Corporate Gifts Archives - CANE RIVER PECAN COMPANY

4 Reasons Every Wealth Manager Should Give Client Gifts

As is the case in many industries — but especially within wealth management services — having a strong client network is integral to the success of your business. Because of the nature of wealth management work, the ideal client tends to be more discerning of the people they work alongside, socialize with and entrust their money to. Simply put, these people want to work with advisors who make them a priority.

With heightened standards in mind, finding ways throughout the year to remind clients of the value you bring can spell the difference between a fast-fizzled engagement and a thriving, long-term partnership. And as for new opportunities? Well, the same can be said for getting your foot in the door with prospective clients, too.

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The Benefits of Client Gifting

Sending quality gifts is one of the best ways to strengthen and create connections with valuable contacts. Whether you’re trying to solidify current partnerships or you’re reaching out to new prospects, gifting offers a solution that rewards your effort in a variety of ways. Here are four of the biggest benefits you can expect from sending your partners an unexpected gift this season.

1. Stay Top of Mind

With “banner blindness” and ad exhaustion seemingly stronger during busy shopping seasons, having a way to subtly remind people of who you are and the services you offer is invaluable. With gifting, you have a great tactic for keeping your name in front of clients and prospects in a way they’ll actually appreciate. After all, no one is hitting the skip button on a fresh box of pralines.

2. Emphasize Your Client’s Value

Remember, your clients know their own worth. They want to work with someone who recognizes it, too. By sending them quality gifts — no matter the time of the year — you are illustrating how important they are to your business. If you’re willing to put forth this type of effort to recognize them individually, you’re likely working very hard on their financial behalf as well.

3. Reward and Encourage Loyalty

There just can’t be enough said of clients who stick by your side. With a market chocked full of competitors, loyalty is harder to come by these days — so you should reward it when you can. Consider creating gifting tiers for your current pool of clients, and send upgraded gifts to those who stay with you longer. This makes long-term partners feel appreciated for their commitment and trust in your expertise.

4. Expand Your Reach

Don’t limit yourself to just current clients. Gifting can also be leveraged to establish connections with prospects, too. A thoughtful token or shareable box of treats with a warm greeting shows initiative and willingness to go the extra mile — two attributes that raise the stock of any wealth advisor. Plus, if you time your gifts right, they can help trigger an influx of new work just when you need it.

Stand Out This Season

At Cane River Pecan Company, we understand that making a big impression on your most valuable contacts is important. That’s why we make corporate gift fulfillment simple and stress-free. From gift selection to customization and order support, our specialists can help you every step of the way to find the ideal pecan gifts and unique Southern specialties to delight everyone on your list this year.

Reach out to our gifting specialist today!

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How to Start a Corporate Gifting Program for Your Business

Updated: 11/10/2023

Corporate gifting is a memorable touchpoint that can lay the foundation for a strong relationship with employees, vendors, prospects, and clients. It’s a way to show your appreciation while also planting a nugget of psychological motivation to establish a lasting connection.

That’s not just hearsay. According to Deloitte, 78% of businesses believe that corporate gifts offer a substantial ROI in terms of brand recognition and relationship building. With that number in mind, imagine what a solid corporate gifting program can do for your company’s bottom line.

While sending gifts might seem simple enough, doing things by the books is a little more complex. Here’s how you can start a successful gifting program at your business.

1. Establish a Budget

Setting a firm budget for gifting is paramount. It’s the very first step in the process because all of your decisions moving forward hinge on the amount of money you can spend. Your budget will ultimately dictate who gets a gift and what kinds of items you can afford. Despite the best of intentions, sending a pricey present to every client, employee or vendor is just not feasible. And while it sometimes pays to shower clients with goods, going over-the-top for every connection can do more damage than good.

A successful gifting program is a little more selective, and your budget will be one of the first determining factors you’ll need to know. Think of corporate gifts as an investment for the future of a business relationship. The last thing you want is for that investment to go into the red.

2. Define Your Gifting List

With your budget in mind, you can start building your recipient list. The goal is to show your appreciation for the people who make your business successful. But of course, every client, employee and vendor’s impact is a little different.

Start by making a list of the individuals who bring the most value to your company. They could be longtime vendors or clients who consistently invest in your product or service. Those are the relationships you want to continue fostering most, and a more distinguished gift will ensure that your company is always on the top of their mind.

After that, you can move onto those who provide things you value. While these recipients might not be your most lucrative or high-producing, they have the potential to get there. Sending them a memorable gift could be the thing that pushes their contributions to your business even further.

