A little gift goes a long way

1. Value Creation

No matter what kind of gifts you give to customers, and no matter what your purpose is for giving gifts, the premise is that you must not equate giving gifts with giving discounts or lowering prices. If you have this mindset when giving gifts, it can be problematic. Gifts are not the reason customers make a purchase; rather, they are the reason customers feel happy about buying, buy more, buy more expensive items, and buy faster. Therefore, our selection of gifts requires salespeople to create value and to shape the value of gifts for different customers.

For example, when we give a flashlight to customers, we need to highlight the practical functionality for older people, while for young people, we should emphasize the stylish and fun features of the flashlight. This requires that the design of the gift considers both practicality and entertainment; otherwise, you are simply giving a regular flashlight to someone. Who would like that?

2. Emotional Function

The value of gifts is meant to be magnified. If we only highlight the practical function of gifts, then I have reason to believe that many gift customers do not like them. We often see many department stores giving away Apple iPads during promotional events in May and November. I wonder if every household gives away iPads, will customers still feel surprised? If you're going to give a gift, it should be different from the competitors' offerings and incorporate some emotional function.

What are people paying attention to these days? Of course, concepts like environmental protection, health, and energy conservation. Therefore, your customers may prefer gifts that are eco-friendly or ecological.

3. Product Reminder

The development and selection of gifts is not a trivial matter. Many planners in businesses come up with gifts that are less than ideal, not to mention the merchants, especially the dealers who choose gifts themselves. People always think that whatever most ordinary customers like recently, or what has the best cost-effectiveness, is what they should give. This leads to a misunderstanding: it’s better not to give a gift at all than to give one that makes customers unhappy.

The third principle for selecting gifts is that they should remind customers of your product. This means that through the gift, customers should remember what you sell. For example, those selling cars might give out car vacuums, tea sellers might give out tea cups, and jewelry sellers might provide jewelry boxes. Always remember that what you give should be associated with the products you sell. Every time I buy leather shoes, I ask the seller if they can include an extra pair of shoelaces. To this day, the majority of replies I get are that there are no shoelaces to give away. It seems that our merchants prefer to give away more expensive items rather than what customers genuinely need.

4. Practical Value

In addition to the emotional function and value creation mentioned above, practical value should not be overlooked. To put it more directly, many of us are accustomed to using certain products, leading us to ignore them until someone reminds us that it’s time to replace them or until that item reaches the point of “no longer usable.” For example, how long has it been since you sharpened your kitchen knife? Have you thought about replacing it? How long has your doormat not been cleaned? Have you considered buying a new doormat? How many years has your desk lamp been in use? Have you thought about getting a new desk lamp?

If stores give customers such gifts during promotional activities, it often leads customers to suddenly realize that they’ve been using certain items for many years and that it’s time for a replacement. This is what we call "a timely help." Many customers are walking in the snow and forget that they need warmth; of course, many merchants are better at enhancing what’s already good rather than providing "winter warmth," because solving real needs is more challenging than just embellishment. The difficulty lies in our lack of insight and deep concern for customers, failing to notice that they are in need.

5. High Quality

This point does not require much elaboration. If you are going to do it, do it to the best of your ability; if not, then simply don't do it at all. Many distributor owners, when carrying out promotional activities, spend a lot of money on various promotional activities but cut corners when it comes to selecting gifts, opting for poorly made gifts to give to customers.

For instance, giving a small electric fan to customers might lead to situations where, after a few days at home, the fan stops working; giving a blanket might result in it shrinking after only a few washes to the point that it’s unusable; giving a water cup might lead to it shattering after pouring hot water in it during winter. This is a classic case of "penny wise, pound foolish." Even if the customer makes an impulsive purchase at your store this time, they will certainly share their unpleasant shopping experience with their friends, and with the internet being so developed now, reputation is everything. If you want to do long-term business, you must take promotions seriously and know how to conduct them properly.

What seems like a simple buy-gift promotional activity is, in fact, quite intricate. If the gifts offered are not good enough to pique customers' interest and enthusiasm, it’s like a little rabbit trying to fish with a carrot; what you like may not necessarily be what customers like. Therefore, promotional gifts should be chosen based on customer preferences; this is why research on the target audience should come before designing the promotional activity.