The corporate gifting market has been expanding exponentially over the last 5 years and new entrants flood the market each day. From a promotional pen that is priced at Rs. 1 to a Royal Enfield bike to an all paid one week vacation in the Bahamas….which runs into hundreds of dollars….the market has never been so overwhelmingly full with options. For an old horse like us who’ve been around for two decades we’ve seen all the cycles of this unorganized market…from pen drive hoarders going down under in one night ..thanks to fall in prices in the electronic chip market to the very basic pressure cooker and mixer sellers being forced out by new and snazzy products.

Clients are demanding more than ever – in terms of product range, high ROI, premium brands and what not. Among all the demands they have, the one item that for sure fulfills the Return On Investment criteria is a CALENDAR! The age old yet timeless and classic desktop product which still is the fastest running item despite the plethora of options.

Here is one reason, why calendars are the most sought after New Year Gifts!

This is the one gift that gives your brand a Continuous Presence for a full 12 months, if not longer. When you break down the cost over that amount of time, the price of each calendar seems nearly next to nothing, but the investment long-lasting.

This year send your calendars out to top-tier prospects in your industry to let them know that you’d love to create a mutually beneficial business relationship, thank a client, impress a new prospect or simply flaunt your brand. If you want to grow your business in an economical and effective manner, calendars are the way to go. With a new year upon us, promo calendars lead the pack all the way from the top!

https://thegivingtree.in/product-category/eco-friendly-gifts/calendars/

#business #retail #branding #planning #gifts #promo #calendars #stationery

Leena Munot
Co-Founder
The Giving Tree

With the advent of modern gifting ideas that range from simple pens to notebooks, from electronic gadgets to apparel and from snazzy branded stationery to premium corporate gifts, the gifting market has never been so over crowded. This is turning out to be a boon and a bane. Too much choice can also leave you confused. And then come the gift vouchers that are meant for the lazy, forgetful and shortcut bunch of people, who are last minute shoppers, don’t know what their recipient may like and honestly they don’t care too much about it.

Can you remember the best gift you ever got in your life? It was either an experience – like a holiday getaway, a surprise party or something that was a product like a watch from your favourite brand, a pen gifted by a special colleague or teammate and no matter how many years pass by, you continue to hold on to these things for the memory of the relationship you share with the person. Do you think you’d have the same feeling if these people gifted you a gift voucher instead? I can bet hands down….definitely NOT!

One cannot take away the joy of receiving a well wrapped gift. It wakes up the child inside,  as your eyes gleam and heart squeals with excitement when you unwrap the gift.

Here are 3 reasons why a voucher cannot replace a gift

Not personal – A gift voucher is a super impersonal and transactional way to gift something to someone. It’s almost like saying, I don’t know what you like and I don’t care, I don’t have the time…so here, take the voucher!

Defeats the purpose – A voucher gets spent on things like necessities, or pools into other general purchases the recipient makes. For eg., if it is an Amazon voucher, chances are people will use it to buy books, clothes, footwear, medicines or even home utilities – anything that is there in their cart, this voucher will be used to pay for the same. This dilutes the purpose of your gift in the first place and won’t necessarily remind the recipient you gave it to them.

Sizes you up– A gift voucher has a money amount mentioned on it. Like $20 or $50 – it gives the recipient an opportunity to raise his eyebrows and size up your giving capacity. Whereas a gift is more about how much you value the person and the relationship not what value you are spending on the gift.

Whenever you buy a gift, remember it has to satisfy these top 2 things.

It’s all about how you make them feel – It should make the recipient feel special because people don’t remember what you say, they remember how you make them feel. A well wrapped gift box with a sensible gift inside it will earn you a lot of brownie points! Add a dash of a personal note of appreciation and there goes the cherry on the cake!

Return on Investment – This becomes negative with a voucher! No memory, no recall, hence no impact. A hand picked gift is the perfect way to make your ad spend bring in recall and therefore nurture long term relationships.

The next time you think of gifting a voucher and getting away…think again! It’s not a good idea – financially and personally and will certainly not help you in building and fostering long term relationships.

Leena Munot

Co-founder
The Giving Tree

For gifts that make people feel special, significant and cared for, visit thegivingtree.in – your most innovative corporate gift house. Meet us or call us today for ideas that will never grow old.

With the growing awareness and media attention to global warming, days such as Earth Day and Environment day are soon picking up momentum and helping spread awareness about going green. Much is being said as most companies are indulging in research to reduce their carbon footprint. As individuals there are simple things we can do to make a start and build a lifestyle that is green!

Four simple ideas that can help you go green this year!

