Corporate Gifts for Men Can Create Goodwill
Corporate
gifts can be a
potentially valuable gesture of goodwill. The practice has proven to
strengthen relationships and promote mutual benefits. And there are
many gifts for men that cover the range of needs and interests in the
corporate sector.
It’s important, however, to avoid the pitfalls that await those who
rush to get the job done without considering corporate gift etiquette.
Here are some of those pitfalls:
- Buy the wrong gift and you may have created bad will rather
than goodwill, or you may have achieved nothing of what you hoped. At
the least, the money will have been ill spent. At
the worst – well, what’s the price of lost business or prestige?
- Buy a gift for someone whose company forbids such exchanges
and you will come off looking insensitive at
best.
- Spend too much and you may appear to be unethical. You do
not want to be perceived – ever – as offering a
bribe or a payback.
- Present a gift in the wrong context and you may make things
worse, rather than better.
How to Steer Clear of Corporate Gift Mistakes
- Think carefully about what you hope to
achieve with your corporate gift, because you can bet that the
recipient and others who know about the event will make their own
assessment of your motives.
- Never provide a gift during a bidding
process, lest you be accused of bribery. Typical appropriate occasions
include birthdays, retirements, holidays, weddings, and celebrations of
promotions, new positions or office openings.
- Ensure you know the rules of the
company you’re dealing with. If gift giving or receiving is forbidden,
stay clear of it.
- Consider how much spending is
appropriate to the relationship you have with the person or persons.
Gifts in the $50 range are not uncommon, though they can go higher or
lower depending on the situation and your budget. If you spend more
than $150 on someone, be sure that everything lines up: the right
occasion, the right person, the right rules.
- Ensure that the gift matches the
position and profession of the intended recipient.
- Ensure you know the recipient well
enough to avoid giving offense because of cultural or religious views.
Avoid intimate gifts. You don’t want to be perceived as someone
becoming too familiar.
- Be clear on what corporate gifts are
appropriate to the situation. Typically, the more personalized the
better. If you know the interests and tastes of someone, you will make
an impression by matching those with a gift.
Unless you’re engaged in a
marketing campaign or seeking to enhance a
sense of team within your own organization, gifts showing your
corporate logo likely won’t be well received.
Humorous gifts are a danger area. Not that there’s anything wrong with
them. There’s a lot that’s right. But you must ensure that the humor
will be well received because it is tasteful. Gag gifts are more
appropriate to social occasions.
Corporate Gifts Come in Three Basic Varieties:
- Office gifts: for those within your
own place of employment.
- Business gifts: for those outside your
place of employment.
- Executive gifts: for higher echelon
individuals inside or outside your organization.
With either of them, you must
ensure you know
the rules and
expectations, and they can vary widely. Click on the relevant category
below for some thoughts to ponder, and some gift recommendations.
Corporate
Gifts -- Office
Gifts
Business
Gifts
Executive
Gifts