Corporate gifts, Gifting

6 Golden Tips To Put The ‘PERSONAL’ Back Into Gifting!

We all give and receive gifts 🎁 on different occasions and yet only very few fill us with true delight.

In over two decades of being in the gifting business, I have come across many reasons as to why a certain gift remains to be a favourite with the recipient.

Like Kareena Kapoor in 3 idiots, wears her mother’s watch as a way to carry her memory and feel the connection…my colleague Mala S continues to cherish (even after 20 years) a classic titan watch she received from her first employer for being the best performer. And never fails to smile every time she wears it.

It also reminds me of how I still hold onto the first wallet I received as a Christmas gift from a very dear friend over 22 years ago.

Whether it is a gift you receive from a loved one or a gift from your employer – gifting has always been personal. It is about building connection 🤝 through appreciation. Gifting continues to be a very personal experience.

The irony today is, corporate gifting in particular has become a very commoditized exercise.

So how do you overcome these situations and bring the PERSONAL back into gifting?

Here are a few simple tips that can help you bring the personal back into gifting

1. 👟 Step in their shoes – Think like the recipient. If you were to receive a gift – what kind of a gift would you like? Doing this will actually help you eliminate a lot of options from your list. While there are overwhelming number of gifting options available today, decision making can spiral into a never ending process.

2. 🎁 Utility – Always pick utility over vanity. A gift that offers good utility finds a way to be used by the recipient. This ensures better brand recall and saves our landfills too.

3. 🤑 Best in class quality for that budget – If you have a budget of Rs. x per person, allocate almost 80% of it towards the gift itself. While it is true that a gift needs to be well packaged to create a certain impact, being aware of how much to spend on the gift and its packaging can help you choose wisely. Sometimes the outer packaging takes away a big chunk of your budget, only to be thrown away when the recipient gets the gift. So focus on the percentage and you’ll play safe.

4. 👍 Don’t pick many, pick one – Most people make the mistake of buying 4 to 5 items on a shoe string budget, to show they have given many items. This is a classic reputation spoiler. You end up buying sub standard products that won’t work well, are not of the best quality and the users may not enjoy the experience of owning them. Don’t be someone who wants to show off quantity over quality – you’ll end up losing – almost always.

5. 👍 Don’t give what you won’t use yourself – This is a very big, but mostly ignored cue by many buyers. If you don’t want to be seen using a certain kind of (water bottle, mug, laptop bag, sleeve…) at work, don’t opt for one for your teams – just because it comes at a lower price tag. Pick what you’d be happy to use too.

6. ✍️ Personal note – No matter which gift you pick, always remember to attach a personal note to it. Address the recipient by name and sign it personally. If there are too many recipients, get your signature scanned and printed to deliver the same feel. This one good ritual can help you build strong bridges of connection with your recipients.

No matter how many teams are involved in the gift buying process in an organization, no matter how many options and vendors you go through, no matter how many tight budget options you’ve had to deal with – what matters in the end is the first 7 to 10 seconds of experience that the recipient will go through on opening the gift. It is those seconds that matter the most and help in creating the right impact and making them feel truly special.

Helping you put the personal back into gifting over the last two decades and delivering delight across the globe one smile at a time is what we do at The Giving Tree.

Leena Munot
Co-founder
The Giving Tree