Gift Giving by the Numbers – 6 Proven Benefits of Gifting
Gifting is a brilliant way to compliment someone. But it also comes with a host of additional benefits that you may have overlooked.
Ask any successful businessperson and they’ll tell you not to underestimate the power of motivation - especially when it comes to clients and employees.
In the eye of many an employer, the salary is what motivates the employees to perform their best work. It’s the key driver. But, while it does play an essential role here, it isn’t enough to ensure employee loyalty and get that little bit extra out of your team.
However, as Robert Cialdini cites in his seminal work, “Influence”, there are other, more effective means by which you can generate more goodwill from your employees and clients: by unleashing the power of reciprocity. There are many businesses that understand this and put in the time to select thoughtful gifts for their clients and employees.
Moen, the most prominent faucet brand in America, came up with the near perfect execution here. You may find this gifting idea inspiring.
How the No.1 Faucet Brand in North America Used Corporate Gifts to Wow Clients
Moen launched an innovation and design center in the Merchandise Mart building in downtown Chicago. This center features interactive product displays and demonstrations. It aims to provide an immersive experience for the visitors. With an opening this big, something had to go hand-in-hand with the launch.
The company decided to organize a private architectural cruise on the Chicago River. During the course of the cruise, the attendees would learn about Chicago’s architectural styles and all the stories behind the origin of the city.
Naturally, each VIP in attendance would receive a commemorative gift.
The people behind the company, however, had organized such events before and they knew that the traditional gifting methods wouldn’t do anybody any good. Giving out physical gifts wasn’t a good idea for the attendees or the company itself. The logistics would simply not pan out. The attendees would have to carry a gift bag back to the hotel if they chose to accept the gift. Then, they’d have to take it home, most likely on an airplane.
One idea that they came up with wasn’t too far off from the chosen solution. They originally planned to hand out cards to the guests, who would then write down their shipping addresses and return the cards to the Moen representatives at the end of the cruise. This, however, would still involve an extra degree of effort.
And then Moen finally found a solution in technology. The company was to send an email to each VIP attendee during the event. Each email contained a unique link-embedded ID. All that the recipients had to do was to enter their mailing addresses for Moen to send them a gift. The bonus here was that the link also took them to a web page that thanked them for attending and told them more about the company.
It was so arranged that the gifts were waiting for them back home when the attendees departed Chicago. This saved them the hassle of having to carry the gift and ensured a much better overall experience.
Clearly, this is an excellent and rather unique gifting idea. But why give out gifts in the first place? What do you have to show for it as a company? The benefits are actually highly meaningful for the recipient and for the giver.
The Benefits
You already know that receiving and giving out gifts make you feel good. Whether it’s a surprise or expected, the experience simply feels good. The same goes for business gifts. The act of giving can benefit both the giver and the recipient. Here’s how.
1. Gifts Maintain and Improve Relationships
Giving increases the likelihood of receiving something back. Yes, it’s as simple as that. The reciprocity, on the other hand, makes the other party happy. This improves the overall relationship between the two parties, whose relationship can be personal, business, or both.
Therefore, gifts can go towards the building of a solid foundation in a relationship. Not only that but they give you something to build up. Gifting promotes employee loyalty and gives them a satisfaction that extends beyond the salary. It puts a personal touch on the business relationship that can go a long way to improving employee satisfaction.
Business owners and high-level executives know how important it is to have a satisfied and driven workforce. Gifts are hugely beneficial here
In return, the act can make an employer feel closer to the employees. This will further improve the relationship.
This readily applies to the clients as well, and also other companies that you work with, such as vendors, buyers, partners, etc.
What remains constant is that business gifts maintain and improve relationships.
2. Gifts Can Help to Retain Employees
Although a job is something that most people need, it isn’t an emotionless experience. There is more to work than the pay. Memorable gifts can play a key role in employee retention since they make the employees feel noticed and valued.
It’s important to take note of the word “memorable” here. A gift bag full of branded merchandise plastered in your company logo isn’t what anyone would call a memorable gift. We’re talking about carefully chosen gifts here, preferably aimed at an individual – in that you’re sending the same gift to everyone.
Be careful, however, not to brand a personal gift. This may turn some people away. The point of personal gifts isn’t marketing but an appeal to loyalty.
3. Gifts Improve Health
Generosity has actual health benefits. It lowers blood pressure and blood sugar and decreases stress and cortisol levels. But more obviously, the gift-giver receives a sort of “helper’s high.” This comes from the release in the brain of oxytocin and vasopressin, feel-good neurotransmitters that can be addictive.
Except that generosity is the best kind of addiction. It promotes overall happiness and improves your physical and psychological health. It makes you want to give again.
4. Gratitude Makes Everyone Happier
A gift from an employer to an employee is an expression of gratitude. The employee will show gratitude in return if they like the personal gift and feels appreciated. This mutual gratitude makes everybody happy. Think about it, how do you feel when someone sincerely thanks you for something? Doesn’t it feel great?
It’s not any different in business. Gifting promotes gratitude, which in turn advances the business relationship.
5. Gifting Makes You Feel Good
Giving triggers the brain’s circuits that are in charge of feeling good. This isn’t because you feel a person’s gratitude, or because you’re looking for something in return, such as loyalty. The act of gifting itself is what makes people happy and put on a smile.
6. Gifting is Contagious
There’s a bigger picture here than making an individual feel cherished and happy. You gift-giving can trigger a ripple effect that spreads through the entire company. The more you do it, the more it will spread all the aforementioned benefits of gifting.
Don’t Be Reluctant to Give Out Gifts
The act of giving makes everybody involved feel joy. Gifting can improve a relationship’s foundation and loyalty. It has psychological and physical health benefits in making people feel happier. Giving makes you feel good and the feeling can go around like a positive contagion.