Is it a good idea to give Christmas gifts to clients? It's a tricky one as maybe you or they don't celebrate Christmas, or is a branded pen really a nice gift, or do they really want to have lunch with you?
Gifting for Christmas is an opportunity to wow your clients, though, some may feel uncomfortable around the expense, if the gift has obviously cost a pretty penny. There's no right or wrong way to give. Of course the minimum when wanting to spread Christmas wishes is to send a personalised Christmas card - try Helloprint UK who offer 100 cards from £26.95.
If you really want to explore whether a gift can "buy you business", it's worth reading is Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals and Strengthen Retention.
For the rest of us, I would suggest taking clients out for a team Christmas lunch, a nice hamper from Marks and Spencers or even the fab hamper selection at Aldi.
What about quirky stuff? How about sending clients branded flip flops, or power banks or prosecco lip balm, or a drone?
If you have a team that gets on well with your client team how about an experience day. Paintball or escape rooms sound fun...but then do you let them win? Err no chance!
Looking at it from the other side, I receive gifts from suppliers, usually champagne...though I do think a case of prosecco for the same price is more preferable, so always find out if the client likes red or white, champagne or not, if you are thinking drinks gifts. You can do this earlier in the year, if you want the gift to be a surprise.
Finally, if you dont have a gifting policy or your clients are not allowed to receive gifts (think public sector), then don't worry about it. While it's nice to do, you are running a business, so it's not a must do!
