How to use corporate gift to increase sales

How to use corporate gifts to increase sales???

   

 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.

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

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:

·         Calendars

·         Diaries

·         Pens

·        

New kind of gifts includes:

·         Power banks

·         Pen drives

·         Gift sets( that includes key chains, pens, diaries )

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:

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.

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.

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.

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.

How to choose right vendor?

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:

·         Easily accessible

·         Delivery on time

·         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”!

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
.

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.

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.

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone. Author does not make any representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.