What’s the big deal about companies showing gratitude?

By:   Deby Lexow, Founder & Owner, LOCLE Box LLC

grat·i·tude
/ˈɡradəˌt(y)o͞od/

Noun: The quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

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There’s no better way to express your gratitude than showing someone how much you appreciate them than with a gift or a hand-written note or both. Yet a simple ‘thank you’ to a person can have a lasting impact, as well.

In the past two decades, showing gratitude has been studied extensively.  These studies have revealed a neuroscientific connection between showing gratitude and appreciation and has proven to be an avenue to positive emotions including joy, pride, and motivation.

The most common time to show gratitude is the holiday season.  A thoughtful gift with a card shows appreciation for clients and employees in the most powerful way.

Companies, who choose to ‘stand out,’ make investments in their clients and their staff.  They choose to create a culture with a clear mission and goals and objectives and they strive to create a foundation that says – work with us!  We are smart, great people who feel valued.

The goal is to create a solid, long-lasting relationship with the recipient.  As a business owner, your company thrives on healthy customer relations and happy employees and it must be an absolute priority.  Giving gifts during the holidays is one of the easiest ways to show them that you care about them and value them!

If you’re not sure how to approach business gift giving, let me help.  Read on.

Benefits:

• Shows how grateful you are for their business/service. Says thank you to your client or employee for their hard work throughout the past year.
• Sends a personal message that highlights just how much you value them and the relationship you have generated.
• Promotes a culture of mutual respect and maintaining morale with clients and employees. It fosters a higher degree of loyalty benefiting the company, the clients, and the employees.
• Enhances the company’s appeal- not only to work there but to work with them.  Best places to work/Best companies to work with!
• Sending gifts is a great way to self-promote your business. Yes, that’s right! With the right thoughtful gift and note, your name/company will be talked about with friends, family, and at work.
• Rewards your customers and employees.  Building strong relationships is a major advantage of gift giving.

Happy people are productive people which means employee retention and helps to create a healthy work force.  Verbally expressing gratitude is critical to letting employees AND vendors AND clients know that you appreciate them and the job they do. Gifts do it even better!

Creates positive company buzz. Who doesn’t like it when people are talking about our company in a positive way?

How to have a positive impact

Make it personal - Select items that you know they will like.  It shows that you care about them. But not too personal!

Be creative – Don’t give your employees your company “swag’ – they will not see it as a gift! Afterall, it is a marketing piece.

Don’t use gifts as bribes - Not every client merits a gift or appreciation. But every employee does!

Tips to remember

• Start with a budget in mind
• Don’t be cheap.  If your business is “first-class,” don’t be the low bidder when it comes to showing your appreciation.
• Shop LOCAL - Search locally owned businesses for your gifts.

 

Deby Lexow is the founder and owner of LOCLE Box, a gifting service.  Since 2014, she has been helping businesses and individuals show their gratitude to clients, employees, family and friends with products made by small batch local artisans who live and work in Ohio. She curates these items into themed gifts and ships them to the recipients’ along with a hand-written note.  Deby can be reached at [email protected] | www.LOCLEBox.com