The Leading Edge - Fall 2007 - (Page 11)

nies are if compa ing gifts or w much er at ing ho me consid at ions, calcul tep. so s even don is an important d or donate en ch for ea es prefer to sp f of each l business amount on beha or the amount the same thers opt to tail o cl ient— l ient. pany s his com o each c irect say t d on dD ula base ntegrate fI form nsorte o d uses a Chris Co cards an ents gift gift. nice gives cli ine each e. It’s a o determ employe enue t er rev ugh it’s t $250 p even tho lients ge e with ember— bigger c “The hing nic an rem t they c o somet r tha ey can d $100 pe amount oney, th nts get s ton of m ranslate aller clie sm lly t not a but usua ins. “The by xpla gift.” oo shab it,” he e till not t e a small or mayb loyee—s f emp ht out olume o inner nig on the v into a d and we is based amount out well to says the It works translate spent. “ Consorte actually dollars s and rous gift business r.” ore gene next yea at the m in the find th usiness re b even mo do good When Ann Taylor of Origin Design owned her own PR firm, she used to send custom cards but eventually went the charitable route. “It just felt more genuine,” she says. “It allowed us to do something good, while also promoting ourselves. If you only have so many dollars to spend, why not get the maximum good from them?” Taylor matched her clients’ interests with the donation. For example, the donation on behalf of a real estate developer went to the local parks. A health care client’s donation would go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Making a donation in an amount similar to what she would have spent on a gift, Taylor says her clients are not told the exact amount. They receive a card from the charity saying, “a generous donation has been made in your name.” She says clients appreciated the effort. One client even wrote a handwritten thank you to Taylor for making the donation. “It’s not often that you receive a ‘thank you’ for your ‘thank you,’” Taylor adds. should consider experience gifts—a catered breakfast or visit from a chef for an office lunch, or perhaps doggy day care for the client who cares passionately about her dogs. money, money, money “I thought, ‘what would I want?’ Money!” says Chris Consorte of Integrated Direct in New York City. “So now we give our clients Visa gift cards in various amounts. “We do this for all our clients—and we always get a call thanking us and telling us how cool our gift is and looked forward to,” he says. “One client even told me that he was boarding a flight and forgot his ATM and credit card at home. He happened to have our gift to take back home—we totally came to his rescue. Now that’s a win-win if I’ve ever heard one.” e personal, unforgettable gifts Collect all the information about your clients you’ve gathered through your interactions over the year and create a highly personalized gift basket, says David Nour, managing partner of the Atlanta-based Nour Group. For example, find an autographed baseball from a client’s favorite player, a mug from a favorite destination or a golf shirt from a favorite course. Nour says companies also THE LEAdIng EdgE 11

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leading Edge - Fall 2007

Contents More than Money Riding E-Cycles Can Mean Green for Your Business Business Across State Lines - The Tax Implications Holiday Recognition? Bits & Pieces In a Nutshell: Q&A The Leading Edge Alliance

The Leading Edge - Fall 2007

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