After you build your recipient list, it’s good to separate those individuals into different gifting tiers. A hierarchical system will make choosing client gifts more manageable. It helps you find appropriate presents that impress while still keeping your budget in mind. For example, an affluent client whose relationship has a higher lifetime value will go into the highest tier. They could receive a more expensive gift because the value they bring to the company is more. Meanwhile, a lower-tier recipient will still appreciate something that’s both simple and tasteful.

3. Create a Corporate Gifting Program Policy

There’s a good chance that other employees will handle many of the gift-giving duties. To ensure that things go off without a hitch, it’s a good idea to create a company-wide gifting policy. Not only do your policies govern how gifts go out, but it simplifies the process and creates a similar experience for clients and vendors across the board.

The policy should outline your program’s gifting approach. For example, it can cover:

Who receives a gift
What gifting tier each recipient belongs to
How much money employees can spend
When employees can send gifts
How presents align with corporate values
Guidelines for choosing client gifts

The gifting blueprint can also include suitable gifting practices and the steps your employees should take before sending items out. From a legal standpoint, corporate gifting is quite complex. The SEC has strict rules for financial service providers. Laws exist for government officials and medical professionals, too. On top of that, recipients might work under distinct gifting policies that prohibit certain items. Your in-house corporate gifting policies should cover all of those unknowns. Have your employees verify what’s appropriate and what’s not.

4. Choose a Gifting Timeline

For an annual corporate gifting program, your timing makes all the difference. You don’t have to limit yourself to holidays or special occasions. Those gifts are predictable and have a much lighter impact compared to more thoughtful moments.

Consider when a recipient works with you most. Then, send a gift at just the right time. For example, CPAs are utilized most during the spring. So, they can send clients gifts at the beginning of the year to stay fresh on their minds around tax season.

The same principles can apply to seasonal vendors or clients who make a big purchase once or twice a year. By timing your gifts strategically, you can make a substantial positive impression your recipients will remember.

5. Selecting a Gifting Partner

Last but not least, you need to choose the right gifts. The corporate gift industry is valued at $242 billion and expected to reach $306 billion by the year 2024, so the possibilities are endless. While you can pick out individual items, working with a gifting partner is much easier.

Gift vendors offer a variety of gifts to meet all budgets and needs. Plus, they take care of the little details like order preparation, customization and shipping to a large list of recipients. These capabilities may seem trivial, but they go a long way to simplify things on your end.

Find the Perfect Pick at Cane River Pecan Company

Ready to start your company’s gifting program? Cane River Pecan Company offers a wide range of gourmet pecan gifts and Southern delicacies to surprise anyone on your list. Plus, they have a team of corporate gifting specialists who can help you choose client gifts and prepare your order. Check out our website today and start fostering those all-important professional relationships.

How to Safely Navigate Corporate Gifting Policies

Giving makes us feel good—especially when we can offer a gift to someone we respect or genuinely admire. Likewise, receiving a gift can make us feel recognized and valued. In the business world, however, these tokens of appreciation fall within the realm of corporate gifting — and things can get complicated.

For businesses in the governmental sector or even large companies with broad public awareness, gifting often comes with red tape that is focused on ensuring client gifts, vendor gifts, customer gifts, and even gifts for employees and colleagues are appropriate and comply with accepted corporate gifting policies. Why? Well, these types of businesses usually have the public eye weighing on them, and gifts can inadvertently imply favoritism or unfairness in certain aspects of work. That unfairness could cause office tension or worse — legal trouble.

While that might sound like corporate gifting is an impossibly risky task, it really isn’t. You just need to keep a few guidelines in mind to ensure you are always hitting the ethical and professional high notes when you give gifts in a business setting.

Understand how a corporate gift is defined.
Motive—the reason for giving a gift—is the most fundamental element of corporate gift giving. A gift is something freely given with no expectation of payment or anything to be given in return. It doesn’t seek to influence business decisions, and it doesn’t present a conflict of interest. Similarly, the gift shouldn’t be expected or requested. A true gift precludes any sense of quid pro quo—a favor for a favor—or bribery. When you want to give, be sure to give something that is unmistakably a gift.
Determine what gifting restrictions exist and honor them.
With reputations at stake, big companies and federal agencies are more aware than ever of optics and ethical standards. To minimize the risk of misperceptions, most have established corporate gifting policies that not only identify who may give or receive gifts but also detail the circumstances, types of gifts and monetary-equivalent values that are considered allowable.
- Most company policies do allow modest gifts that fit within their established monetary boundaries.
- In many cases, employees are required to report gifts that they receive.
- If a gift is noncompliant, the recipient may have to decline it.
- Often, corporate policies use the gift-giving rules in place for federal workers as a working model.
- Some companies bar gifts altogether or specify that gifts must be shared or—if not sharable—reissued through a lottery, for example.
  
