How to use corporate gifts to increase sales???
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We all know that
sales primarily depend on various factors and it cannot be achieved if you are
blindly following just few methods which directly benefit you. There are
several indirect methods which can be used to increase sales; one of them is
corporate gifting. Many people don’t understand the importance of corporate
gifting and they just keep limiting it as a behaviour of ethics. There is a
direct relationship between sales and corporate gifting. The more you give, the
more you will get formula goes here.
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| Relationship between corporate gifts and sales We will cover this article in following segments: |
1.
Relationship
between business expansion & corporate gifts
2.
How
do companies make budget for corporate gifting
3.
How
to choose the right vendor
4.
How
to choose right gift
5.
Measuring
the success
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| Steps in corporate gifting |
Corporate gifting covers every part of business. There are
three aspects of that. We have majorly divided it in three groups’ i.e.
employees, clients and market. If you want to know how to identify right kind
of gift read our another article about how to identify unique corporate gift.
Employees: Employees recognition is very important in any
organisation. Employees always eagerly wait for corporate gifts and by
providing right kind of gift you can make them happy and a happy employee would
work efficiently.
There are several kinds of corporate gifts available for
employees like awards, trophies, mugs, sippers and they are pocket friendly
also.
Clients: Corporate gifting is important for
clients as it gives them a brand recall. Whenever there is any meeting with
your important clients and you don’t want them to forget about your company
easily you can give them customised gifts like power banks, pen drives etc so
that they can remember you for the long time.
Now there are two types of gifts that are available for
clients which are old kind of and new kind of
Old kind of gifts includes:
·
Diaries
·
Pens
·
New kind
of gifts includes:
·
Power
banks
·
Pen
drives
·
Gift
sets( that includes key chains, pens, diaries )
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| New corporate gifting ideas |
Obviously
new kind of gifts are more appealing and trending in the market as it increases
the value of the firm’s in the eyes of clients.
Market: Market includes the third most
important sector for any organization i.e. consumer. Corporate gifting, again,
can give consumer a brand recall.
For example
hoarding might cost you around 2-2.5 lacs per month for advertising and it is
also an indirect way of promoting your brand. But in case of corporate gifting
you can promote your brand by spending 5 times lesser amount than hoardings and
it also leads to direct contact with the target audience.
So, all
these factors show the relationship between corporate gifting and sales, and
also explains the role of corporate gifting in any business organization.
How do companies make gift budgets?
Now there are three methods by which any company decides
its budget:
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| Budget steps for companies |
ATL Marketing Definition
'ATL Marketing' stands for 'Above The Line Marketing'. This kind of marketing is the kind of marketing that has a very broad reach and is largely untargeted. Think about a national TV campaign, where viewers across the nation see the same advert aired across the various networks.
This kind of marketing is mostly used for building brand awareness and goodwill.
'ATL Marketing' stands for 'Above The Line Marketing'. This kind of marketing is the kind of marketing that has a very broad reach and is largely untargeted. Think about a national TV campaign, where viewers across the nation see the same advert aired across the various networks.
This kind of marketing is mostly used for building brand awareness and goodwill.
An example of Above The Line marketing would be a television campaign
run by a cereal company. The ad would be aired across the nation, with every
viewer seeing the exact same message. As mentioned above, this kind of
marketing would be used to build general brand and awareness of the business
and/or it's products over the long term as well as goodwill.
BTL Marketing Definition
'BTL Marketing' stands for 'Below The Line Marketing'. This kind of marketing is the kind of marketing that targets specific groups of people with focus. For example, a leaflet drop in a specific area, a Google Ad words campaign targeting a certain group or a direct telemarketing campaign targeting specific businesses.
This kind of marketing is best for conversions and direct.
'BTL Marketing' stands for 'Below The Line Marketing'. This kind of marketing is the kind of marketing that targets specific groups of people with focus. For example, a leaflet drop in a specific area, a Google Ad words campaign targeting a certain group or a direct telemarketing campaign targeting specific businesses.
This kind of marketing is best for conversions and direct.
The same cereal company
could also run a direct marketing campaign in a large city, targeting commuters
on the way to work. They might offer free cereal samples along with vouchers
that could be used in a local store. This would be a strategy designed to
target a specific group of people and to try and encourage quick purchases, or
conversions.
TTL
Marketing Definition
'TTL Marketing' stands for 'Through The Line Marketing'. This kind of marketing is really an integrated approach, where a company would use both BTL and ATL marketing methods to reach their customer base and generate conversions. It might seem obvious, although not all marketing campaigns are like this - some are ATL only and some are BTL only (it would be much more common to see a BTL-only marketing campaign in practice though).
This kind of marketing delivers both a wide reach and a focus on conversions.
'TTL Marketing' stands for 'Through The Line Marketing'. This kind of marketing is really an integrated approach, where a company would use both BTL and ATL marketing methods to reach their customer base and generate conversions. It might seem obvious, although not all marketing campaigns are like this - some are ATL only and some are BTL only (it would be much more common to see a BTL-only marketing campaign in practice though).
This kind of marketing delivers both a wide reach and a focus on conversions.
In this example, a pizza
company could launch a nationwide Youtube campaign that would show different
video ads to different users according to where the users lived, featuring a
promotional code for a discount on purchases made at their local outlet.
Are they relevant to small
businesses?
