Delight employees and business partners alike with our custom Cane River Pecan gift tins. Packed with delicious pecans, our tailored tins are perfect for sending tokens of gratitude and keeping your brand top of mind. You can choose between a variety of sweet & salty flavors or all-naturals, including our hearty Mammoth Desirables and the highly sought-after Elliotts — all served in a handsomely embossed Cane River Pecan gift tin.
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The corporate world can be an intense, competitive space. It’s a complex business-scape of colleagues and contractors, clients and customers, vendors, bosses and employees. Often policies, promotions and profits rule, leaving corporate environments feeling synthetic, dehumanized and lonely.
In truth, our own success usually depends upon our ability to build and maintain genuine relationships with other people. A significant component of that skill is learning how to be thankful and letting that positive approach guide everything we do.
We may grow older and attach an MBA or other lofty title to our name, but relationship building remains the same at any age:
Sometimes, we may fail to see another’s potential immediately. However, being thankful is an active, inclusive process that builds not only on past successes, but also on shared disappointments and a continuing future. As trust and relationships grow, so do the people within them.
Thankfully, there are countless ways of incorporating the positive aspect of gratitude into your professional repertoire to build relationships with others:
On a personal level, being thankful builds one’s reputation. Even more important, however, it can be contagious, restoring humanization to a too-often dehumanizing work environment. It encourages willingness in others to pass it on and take a positive, thankful approach themselves. When trust becomes the norm, it can make your companies known for being a great place to work and do business.
Cane River Pecan Company believes in the strength of gratitude and its power to shape professional relationships. If you want to learn more about building professional connections, download our ebook, The Gift of Giving: A Cornerstone of Southern Community and Tradition.
Is there anything more awkward than a networking event? You’re in a room full of strangers, being talked at as opposed to being talked to, while collecting business cards quicker than a ticket-taker at a theater on opening night. However, as uncomfortable as it may be — networking is a delicate yet vital business skill. When done right, it allows us to thrive and grow simply by engaging in a natural give and take of meaningful rapport and mutual interest. Too often, though, ambitious efforts to connect leave us feeling uneasy and straining for authenticity that just isn’t there.
Despite this, genuine business relationships can and do exist. Dedicated professionals — the people you want to meet and have on your team — constantly search for others in their industry who are equally committed to excellence. Here are a few ways you can create authentic business connections in your professional circle:
While building strong professional relationships takes time and consistent care, the returns offer longevity and understanding. Thoughtful actions now may yield a return on investment for years to come. Plus, as each of you succeeds, you have the bond of shared history and the ability to ask for advice or help.
Each genuine connection you nurture can starburst into another network of equally authentic professional relationships. It may yield the solution you’ve been seeking, the referral of the decade or the foothold for a whole new direction.
Here at Cane River Pecan Company, we help business professionals build meaningful relationships with colleagues, clients, employees and friends. We believe that the best gifts are equal parts simplicity and quality, with a healthy dash of Southern tradition.
If you’re looking for assistance in selecting that perfect corporate gift for a connection worth celebrating, contact us through our website, or call 1.800.692.3109. Our experienced corporate gifting specialists can help you send the perfect selection for every occasion.
Everyone wants to feel valued and know that their contributions are important. Knowing how to give workers that recognition in a way that’s meaningful to them is key to keeping them engaged and happy at your organization. But how can you be sure to get it right?
Here are a few of our favorite tips to help you find the right gift.
Some managers may avoid asking employees what they find meaningful because it feels invasive, but it’s one of the easiest and most effective ways to determine what might be a good gift. “Simply asking an employee what they like to do outside of the office is a way to safely establish what an employee values,” says Todd Horton, founder and CEO of KangoGift.
Many employees don’t think their managers show appreciation enough, he adds. By taking the time to ask, you’ll ensure the gift or feedback you provide will be personalized and something they find meaningful.
You can also do a little bit of sleuthing to find out what employees might like. “Social media has made it possible to learn more about clients and employees beyond business interactions,” says Larry Oakner, senior partner at Tenet Partners. “Clients or employees who post on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook often reveal what’s important to them in their world. Do they believe in social causes? A favorite sports team or college? Are they connected to charitable organizations? You can find out how people treat others and be able to respond in kind — donating to their causes and supporting their efforts with innovative ideas.”
When you really get to know your employees, you learn what’s important to them as people. Encourage your managers to pay attention over the course of the workday and to really listen to what employees are telling them about their struggles, their triumphs and what matters to them. Not only does this help managers identify what might be a meaningful gift, it builds a more respectful and responsive work environment. In addition, it can also pay off for companies: Research suggests that reinforcing good work and rewarding great work leads an employee to have a greater commitment to the organization, Horton says.
For more tips on how to give gifts that make your employees feel loved, download our ebook, Growing Business Through Employee Recognition and Customer Appreciation.