  By researching your intended recipient’s gift limitations, you can ensure that they will be able to accept your gift without any problems.

Time your gift appropriately.
Business decisions can be tough decisions involving large sums of money over the course of years. Because of that, people who have positive experiences working together may be eager to repeat or extend that partnership. Conversely, a new partnership may offer fresh, exciting opportunities. Nevertheless, gifts should not be perceived as an attempt to sway a business decision, and timing impacts how appropriate corporate gifting practices are. To avoid awkward situations and conflicts of interest, be sensitive to decision-making timelines and any professional challenges your potential recipient may be facing.

Find a Gifting Specialist That Gets It

All federal agencies and many businesses have corporate gifting policies in place to promote ethical, fair work practices and maintain professional reputations. But this actually makes choosing appropriate work gifts easier! In fact, once you become familiar with a company’s gifting policy, you’ll be certain that you’re choosing vendor or client gifts that fit and will always be welcome. To gift well, all you really need is something modest, tasteful and shareable.

That’s why Cane River Pecan Company has become a premier specialist in corporate food gift giving. The very nature of food—the ability to give a little or a lot, how it lends itself to creating assortments, its affordability, and even its perishability—makes it suitable for many business gifting policies.

For example, our premium pecans and custom-designed gift trays, boxes, baskets and tins of assorted pecan delicacies will delight recipients and comply with many corporate policies that require food gifts or gifts that can be shared. We know you want to be able to show appreciation to everyone on your list, and our extensive variety of customizable selections are especially created to make that happen.

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From holidays and seasonal celebrations to birthdays, anniversaries, grand openings and more, you’ll be able to recognize any occasion, individual, team or business effort appropriately and let clients and colleagues know that you’re thinking of them. Your client gifts will be inclusive, just the right size and given in impeccable taste.

If you’re ready to find deliciously appropriate gifts for your company gifting program, start by exploring Cane River Pecan Company’s selection of corporate food gifts today. With such a variety to choose from, you’re sure to find a suitable selection to sweeten your contact’s day.

SOURCES

https://www.sbnonline.com/article/ethics-corporate-gifting-not-get-trouble

https://sendoso.com/blog/your-guide-to-corporate-gift-giving-laws/

https://www.hersheypa.com/assets/pdf/code-of-conduct.pdf

The Importance of Crafting Genuine Professional Connections

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:

Share Knowledge and Assistance. Give what you want to receive. Tip off worthy colleagues to professional opportunities that would be beneficial to them. Let them know if you’re willing to serve as a reference for them. Be generous with the valuable insights that only experience brings. If you want help from your network—and we all do—set the golden standard by initiating an atmosphere of help and trust yourself.
Explore Shared Leisure Interests. Open the way for a more personal, non work-related connection. Sporting events are natural venues for invites, but there are many others. Is a colleague a nature enthusiast or art aficionado? Do they perform in community theater or volunteer on the weekends? Find a common interest, and take part in it.
Acknowledge Life Events. Remembering or helping people celebrate special occasions lets them know that you see them and value what they have, too. Births, birthdays, graduations, marriages, the purchase of a home and anniversaries are some of the most important moments in a person’s life. Even a gesture as simple as a card slipped in the mail assures the recipient that your friendship is more than just a social climb.
Make a Physical Effort. Don’t rely on email alone. If you work near someone, get up and walk to where they are for a face-to-face. The electronic world of reply all makes actual personal interaction all the more valuable. When you call or visit, you’re not covertly multitasking, copy-pasting or texting. You’re invested in the other person, and the effort proves it.
Be Inclusive. In a few years, that intern may be a project manager for the cutting-edge company in your field. Likewise, that administrative assistant may know of an upcoming job opportunity that is perfect for you. By reserving genuine professional relationships for only those you think can help you right now, you could actually be limiting your own future.
Respect Boundaries. Give professional relationships time and space to develop. Too much too soon may make a person uncomfortable and even prompt them to question your motives. Keep overtures within an appropriate professional comfort zone that builds on history and a balanced relationship. Let colleagues meet you halfway on the give as well as the take.
Own Your Reputation. Our profile often precedes us, and that reputation accrues over time. Decide early on whether you want to be the person that others refer their friends and colleagues to — or the person that others warn their friends and colleagues about. Each genuine interaction adds to your track record and potential network of connections.

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.

Strengthening Relationships Through Corporate Gifting

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.

Gifts and Recognition: How to Find Out What Your Employees Really Want

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.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

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.