It would be relevant to small businesses, depending on the business, the type of product they have and the target audience they have in mind. For example, BTL marketing can sometimes be the best solution for a small business serving a local catchment area.
However, the most ideal solution for the average small business owner that's trying to serve a wider area, then TTL marketing is the most relevant idea these days.
It would be relevant to small businesses, depending on the business, the type of product they have and the target audience they have in mind. For example, BTL marketing can sometimes be the best solution for a small business serving a local catchment area.
However, the most ideal solution for the average small business owner that's trying to serve a wider area, then TTL marketing is the most relevant idea these days.
How to choose right vendor?
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| How to select right vendor |
Before doing anything in
rush, it is always preferred to do some research work first and there is an
important aspect in corporate gifting i.e. choosing the vendor. There are
several factors by which a firm can choose the right vendor by going through
these points. To make sure the vendor you choose is
the best one to provide the service or product you need, use these steps.
Proximity: Nearness in
location is important while selecting vendor, as there are several benefits if
the vendor that you are dealing with lives within 10 kms from your office
location.
Benefits:
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Easily accessible
·
Delivery on time
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Can meet whenever you want
So location
is a vital factor whenever you choose a vendor.
Samples:
Before finalizing any vendor you must carefully observe the quality of the
samples given by vendor and you can also ask them about the customizing
process. Samples also tell about the type of material that the vendor is going
to offer.
Behavior and promptness in reply : The behavior of vendor also determines the worthiness of his selection. If he is taking the things for granted then he is not the one you should select. The vendor should be humble, polite, down to earth and responsible. Always an important part of any relationship. What is the availability of ordering and help staff? Are they cordial, professional and easy to contact. No one likes hanging on the end of the phone being told by a machine, “your call is important to us”!
Behavior and promptness in reply : The behavior of vendor also determines the worthiness of his selection. If he is taking the things for granted then he is not the one you should select. The vendor should be humble, polite, down to earth and responsible. Always an important part of any relationship. What is the availability of ordering and help staff? Are they cordial, professional and easy to contact. No one likes hanging on the end of the phone being told by a machine, “your call is important to us”!
How much
quick response do the vendor give also helps you to decide whether you like
their services or not.
Feedback of
vendor:
Another tool you can utilise with suppliers is a self-assessment questionnaire. The supplier self-assessment can be used to identify performance gaps, as well as discover how the supplier understands their own operation.
In addition to audits and assessments, it also is beneficial to monitor informative metrics that direct value to the business. You should discuss and select the appropriate metrics with suppliers to receive their input and understanding of purposeful measurements. Examples of these metrics include rejected lots, perfect shipments and documentation errors. The metrics selected should measure the total cost of ownership, as well as improve performance toward the maximum finished product performance
.
Another tool you can utilise with suppliers is a self-assessment questionnaire. The supplier self-assessment can be used to identify performance gaps, as well as discover how the supplier understands their own operation.
In addition to audits and assessments, it also is beneficial to monitor informative metrics that direct value to the business. You should discuss and select the appropriate metrics with suppliers to receive their input and understanding of purposeful measurements. Examples of these metrics include rejected lots, perfect shipments and documentation errors. The metrics selected should measure the total cost of ownership, as well as improve performance toward the maximum finished product performance
.
Experience: It is right that
new business gives new techniques and new ideas, but it involves risk also and does
not provide certainty about future transactions.
So, rather than experimenting
on new vendors with less experience, firm should always go towards companies
which have more experience , like gifting bazaar has experience of over 13
years in providing corporate gifts to institutions.
Ability
to constantly supply products or services: You need your
products and services on a regular basis. A vendor that has supply issues will
affect your ability to supply your customers and this is an important factor
when selecting a vendor.
Flexibility:
All
businesses need to change their orders sometimes – if your vendor heavily
penalises you for doing this – perhaps they are not the one for you and you
need to move on with selecting a vendor.
How do companies make gifting budget?
The PRIDE approach that was discussed in
previous article was the best approach to determine what to buy for different
types of people having different requirements.
If you haven’t read the article then clickhere, to know about the type of corporate gifts and their price range.
Measuring the success
Now after you have spent money, done your
research work and have completed all the tasks related to the campaign successfully,
it is the time for you now to measure your success and you can do it by
following these steps:
Employees feedback: Since all the campaign was
done to keep the staff satisfied, it is the time to get reality check and ask
them about their feedback of the gifts so that you can get an idea whether you
might to take that gift again or was the amount spent is equal to the utility
that employees get.
Clients review: As employees are important, so
are clients. Firm should ask them whether their gift gave them brand recall or
not. Also whether they liked the quality of gift or not, it will help you to
decide your vendor next time.
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| Steps to increase sales |
Conclusion
The whole article suggested how we can
use corporate gift as a tool to increase our sales. By precisely choosing our
vendor and by planning these
steps accordingly success could be achieved .These
tips should help when looking to get a high-value return on your corporate
gifts. In today’s business climate you should take benefit of every possibility
to build and reinforce your business. And no person can afford to spend money
on corporate presents without seeing a positive outcome on their investment. So
getting it right business surprise is even more important.
Author is a
marketing professional in India, Delhi NCR’s leading corporate gift suppliers. www.GiftingBazaar.com . Write to the
author on Feedback@GiftingBazaar.com
or contact on +91.98188.88926.
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