Business is built on relationships, but keeping those relationships warm and engaging over time can be a challenge. Like any relationship, they take work to stay strong, and thoughtful notes and gifts can help — as long as you do it right. “Part of the reason for giving a gift occasionally is not just to say thanks,” says Larry Oakner, senior partner at Tenet Partners. “It’s to maintain a memorable contact with a client when you’re not working with them on an ongoing basis.”
Here’s how to make it work.
The Platinum Rule goes beyond the Golden Rule and recommends treating people the way they want to be treated. You might recognize the anniversary of when your client became your customer, says Paul Hebert, senior director of solutions architecture at Creative Group, but it would be much more effective to celebrate the day they went into business themselves. “Recognizing that says ‘I’m in business too, I know it’s hard,’ and all of a sudden, you’re not just an organization that sends a bill; you’ve personalized it,” he says.
Look for ways to give “just because” notes or gifts to clients. Hebert suggests celebrating client relationships in the same way you celebrate employee relationships. “We recognize that we’re glad employees are still here; why don’t we do that with customers?” he says. Clients don’t always expect gifts outside of holidays, so it can make a bigger impact when you celebrate the business journey you’re on together at other times of the year.
Don’t be afraid to be human when you send gifts to your clients or customers. Recipients value handwritten notes and warm sentiments. When you send a corporate gift, you’re acknowledging that your clients are people, and you’re interested in treating people well, Hebert says. “If you think about most relationships with clients, they’re very transactional — after a sale it becomes a matter of accounts payable and receivable. Gifting changes that relationship from transactional to emotional.”
For more tips on how to strengthen your relationships with your clients, download our ebook, Growing Business Through Employee Recognition and Customer Appreciation.
If your small business is growing more slowly than you’d like, it might be time to jumpstart things with a healthy dose of old-fashioned small-town networking. While online connections are helpful for most businesses in the modern age, taking time to build real-world relationships is just as important for long-term success.
Two of the easiest ways to connect with potential clients in your community are to join a civic club or your local chamber of commerce.
Tom Egelhoff, an independent business consultant and author of “How To Market, Advertise and Promote Your Business Or Service In A Small Town,” is a big fan of the power of civic clubs to help business leaders to develop connections. Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Club offer the opportunity to have a positive impact on your community while simultaneously expanding your personal and professional network.
Egelhoff suggests exploring the various groups available in your community to see which ones match up best with your interests and values. “Once you get to know people, you can ask them for referrals because they know you in a non-business setting,” he says. “Once they know you and the kind of person you are they are a lot more receptive to recommending you to their friends and colleagues.”
Your local chamber of commerce is another opportunity to create connections. In addition to lobbying for business-friendly public policies, these organizations hold regular events that facilitate connections between companies — and they can help you develop powerful relationships that are often difficult to cultivate on your own.
When you join, make sure you get a copy of the Chamber Directory; take a moment to review it and identify those companies or people you feel are your highest-value targets. “This will help you focus your attention and efforts on the right members, accelerating your chances to maximize your attendance at chamber functions,” says Chassity McComack, executive director of the River Region Chamber of Commerce.
Terry Dugas, marketing and public relations manager for the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce, says chamber membership can be a key component in an overall strategy to build stronger ties with the community, especially if it’s combined with a wider plan to connect with other business owners and residents. “The main thing is making yourself accessible to the people you want to patronize your business,” Dugas says. “That means getting involved in your community — not only when it benefits you financially — as a way to get your face out there. It always benefits you to just get out there and start shaking hands.”
For more tips on how to strengthen your businesses’ connections to your community, download our ebook, How Small-Town Values Can Transform Your Networking Skills.
In business, being a small fish in a big pond can be tough. Being a big fish in a big pond can be tough, too. The fact is, today’s markets are so heavily saturated with options that standing out becomes a central issue for most businesses. Floundering with low sales, business owners often make the mistake of trying to appeal to everyone. So, what can brands do to set themselves apart from their competitors?
The real answer lies in positioning. Consumers flock to brands they identify or connect with in some way. To create this connection, we have to narrow our marketing focus and hone in on every front. Through these deliberate efforts, any company can set themselves apart from the masses and gain a loyal following to boot.
Begin by analyzing your brand’s current position. You may be surprised to find that, through no conscious effort, you did in fact accidentally target certain groups. Maybe your brand isn’t positioned at all. Either way, the key is to find out where you stand.
A good way to gauge your brand’s current position is through social listening. Tap into social networks to see who is saying what about your company. This will give you a good idea of where you stand. Another option? Simply ask people what they think about your brand. This can be offered on your site, delivered to email lists or used during checkout.
The next step you may have already completed (or at least have an idea about). Who are your direct competitors? Indirect competitors? Where do they market to? How do they advertise? What’s their brand voice like? Essentially, you are completing Step One again, but for those who compete for your customers.
