Old School vs. New School
Joanne and I are great believers in the personal touch to set yourself and your organization apart. When it comes to client gifting, personalizing a gift is key.
Old School?
It’s an old saying but it’s still true – it’s the thought that counts. Clients feel honoured when you make the effort to send a gift that mean something to them. An expensive generic gift doesn’t make the same impact. Click here for our Client Gifting Ideas Tips sheet.
New School gifting
More people are using the Internet to send gifts to clients and friends. The principles of gifting haven’t changed but the delivery has. Here is an interesting selection of Canadian and American ‘new school’ gifting web site ideas. (Some of the new mobile app versions aren’t Canadian friendly yet.)
Wine and Beer of the Month
For the gift that keeps giving, a subscription to a wine of the month club is a terrific option. For a slightly more down market gift, a beer of the month club subscription (I wouldn’t say no to either). Both are available at amazingclubs.ca along with a tantalizing choice of consumable monthly club items from barbecue sauce to olive oil. Every month that they receive their gift, they’ll think of you.
Facebook Friends
Facebook has been trying to come up with a gifting store that makes gift suggestions based on social media likes and dislikes.
Now a Swedish company, Wrapp, has beaten them to the punch. Wrapp lets you send free and paid gift cards to Facebook friends. (Their site indicates it will soon to be available for Canada). Gift-giving on Wrapp is “social” (read cheaper for gifts from a group) because others can go in on the gift card with their own contributions.
If you use Yelp, you’ll like Giftly
Giftly sounds like a neat idea. You can give a Giftly for any item or experience, at any place, for any amount, and send it instantly from your smartphone. Make a Giftly for dinner at the recipient’s local restaurant, a sweater from a boutique near them, or even ice cream at a nearby park, or all of the above.
You enter the location and type of business, such as restaurant, clothing store, etc. Giftly searches the Yelp! database for the highest rated businesses in the recipient’s area to offer suggestions. (We love yelp for it’s restaurant reviews.)
As a recipient, all you need to do is go and buy the intended gift at the place chosen by the gifter. You don’t need to show anything to the merchant. After you buy your gift, you use the mobile web app and they credit the gifted amount directly to your credit card. (Giftly told me that Canadian merchants are included but Canadians need a US issued credit card at this time.)
Re-gifters
I know you are out there. You just never know when you’re going to get caught. If you’ve ever regifted or thought of regifting – click here to watch the hilarious Seinfeld regifting video. (Note for Breaking Bad fans, see if you recognize Tim Whatley.)
We’re still old school and so are many of your clients
Some of us are still ‘old school’. We still think personalized gifts are the way to go but the above ideas take ‘gift cards’ to a new level.
What gifting services have you used and what gifts have really stood out for you?