Holiday promotional gift season starts now
Getting ready for the holiday promotional gift season? Cyber Monday may be a great time to shop for retail consumers, but businesses need to get on the ball way before then. Now is a good time to start. Here are three steps to a more effective holiday gift promotion.
Start Early
Getting promotional products for the holidays can be a lot of fun if you start early enough. You have time to explore options without being too rushed, trying to make sure they get delivered on time. Even for simple orders, printing, shipping and sorting items can add weeks to lead times. For more complicated orders with multiple suppliers and decorators to be coordinated as well as time for kitting, and you can be looking at more than a month to get your gifts ready for your customers or staff. As the holidays approach, this lead time can extend further. Waiting until Q4 will surely add stress. Starting early (now) relieves a lot of stress (the “fun killer”) in the process.
Plan Ahead
Depending on where you are, keep the seasons in mind. At times we see items being selected now for the holidays that are more geared toward summer season. If you’re in an area of the country that experiences significant weather changes based on the season, consider what would be better in the colder temperatures. coffee cups rather than water bottles, sweaters rather that polos. You get the idea. This sounds simple, and it is. But, we are often caught by what’s relevant now rather than what will be when we actual present the gifts.
Give Creatively
One of the benefits of starting early is that you have the time to be creative. Logoed apparel is great, and employees as well as customers would be thrilled to have a nice branded shirt. But, being creative gives the person more than a gift, it gives them a memory. How a person receives the gift can have a big impact and a lasting impression. Rather than spend the budget on a single item, consider “kitting” to create a great presentation of multiple gifts packaged nicely. Or, give the gifts in stages, perhaps one each Monday through the month of December. If you are ahead of the curve, you can customize the gifts with the persons’ names as well as your logo. When possible, personally present the gifts to each individual. Your purpose is to strengthen the bond between your company and the people receiving the gift. Giving creatively can accomplish this goal.
Holiday promotional gifting should be fun. Give yourself enough time to explore options and be creative and the giving really will be more rewarding than the receiving.