Once you’ve identified your own image and those of your competitors, it’s time to get down to business. With your competitors’ positions in mind, you must now carve your own spot in the market. For instance, if Company A is targeting teens and young adults and Company B is targeting retirees, focusing on the unclaimed middle ground may be in your company’s best interest.
But what if you and your competitors target the same age groups? How can you differentiate your targeting from theirs? By focusing on other specific elements like geographic location or ethnicity, you can zero in on a niche audience, even within the same age demographic.
Again, the key is to distance yourself from your competition. Depending on what your product or service is, the audience available may already be narrow. Always ask: How can we further diversify?
Your sales cycle is integral to the ebb and flow of your business’ finances. Now that you’ve identified a potential direction to shift your focus, you must determine how this will impact your cycle. How will it change with a shift in audience? How will your new buyer personas fit in? These questions are important to answer as they will determine how and when you advertise or promote services.
Remember, specificity is key. Earning loyal, long-standing customers is more valuable and cost effective than attempting to catch your competitor’s target audience.
Once you’ve repositioned, the real work can begin. If your business is looking to create relationships in a new market, visit our website for custom corporate gifting options or contact one of our gifting specialists for tasty, tailored solutions.
For more information on the sales cycle and how your corporate gifting efforts fit in, download our free Sales Cycle infographic today!
April is here, which means National Pecan Month is in full swing. As such, it’s obviously a very important time for us nut lovers at Cane River Pecan Company. The month itself presents the perfect opportunity to celebrate and help others discover what we already know: Pecans are awesome!
It’s also a great time to return to our roots and remember why we do what we do everyday. In business, it’s easy to get lost in logistics. We can get mixed up in the daily shuffle and lose sight of what makes our brands unique and appealing to consumers. Reminding ourselves of this and sharing it with others is a fantastic way to get noticed and be remembered.
If you’re looking to increase your own brand awareness, here are a few kernels of advice to chew on:
Every brand or company has at least one occasion that strongly resonates with its culture. Find a national month or day that celebrates something important to your brand and make it count. From health and education to social issues or environmental concerns, national months and days are earmarked for nearly every product, profession or cause.
Without pecans, our company would be nothing. We built a brand and lifestyle around them, providing only the best for our customers. So for us, celebrating National Pecan Month was a no-brainer. It’s a fun way to spread our love of pecans and pick up a few new fans along the way!
Keep it simple, and make it genuine. People can spot inauthenticity from a mile away. If you stay true to your brand, the right people will pay attention. This is prime territory for strengthening connections—those between you and your customers and those binding you and your employees.
If done right, everyone will anticipate your yearly event, quickly making it a tradition. By making your celebration memorable and manageable, you’ll own the fundamentals of your brand and what it stands for.
What if no one has established a national day or month to acknowledge what you do? Someone needs to be first. Why shouldn’t it be you? Thanks to the Internet and the influence of social media, believers initiate movements every day. More importantly, when it’s good, audiences respond!
Opt for memorable yet manageable. Not everyone has the employee base or logistical resources to sustain a month-long extravaganza — especially if it’s your first time. Instead, go for reasonable. Launch a kick-off event, and build to a satisfying finish. If you can’t afford a month initiative, pick a day, and make it count.
Claim your month, and join us in celebrating ours. At Cane River Pecan Company, we’re firm believers in all things pecan. Years ago, we committed ourselves to providing the absolute best pecans — ones worthy of being the centerpiece in client gifts. One taste is all you need to understand why we’re so passionate about what we do.
So, in the spirit of National Pecan Month, we’re offering 25% off the golden standard: our gourmet, select natural pecans. Get your pecan on today by visiting our website or calling 1.800.293.8710 to speak to one of our gifting pros.
End-of-the-year holidays represent the big-bang corporate gifting finish to another work year. So, why—as we anticipate a bright new year—do we let the other 260 or so workdays drift, becoming stale and flat? This year, for your employees, trade trite desk trinkets and lukewarm gimmicks for some outside-of-the-box gifting ideas that will keep your corporate family charged and motivated all 365 days.
1. Surprise Parties
Ice cream or cake, popcorn or sushi—everyone loves a little time to put everything on hold, indulge a bit and bond. Making it unexpected or just because amps the emotional impact.
2. Life-Event Parties
Birthdays, weddings, new babies, anniversaries, buying a home, starting or expanding a business and promotions are a few of the most common milestones that mark each person’s unique journey.
3. Tickets to Local Events
Venues range from minor league baseball games, theatrical performances and movies to festivals, home and garden tours, and haunted ghost treks. Plus, you’re supporting fellow businesses and the local economy.
4. Box Subscriptions
A hot new trend, monthly box subscriptions are available for everything from socks and chocolate to jewelry and power supplements. Employees can pick their favorite box for a monthly surprise.
