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NEW YORK – Small-business owners with cash-flow problems might be tempted during the difficult holiday season to forgo gifts for clients or customers.
However, gifts selected with care convey to customers how important they are and how much an owner will continue to value their relationship going forward.
They also don’t have to break the bank. They can be small but still be meaningful. Or an owner can splurge on just a few of his or her biggest customers.
Many company owners see holiday gifts as an investment in their companies, one that will continue to pay off as business gets better.
Even in a difficult economy, Terri Slater doesn’t think it’s a good idea to stint on client gifts.
“I know it’s rough out there and people are cutting back, but this is one area where you really say, you can’t afford to” stop giving, said Slater, who runs Healthy Lifestyle Publicity, based in Boca Raton, Fla. “I think it’s important to acknowledge the people you work with and who are contributing to your success.”
The pens, mugs and calendars that used to be staples of companies’ gift-giving have been falling out of favor in recent years, and cost is just one reason.
Many small-business owners have tried in recent years to give clients and customers gifts that help build or cement a relationship, and a mug or a pen just doesn’t do that.
Of course, if you run a retail business or a service business like a gas station or dry cleaner, handing out these smaller gifts is more feasible than giving personalized ones (although you might want to make an extra effort for some of your very best customers).
But you might want to give something that your customers will appreciate even more – a discount. Giving customers 10 percent off their dry cleaning bill or a free oil change is a great way to strengthen the relationship with them and keep them coming back.
Some owners are giving gifts that are more than relationship builders. They also help sell a product or service.
Caroline Lubbers has always devoted a great deal of time to finding what she calls cool presents for her marketing firm’s clients. “I’d usually pick different things for different personalities, and it’s very time-consuming,” said Lubbers, of Goldfish Marketing Communications in Chicago.
Not this year.
“I have to work harder, so I have less time to seek things out,” Lubbers said. So she got the idea to make gift baskets that contain the products of her clients, who include specialty food makers. It takes less time than shopping and helps do some marketing for her clients.
A material gift isn’t the only way to go. Some owners have been making donations to charitable organizations rather than buying gifts.
Maureen Rothman used to give traditional gifts like candy or cookies, but this year she’s taking clients to lunch.
“What I’ve done is really focus on the people I have done work with throughout the year and have helped keep my business afloat,” said Rothman, whose Philadelphia firm, Rothman Associates Inc., is a manufacturer’s representative for the furniture industry.
“I really want that one-on-one that I think is more important this year than ever.”
