Show Some Love: 5 Client Gift Ideas to Inspire!
Move over pink hearts and chocolate – we’ve got this whole gift thing covered. If thinking up and executing inspired client gifts has you a little stumped each year, fear no more. We’re here with our best tips and tricks to help you show your clients how much you adore them!
Now, when thinking about client appreciation, often that gets slotted into the holiday and new year season. While we love a great end of year gift as much as the next guy, we want to shout from the rooftops that there’s really no bad time to show some love.
Your clients will feel thought of and appreciated by the spontaneous, unexpected gestures you make throughout the year.
Ready to really make an impact? Surprise them with a Starbucks gift card in their inbox on their birthday. Send a text celebrating a milestone or achievement in their lives or business. And send them a little “thinking of you” gift on unexpected occasions – like Valentines Day!
Okay, so first step in gifting ninja status – determine what your goal is.
Think about what you want to communicate! Our words and actions carry meaning, and even small gestures translate into a take away for your client. Think about how you want them to feel, what you want them to determine about your brand, and how you want your relationship to progress.
Based on your goal, you get down to the fun stuff.
Provide them with something they’ll love
Show them that you know them. They are not just a number to you! You know that they love to read, to cook, to adventure, to drink tea. Whatever it is that lights them up, you know it (because you are amazing, btw).
A great route to go in this category is subscription boxes! We love to gift Book of the Month Club to our reader friends. They have gift subscriptions available in 3 month, 6 month, and 12 month allotments, so you have plenty of flexibility. And it’s the gift that keeps on giving, as your client will get to pick out a new book each month for the duration of their subscription. Each time they will be reminded of you!
Other favorites include wine clubs like First Leaf and Earthlove, a seasonal, sustainable, and an eco-friendly gift box.
And our best tip? We ask our clients about their favorite things when they sign their contract so we always have their favorite color, drink order, and more on hand for easy gifting!
Provide them with something that reminds them of you
Intersect your brand with their life, but in a practical and fun way! We love designing our own products with our brand logo or tagline. In the past we’ve created anything from magnets to playing cards (aren’t they cuteeee??), journals to drinkware. We’ve even done tee-shirts one year! Anything functional and beautiful works here – you just want them to actually use it and love it!
Provide them with something that helps you work together
Chances are, you’re not sitting in a physical office with your clients anymore, but that doesn’t mean you can’t build great relationships. Gifting that enables your work together is a great way to strengthen that connection. Think journals, pens, earbud cases, screen wipes, tote bags, and tumblers. These could be branded or not!
Provide them with something that further demonstrates your shared values
Donate to a charity they love in their name. Buy a gift from a store they support–there are so many phenomenal mission-driven businesses out there where our support is more than the bottom line. Or, gift locally and write a little card about it. Clients will feel the love of connecting over the uniqueness of your place. And add in a small gift for their kiddos or pets. It’s the little things that speak big time!
Provide them with something that conveys a theme in your brand
Last up, pick a theme and roll with it! We love getting a little theatrical over here at The Design Lab, so every year we pick out a theme for our client gifts and then…go crazy.
One year it was “The Five Senses,” with gifts for each sense tucked into a box with a little poem about each. Another year it was “Drink it in,” and we gifted multi-colored drink carafes (again with a silly note, you see that theme?).
Your theme could be anything from a color to a quote to a memory – just have fun and let the creativity flow! Tip: sometimes forced restraints like a theme actually unlocks creativity too.
So there you have it, our top tips and go-to ideas for showing our people how much we care. We’d love to hear from you – how are you gifting good this year? Leave us a comment below and check out other posts here!
