out a bit and give it early. You don’t want your gift lost in a crowd so pick a time to give when it will stand out.

Finally, don’t forget to personalize the gift. Include a card, and if there are multiple recipients, note each person on that card so all individuals feels recognized. If you’re giving a gift from a group, make sure that each giver signs the card. You want to be using the gift-giving opportunity to establish personal relationships with other professionals and need to avoid coming across as careless.
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About The Author:

	Mike Liddicoat is a Husband, Father, Speaker and the Sales & Marketing Director of AttaBoy! Solutions. His goal is to help businesses maintain relationships, ensure future business and acquire new referrals through appreciation marketing. Throughout this blog you can sign up for updates, news, special offers, discounts and more. So take a look around, leave a comment or two and enjoy.
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