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CORPORATE GIFTS & AWARDS APPLICATIONS
In addition to their traditional use around holiday seasons, gifts have
many other applications in business.
Employee recognition. Many companies do not use awards with certain
categories of employees for fear of igniting harmful competition among
employees or because they are unable to single out an individual's
incremental performance in a clearly measurable way. Instead, companies often
give managers a discretionary budget that may be spent on awards to
recognize employees for exceptional behavior. Actions worthy of special
recognition include taking unusual action to please a customer, putting
in long hours to complete a project on time, making a cost-saving or
productivity-enhancing suggestion, or completing a big sale.
Some executives would argue that such actions are expected as part of
an employee's job and should be rewarded at performance-review time.
Yet, the evidence suggests that carefully timed and appropriate corporate
awards not only make people feel appreciated for their performance but
increase the chances that they will feel good about going the extra
mile in the future.
When giving awards for special performance, make sure that the gift is
appropriate to the employee receiving it and that the presentation is
made in a personal and, if possible, public forum. The recipient and his
or her colleagues must know why the award is being presented. Publicity
in the company newsletter or even an announcement in the lunchroom
ensures that people know the types of behaviors the organization wants to
promote.
Gifts also are awarded to employees for years of service.
Customers. With today's increased emphasis on corporate ethics, you
must scrutinize not only the gift and the recipients but the nature of the
presentation. After you've determined those clients who can accept
gifts, think carefully about the gift and how it's going to be given. If
you ship gifts to recipients, you miss an invaluable opportunity to
reinforce the relationship between your sales force and your customers.
Gifts have the most impact when presented personally by the people in
contact with your customers. Imagine the surprise when your customer gets a
gift from their customer service representative!
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Consumers. Merchandise or noncash awards given to consumers usually
fall under the category of premiums or awards associated with sweepstakes
and games. The idea is to spur behavior by making an offer. In
contrast, gifts reward consumers after the fact, and the aim is to surprise the
customer and build long-term loyalty. Thus the key to using consumer
gifts is to have a specific strategy and to target customers whose volume
you can track over time. Example: A supermarket chain wants to increase
usage of its preferred-customer card so it can track its customers'
purchase patterns more precisely. It has offered incentives to get people
to sign up and use the card, but usage has begun to trail off. As part
of its effort to keep up interest in the card, the supermarket sends
out a surprise gift with a thank-you letter from the president to all
shoppers who have used the card to purchase more than $500 in groceries in
a month.
Vendors. During the heyday of the total-quality craze in the 1980s,
companies recognized the importance of building close relationships with
suppliers. The trend continues today, as manufacturers and retailers
alike depend upon just-in-time deliveries and companies of all types
demand the best service for the lowest price. Despite these concerns,
surveys generally show that vendors are among the least likely in business to
receive gifts. If your company depends on excellent service from a few
vendors, you may be surprised by the long-term impact of sending a few
awards not only to your customer service representative but, if
possible, to the people who do the work.
The media. Most daily newspapers and many consumer magazines have
strict policies about giving gifts to editors and reporters, but they are
often overlooked if the gift is simple, tasteful, and appropriately timed
so that it doesn't look like a bribe. A small, imaginative gift sent
with a press release will increase the chances of your message being
read, and that could translate into greater coverage. Sometimes, the best
time to offer a small gift is with a letter of thanks after a good story
or on a special occasion for a journalist, such as a major career
milestone. Be wary of sending gifts to consumer journalists whom you or your
public relations people do not know personally. The gift could backfire
by creating the wrong impression.
Government officials. Many businesses depend upon good working
relations with government, regulatory bodies, or town officials. When
regulatory officials or politicians are involved, proceed with great care.
However, when it's a question of municipal workers who perform services such
as trash pickup for your business, a special gift at holiday time often
earns a year's worth of more attentive service.
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