Why Sending Gift Baskets During the Holidays is Good for Business

Giving gifts has always been an incredibly important and complex part of human interaction that helps define relationships between friends, enemies, and acquaintances. In the business world, gifting has gone from uncommon to expected in only a few generations. These days, almost all companies have a holiday budget that includes presents for clients, partners, and even some customers.

Why?

No, it's not because business owners have suddenly gotten soft. In fact, it's really all about dollars and cents, as researchers have found that giving gifts is less expensive than not giving them. Whether it warms the cockles of their hearts or not, we do know that major clients now expect to get something during the holidays, and may even be offended if they do not. Therefore, it pays to send something to show your appreciate for their business.

What should you send?

The whole corporate gift giving tradition most likely started with the humble fruit basket. Before that time, flowers were the only present that was commonly sent through the mail. For obvious reasons, bosses rarely sent roses to each other. But with the advent of the fruit basket, they finally had something they could use to show their appreciation. The tradition later became a matter of corporate etiquette that is now conscientiously observed in the business world.

Although fruit baskets are still quite popular, they often include other food and non-food products nowadays. As a result, they are generally called gift baskets when offered by commercial sellers. The price of these presents range from inexpensive to quite steep depending on the contents. Here are a few of the things you are likely to find in a corporate gift basket sent during the holidays:

·Oranges, apples, pears, grapefruit, peaches, and other fresh fruit

·Gourmet coffee

·Imported cheeses or cheese spreads

·Mixed nuts

·Multigrain crackers

·Handcrafted chocolates

·Fine wine

·Cookies, cakes, and other confections

·Smoked meats

·Jellies, jams, and fruit preserves

Where to send them?

Because most business are small businesses, they can't afford to send gift baskets out to every client. The good news is that most clients don't expect actual gifts during the holidays; many times a simple card will suffice. But when you're talking about your top client, one without which you wouldn't be able to keep the lights on, you really must send them something to let them know you appreciate their business. Fortunately, even gourmet gift baskets are widely available from online sellers at prices that rarely top one hundred dollars!