1. Replace paper cups with ceramic mugs – Paper cups come coated with wax which melts when you pour hot liquid in it. Ingesting this day in and day out can be hazardous to health. Also it adds to the landfills – even if it is paper – it is still trash!
Make a switch – Carry your own mug – ceramic, steel, glass, any of these are a good option.

2. While plastic bans come and go with the changing governments, what’s here to stay are people, you, me, our families and future generation.
Make a pledge – To carry your own cloth bag for shopping – whether it is to a swanky mall or to the local supermarket. Be the change our world deserves!

3. Nothing adds more beauty than nature. Artificial plants look good, require no maintenance and provide no value – bad return on investment!
Shift to nature – Get a real plant for your home and office today. Not only does it up the energetic vibration of a place, it also pumps in more oxygen in your space and the green adds to the joy and freshness each day!

4. Say NO to shopping for things you don’t need with money you don’t have! With retailers enticing us with better and newer products each day, it is becoming increasingly difficult to cut down on our spends. Credit cards offering EMIs and cash backs worsen this situation further.
Rewire to minimalist living – When you think before you shop, becoming aware of your real needs, you’ll swipe the card lesser, own fewer things, have more space at home and in your wardrobes, more free time – cause you don’t have to maintain and manage all the material anymore!

The Giving Tree has been in the space of green gifting for over two decades. Our love for all things green has been at the centre of our design and gifting philosophy over the years. It is this love for the planet that has helped us win the hearts of over 1000 corporate companies and 15 lac users globally! Our mission to contribute to a clean and green planet drives us each day to make sure we bring you gifts that make mother earth and you…happy happy!

Leena Munot
Co-founder
The Giving Tree

Did you know? Over 40% of corporate gifts that are distributed among employees of a company are not well received? Either the product quality is not appreciated by the recipient, the choice of gift itself sometimes is the challenge and there are also times when the gift has little or no use for the recipient….like gifting a calculator to a gadget friendly techie and so on.

We’ve been helping corporate companies identify the right gift for every occasion for the last two decades…before you buy any gift, ask us!

3 important tips to keep in mind before you choose the next gift for your teams

1. Float a choice of atleast 3 options that can be used for the occasion and get feedback from them, about which one would they prefer.

2. Match the recipient’s lifestyle with the product you have in mind to get more clarity on what kind of a gift would they prefer to own and show off.

3. Make no compromise on the quality of the product – nothing looks more awful than a good looking gift with bad quality – that makes the product crumble or go dead within a few days of usage.

Follow us to get many such valuable tips on gifting.

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Leena Munot
Co-founder
The Giving Tree

When you pay monkeys you get peanuts – this the perfect expression to get the most imperfect gift this season. If you are part of an organization where Diwali, New year, mid year promotions, incentives are all brought in with a touch of gifting then you may resonate with what I am writing here.

Creating the right gift is an art and most often than not this job of sourcing the right gift turns out to be a herculean task for procurement and admin heads. This just adds to their existing work load. So whenever a gifting requirement comes up all they want to do is get the monkey off their back. Impressing their bosses by bringing in gifts at the cheapest price seems to be the only way. The truth is – it is not the only way. There can be more to gifting than sourcing at cheap prices.

Here are 3 simple ways to get the job done the right way
Quality over price – Understand that great quality cannot come at a cheap price – a vendor who is cutting his margins to get the order from you may not have enough profitability to service you in the future. When you go with only price as a preference chances are you’ll be sold a product that is low in features or is an old or fading out product.

Profit is not a bad word – When you come from a space where you treat your suppliers as businesses which deserve to make decent profits you’ll learn to be a good buyer. At the same time it is important to see that you are getting great value for the price you pay.

Win-win or no deal – A good supplier is one who will not give deep discounts because he is desperate for the order, but one who will choose to walk away when you negotiate below his lowest possible healthy price. And one who lives by the philosophy of ‘if my product is of no value to you then your money is of no value to me’. When your supplier does not budge to your hard negotiation, have a conversation with your team and the supplier and set realistic expectations, keeping win-win in mind.

When you want to go fast you go alone – but when you want to go far you go together – In this time and age, the only way to grow and sustain that growth is through building trust based relationships with your clients, associates and suppliers. When you set out with this intention in mind, your perspective will go through a sea change as you will see suppliers as your partners in growth. And when this happens, you know you have found reliable partners who will support you with your every need.

When you sit on the buyer side of the deal, always remember to begin with trust and believe that reaching a win-win is the most important part of doing business together. Suppliers are your channel partners in growth, and you both need to co-exist in an environment of trust and support.

For more on gifting, buying and selling trends, follow us on this blog.

Leena Munot
Co-founder
The Giving Tree