5. Additional Vacation Days
When a team pulls off the impossible, reward them with an additional vacation day or 8 hours of annual leave. Acknowledge that long hours deserve time off.
6. Reserved Parking and Car Detailing
Earning a choice parking spot is nice, but ensuring that the wheels occupying it are squeaky clean speaks volumes about your regard for your employees and your company’s values.
7. Desktop Sweets
How nice is it to find a candy kiss, wrapper of pecans or warm cookies on your desk for no reason at all? Someone took the time to place it there—just for you.
8. Lunch Extension Passes
Everyone appreciates a free pass on a hectic day fraught with personal errands limited to business hours. Reward exceptional work with an extra lunchtime hour that just might save someone’s day.
9. Team or Group Gifts
Present teams with an outing gift card or budgeted amount that lets them select the reward, time and venue. They can pick anything from an afternoon bowling to a new piece of office equipment.
10. Surprise Gifter
One small, distinct, anonymous present to one person each day until everyone has been gifted is the idea. Because no one ever knows who will be next—or learns the giver’s identity—it’s a forever mystery.
11. Field Trips
Arrange a visit to one of your vendors, customers or any other off-site location. It’s a fun way of switching up the pace while expanding big-picture awareness and institutional knowledge.
12. Goody Trophies
It all starts with a vase-like trophy that gets filled with goodies specific to the recipient’s tastes. The recipient gets to keep it for a week, but then gets the honor of choosing the next recipient.
13. Continuing Education Classes
Offer full or partial reimbursement or payment for skill classes, which could range from professional certifications to art classes to personal finance instruction.
14. Gas Cards and Transportation Vouchers
Gas cards are great gift options for anyone with a vehicle. Likewise, transit or taxi cards are a nice thank you for extra effort or inconvenient hours. For really special occasions, don’t forget limos.
15. Hobby Gift Certificates
Sponsor a hobby or interest week, complete with a gift certificate prize to help support the recipient’s habit. Professional development with a personal twist aids team-building and talent-spotting.
We hope you’ve gained some inspiring ideas that you can tweak and twist. It’s all about boosting employee satisfaction, vendor investment and customer loyalty. Keeping the atmosphere positive results in the best gifts of all—something to hope for and a reason for everyone to show up and give their best. If you’d like more ideas or assistance with your corporate gifting strategy, call Cane River Pecan company at 1.800.293.8710, or visit our website. We have options for every occasion, every budget, every day and every reason.
Want to learn more about effective corporate gifting? Explore the origins and techniques of this southern practice by downloading our complete guide below!
For businesses, the activities you sponsor or participate in during the holidays reveal your company’s values and vision – perhaps more so than at any other time of the year. Through your holiday activities, you can control whether clients, vendors, employees and partners perceive your business as a scrooge or saint.
If you want to convey the latter, we have the ultimate holiday event checklist for you. So, use this year’s season of celebration to set the tone for a brilliant new year of success for your business:
The best parties suit the personalities and interests of the people attending and include everyone who makes your business a success. You can host a celebration on company time or the company dime, but make it something that will bring everyone together for a successful coming year. More importantly, choose a venue that will let people be themselves and enjoy one another.
In the season of giving, client gifts, vendor gifts and employee gifts may be more important and message-laden than you think. A vast gulf exists between frugality – the wise use of resources – and stinginess – a reluctance to give. Gifts should be frugal but never stingy.
Nothing makes us feel luckier or richer than being able to help those in need. Every little bit counts, and those bits can add up to quite a lot for a worthy cause. Whether it’s collecting coats or raising money for cancer research, it gives your whole team something positive to share and a meaningful way to give back to the community.
Doors, hallways, windows, desks, cubicles and open office spaces are all prime decorating territory. Make the competition individualized, group-based or both. You could even have an elf on the shelf competition, traditional or giant. Just be sure to keep it fun and celebratory, respectful of all faiths and traditions.
Give people a safe environment to reveal who they really are, and share some chuckles, too. Have a color day so employees can display team loyalties, for example. Let teams or departments choose and dress for a theme; you may have everything from eight tiny reindeer to the Island of Misfit Toys. Dress up days are a guaranteed, well-remembered morale booster.
Everyone has a favorite piece of music that says, “The holidays have arrived!” If music is an element of your workday – in the office, on hold or at gatherings – ask employees what they’d like to hear, and compile a company playlist. By sharing on social media, this can be a great way to build company culture and reach your brand’s online audience.
Cane River Pecan Company offers expertise dedicated to tasteful corporate gifting. Our gifting specialists can help you design the kinds of client gifts that you’d be proud to give – and just as happy to receive. Call us at 800.293.8710, or contact us online, and let us help you ring in a successful and memorable new year.
Want to learn more about how to select amazing corporate gifts for the holidays and beyond? Download our full guide below!
