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In recent years gift baskets have become extremely popular, with an increasing number of options available, plus a number of speciality baskets, such as golf enthusiasts, new baby and gourmet baskets. Another type of basket in great demand is the corporate gift basket.

In choosing corporate gifts, a company has to decide what it is trying to achieve in giving the gift at all. Like any marketing decision (and let's be honest, this is marketing), the choice needs to take into account costs, purpose and likely benefits, as well as any possible adverse reaction if a bad choice is made. So, your corporate gift basket, if that is the general choice you make, should be appropriate not just to the recipient but the level and importance of the business relationship you have with them.

I am stating the obvious in saying that the corporate gift basket you send needs to both please the recipient, and further your business relationship with them. But it should also be kept in economic proportions. If you are sending to a customer who spends $50m a year with you, and you send them an obviously cheap $15 gift basket, the gift is likely to do your business relationship more harm than good. Send a luxury gift basket worth $990 to a customer who spends $100 a year with you, is not a sensible decision, unless they happen to be a great friend of yours; in which case, it is not really a corporate gift anyway.

When making your choice of gift basket, and what to include in it, then do think very carefully. The best marketing, the best customer relationships, are built on an individual basis. Ask yourself: do I not prefer to be treated as an individual, and receive gifts that are personalized? Of course you do; it shows the giver has thought about you and taken you into account as a person. Treat the corporate gift process like a mass mailing addressed "Dear Sir or Madam", and you will damage your customer relationships.

It follows, then, that your choice of corporate gift baskets should be well tailored for the recipients. An element of personalisation is very important, especially for large (spending) customers and their company executives. Just having something engraved can bring a touch of personalisation, even if all customers have exactly the same contents in their gift basket.

What To Put In A Corporate Gift Basket?

Deciding what to put in corporate gift baskets requires a bit of thought, which benefits from the "know your customer" rule. Once you have decided on the budget for each basket, and the type of gift that would be appropriate, it is then a matter of being selective within those criteria. For Christmas gift baskets, some advance planning is definitely needed so you can source the best value and quality of products.

You can find suppliers of corporate gift baskets online who appreciate the need for personalisation and will offer a range of options for you. So, if you choose appropriate quality products to fill the basket, and they are suitable for your gift "target", you can then have one or more items personalised.

Should you decide to have a basket with just one item personalised, then ensure that is placed strategically at the top of the basket, so the recipient sees quickly that you have thought about them as a person. The more individual touches you are able to add to the contents of the basket, the better for your customer relationships. But always remember, your choices must be appropriate.

The types of gifts you can put in the basket are really only limited by imagination. Engravable items can include wine boxes, golf flasks, cufflinks, business card cases. Really, just about anything you can engrave. If you have a gift in mind you cannot engrave, then a metal plaque added could be engraved, such as with a wooden pen box or executive filing case. The more you use your imagination, the more individual your corporate gift basket will be.

This corporate gift article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner/author of the Gifts For Xmas website, and the Xmas Ornament website.