All The Things That Can Go Wrong When Buying a Corporate Gift... and Why a Food Hamper is the Answer

Ah, corporate gift giving. It’s a slippery, slippery slope. Maybe the holidays are approaching, or you’re hoping to impress a shiny new client, or your employees have been tearing out individual eyebrow hairs in the stress to meet a deadline – but it’s time to treat the people you work with. The trouble is, your vendors are unlikely to be as forgiving as your family when you leave the planning to the last minute and ironically send them all socks, and they may not find the humour in the personalised scrapbook of their journey at the company (a polaroid from their first disciplinary meeting, another from the last office Christmas party). It can be
easy to assume that because your corporate relationships aren’t necessarily personal ones that they don’t require much thought… but corporate gift giving can go south fast, setting the wrong tone for a business partnership, burning bridges or offending the wrong people. You want to make the recipient smile and feel their business is valued, not leave a bad taste in their mouth.

Luckily for you, our team at Pretty Green has your back when it comes to corporate gift giving for your clients, colleagues or employees. Here are a few mistakes you can avoid on the road to finding the perfect professional present to save yourself the embarrassment of maybe screwing it up, and your receptionist from sorting through any hate mail with your favourite B2B’s logo on it…. And how maybe, just maybe, one of our food hampers is the perfect solution to your corporate gift giving dilemmas.

#1 Gifting just because it's expected - why not surprise and delight?

The whole point of gifting the people in your work life is to strengthen that bond and connection – and doing so during the holiday period, when everyone is already thinking about presents and giving a gift is almost expected, ends up defeating the purpose. Letting your company know how much you appreciate them on a simple Tuesday is unexpected, thoughtful, touching. But adding just another present under their tree? – your message will just get lost between all the wrapping paper, events, e-mails from every store they’ve ever visited and general end-of-year kerfuffle. That’s not to say you shouldn’t give around Christmastime, but you want to gift people who have supported your business and helped you
thrive along the way, and you don’t need to wait for December to do that.

#2 Be aware of religious or cultural differences

The other oft-unconsidered factor about reserving gifts for the festive season is the assumption that the recipient even celebrates Christmas or a similar holiday, and the last thing you want to do is offend them or come off as ignorant. For example, maybe your client is Jewish and instead celebrates Hanukah, or your business partner is Chinese and therefore celebrates Christmas and New Year at a later date. Pay attention to religious beliefs and backgrounds, or just avoid making assumptions in general by making a habit of showing your appreciation throughout the calendar year as well as the holiday season. And do you know what never gets old? Food. I mean, food gets old, and can go off if you leave it too long, but… you get what we mean. You can replenish all sorts of wildly different, yummy bits and bobs so your gift is unique and exciting every time, and there’s always something new to try.

We have an extensive collection of food hampers that extend far beyond just the basic Christmas theme, so you can send all kinds of wonderful gifts all year round – and dodge the dilemma of trying to ascertain each recipients individual beliefs. A thoughtful hamper is wonderful to receive at any time and any month and is thematically pretty broad and general. Problem solved.

#3 Spending too little... or too much

Being a cheapskate is a bad look, but so is looking like you’re trying to go in for a bribe. Maybe you're just trying to show your gratitude for your intern for always nailing your coffee order, but it can make people pretty uncomfortable when you gift them with a 24-karat diamond ring. Can’t imagine why. They may feel obligated to spend as much in return, feel as if they owe you somehow, or suspect you may be trying to persuade them or bribe them… definitely not what you want when you’re just trying to tell your colleagues you appreciate them. Overly lavish and extravagant gifts? Save it for the dog. Bedazzle that kennel. He deserves it. For a potential new client when you're in a bidding process or discussing a potential new deal? Could potentially sabotage the relationship.

On the flip side, going overly budget-friendly is tacky at best and thoughtless at worst. Of course, you want to give only what you and your team can afford and work within your spending limits, but, like we said, we’re sure you can do better than socks. If you feel constrained by budget, you can heighten the emotional connection aspect by adding a touch of personalisation, such as a note or a specific product relevant to the recipient. Pretty Green understands that personalisation and speaking directly to your fellow employees to express your appreciation can really strengthen the foundation of your professional relationships which is why we offer the ability to send personalised, handwritten notes along in our delectable selection of food hampers which, by the way, cover a large range of prices for all your budget allowances.

That’s just scratching the surface of what can go wrong with buying corporate gifts, and not even touching on the menial and mundane errors like getting one of your team’s address wrong or getting people’s presents mixed up or misspelling someone’s name. This is why a food hamper can be the answer – classic, professional, sustainable and delectable, it’s a gift the addressee can actually use and enjoy, instead of another crappy pen with a logo on it or a calendar they’ll never use. With endless options of hampers to fit your company’s vibe, ranging from gourmet and luxury to minimal and tasteful, we assemble our organic Australian produce to make the perfect present for corporate gift giving – and saving you from stuffing it all up.