Scope Out Their Social Profiles

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.”

Build Listening into the Workday

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.

Gift Outside of the Box This Year

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!

Common Mistakes in Corporate Gifting – and How to Avoid Them

A bad corporate gift can potentially be worse than no gift at all. More than just a waste of money, you might even lose business — and that definitely isn’t the goal!

Here are three of the most common mistakes we see people make with corporate gifting, along with some helpful tips on how to steer clear of them:

Making It All About You

Bad corporate gifts are often all about the sender. They usually feature obnoxiously prominent branding and serve as little more than clutter for the recipient.

Instead, your gift should ultimately be about the recipient. Choose something that you think they will enjoy receiving, and let those warm, fuzzy feelings serve as your brand affinity.

Careless Overspending

Bad corporate gifts often come with shockingly high price tags.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking more money automatically equals a better gift, says Sharon-Frances Moore, a business etiquette expert and founder of New York City-based Shances. “A $300 gift might not be as good as a $100 gift that’s well thought out.”

Then there’s the gift that costs so much that the recipient can’t even accept it due to ethical limits set by their employer or the law, if they work for their government.

You’ve got to be careful how much you spend and what you send. Make sure it’s appropriate.

Sending Offensive Items

Some corporate gifts that may seem generous can actually be offensive to some recipients — and that was definitely not your intention!

If you’re sending drinks or food as a gift and you don’t know your audience well, it’s usually best to avoid pork or alcohol, Moore says.

Holidays can also be tricky. Some people will welcome a Merry Christmas greeting, while others might prefer a Happy Holidays. If you don’t know for certain what your recipients would prefer, go for the more neutral “holiday” gift, Moore says.

You won’t always be able to please everyone, but this at least lowers your odds of inadvertently upsetting someone.
Want to learn more about how to select amazing corporate gifts? Download our full guide below!

Why Food Makes a Great Corporate Gift

Food and beverages are the most popular gifts for customers or prospective clients, according to the Advertising Specialty Institute’s annual survey.

The nice thing about sending food is that it gets consumed, and you can send the same gift year after year. Sure, you could send an umbrella with your logo on it. But, in reality, you can only do that once!

When it’s one good thing that they can’t get anywhere else, like pecans from Louisiana or citrus from Florida, the client starts to crave it and look forward to receiving it each year.

Matt Colvin, a partner in Zollinger & Colvin Wealth Management Group of Raymond James in Baton Rouge, Louisiana says his firm prefers sending food because people are less likely to perceive it as unwanted clutter. “With food, they can experience the gift and enjoy it and remember it and talk about it,” he says.

If your clients are scattered in multiple locations, send something that focuses on the place you’re from, says Sharon-Frances Moore, a business etiquette expert and founder of New York City-based firm Shances . “Something personal where you’re from says this is the best of what I have from my area.”

Colvin’s firm used to send a dessert tray from a Chicago-based company to its clients every year for Christmas. After 20 years, Colvin changed things up and sent tins of treats from our pecan company.

“We never received a thank you after 20 years, then the first year we sent out pecans from Cane River Pecan Company, we got thank-you notes and thank-you calls,” Colvin says. “The response from the clients was overwhelming.”
Want to learn more about how to select amazing corporate gifts? Download our full guide below!

Brand Building for the Corporate Gifter

A great corporate gift delights your customers and reinforces your company’s values. A veggie-burger producer most likely isn’t going to send steaks to its customers, and you shouldn’t send a gift that’s at odds with your brand either.

Here’s how to ensure you deliver the right message with your next corporate gift.

Apply Your Logo Tastefully

The most obvious way to brand your gifts is to include your logo, but you need to do it properly.

Your branding should be subtle, says Sharon-Frances Moore, a business etiquette expert and founder of New York City-based Shances. Aim to leave a subliminal impression by applying your logo tastefully on something the recipient will keep. For example, if you’re sending food, have it packaged in a reusable tin that’s nice enough to keep; your logo on it will be a constant reminder of your company.

Continue reading Brand Building for the Corporate Gifter

How To Create a Corporate Gifting Policy

Everyone loves receiving tokens of appreciation. Heartfelt acknowledgements like client gifts can express what words often cannot. However, preserving balance while honoring ethics within relationships can be tricky business. While formalized contracts govern many financial transactions, companies and their representatives can find themselves “winging it” when giving or receiving gifts. Experience has taught us that establishing a corporate gifting policy can prevent unintended awkwardness and ensure that every gift is always the perfect gift – exactly what it should be.

Continue reading How To Create a Corporate Gifting Policy