With the holidays right around the corner, it’s a great time to start thinking about unique and cost-conscious professional gifts that will keep you top-of-mind with past and current customers all year long.
If you’re feeling stumped for great gift ideas, don’t worry. Our network of professional speakers has you covered with their best recommendations.
4 Unique Types of Gifts for Professional Speakers to Give to Customers
We connected with five professional speakers to get their insights and ideas on the best gifts to give to customers this year.
Timely and Helpful Gifts
There’s no question about it: 2020 has been a year unlike any other. And that’s why it’s wise to consider a timely and relevant gift that takes newfound challenges and changes into consideration.
“The holidays look different this year but our customers are still appreciated,” says Mary Ann Faremouth. “Perhaps this year is a time to give gifts of a different nature. Everyone is sure to enjoy a gift of food, or creative classes in writing or art. For clients working from home, perhaps a gift of pampering products such as products for our hands and body, or a small holiday plant. The best gift of all is encouraging our health where we can all quickly get back to a normal world.”
Gifts That Give Back
The holidays are all about doing some good in the world. So, consider giving a gift that gives back to someone in need.
“This year has reminded us of the importance and power of connection,” says Trisha Miltimore, Speaker, Trainer, and Mentor at Passion Igniter. “It has also reminded us of our need to work collectively to create change.”
She elaborates, “That’s why I love this beautiful and subtle bracelet from The Inspire Store as a gift for customers. Ethically made in Haiti, it features handmade clay beads and a Haitian coin stamped with ‘BE THE CHANGE’. Gift this to your clients and team members as a reminder that resilience and hope are part of the journey ahead. We are in this together. This gift is easy to ship and is fair trade. And your purchase supports families abroad and closer to home.”
Jan Spence, CSP, also believes in the power of giving gifts that give back–and drew inspiration from a typo to come up with her unique gift idea.
She explains, “Sometimes typos can spark creative genius! We wanted something memorable and meaningful that we could easily send to our clients without exorbitant shipping costs, all while staying within corporate gift receiving guidelines. So, we made a donation in each recipient’s name to Compassion International to sponsor a goat for an impoverished family. We sent a card with a cute poem explaining the gift isn’t a thank you note, it’s a ‘thank you goat’ (hence the typo) and even included a magnet to stay top of mind. It’s also personal because I sponsored and met my Compassion International child.”
Gifts That Show Your Customers How Well You Know Them
If you’re willing and able to dedicate a little extra time and energy to personalizing and tailoring your gifts to individual customers, they can be a great way to show your customers how well you know them. This is a great way to make them feel appreciated.
“When it comes to gift giving, the trick is to ask questions, pay attention, and be interested,” says Lois Barth, Human Development Expert, Motivational Empowerment Speaker, Coach, and Author. “ For example, during our initial conversation, one client shared about an artisanal tea company with decorative tins that made her day special. Being cheeky and finding out her favorite flavors, I ordered her a few tins and wrote a thank you note for working with me. She was blown away.”
She adds, “Another client apologized for her delay in getting back to me and explained it was on account of her recent move to her new home which she called her ‘treehouse’. So, I hired my local vendor who makes affordable customized pot holders to create one with a design of a treehouse for her. Gift giving is an expression of connection and care, and is also a wonderful relationship builder.”
A Different Approach to Branded Swag
One of the most common types of gifts come in the form of branded swag. But according to Lauren Schieffer, CSP – The Colonel’s Daughter, Keynote Speaker and Author, this isn’t always the best approach for every client.
She explains, “I did some research on the subject of client gifts last year. Every meeting planner and bureau rep that I spoke to said the same thing to me: ‘I don’t need any more branded swag from your company.’ So, I took a different tactic with a ‘branded gift.’ I sent everyone a pack of microwave popcorn with a sticker attached that read, ‘Some ‘Colonels’ for you…’ I printed the stickers and assembled them myself so, including postage, each gift cost me $3.50. The response was phenomenal. You could do the same thing saying something like, ‘I just wanted to POP this little thank you over to you,’ or something to that effect.”
In the midst of such a challenging and turbulent time for professional speakers, giving unique and thoughtful gifts to your customers is a great way to maintain strong relationships and keep yourself top-of-mind.
If you’d like to learn how a customer relationship management platform can help optimize your sales process and help you book more gigs, get in touch with our dedicated support team or start a free trial of karmaSpeaker today.
META Description: For professional speakers, unique holiday gifts can be a great way to maintain strong relationships and stay top-of-mind with customers all year round.
