Improvised Life [ November 30th, 2011 ] Posted in » Words and Then Some... by Anne
Thanks Grenville Station
Corporate Halloween Gifting
It is very common in corporations today to send holiday gift baskets. Although generically referred to as holiday gifts, what is really meant is Christmas gift baskets. It is natural for gift giving to spill over from the personal to the business side of relationships. Businesses start gearing down in anticipation of the extended time off. Everyone is in ‘holiday mode’ the 2nd and 3rd weeks of December.
A small yet substantial segment of the business community takes advantage of opportunities in the business cycle to exploit heighten marketing sensitivities. The smart marketer knows that people start preparing for the holidays immediately after labour day. Corporations start brainstorming on what they will be doing ‘in the new year’. They’ve forgotten to focus on the remainder of the current year.
A major part of business gifting is to reward employees for hard work, remind suppliers of your appreciation for their support throughout the year and thank/encourage past customers that you value their past purchases of your products or services and sincerely value their future consideration. While December is a great time to send a holiday gift, October is the perfect opportunity to leap frog ahead of your competition and get in front of your customers by sending them a Halloween gift basket.
Birthday Blues…
We all have at least one – you know, the person who is hard to buy for… Personally, I have two of those people in my life and today just happens to be the 35th birthday of one of those individuals – my husband (and Grenville Station Inc. co-owner), James. Why is James so difficult to buy for? Well, for starters he doesn’t have any hobbies, participate in any clubs or play sports. Not to say that he’s a couch potato by any means, he simply doesn’t have time for these activities. We are the proud parents of a beautiful six year old girl and we own and operate our own business. When you’re a small business owner and father of a young child you tend to wear a lot of hats and this keeps him quite busy.
“So, what about his interests?”, you might be thinking. Well, his main interests involve technical IT kind of stuff that I know nothing about, and improving and growing our business. So he’s constantly educating himself by reading, researching, networking and “tinkering” on the computer. Buying him anything electronic or related to technology of any kind is out of the question – I simply wouldn’t know where to begin! Music is out – he listens to talk radio in the van and seminars, lectures or other educational type of things on his ipod while exercising. Books or other resource media are out too for obvious reasons.
So what does that leave me with? You would think that someone whose business is ”gifting” wouldn’t have a problem coming up with a gift for their own spouse, but I do. I certainly can’t give him a gift basket after being in the basket business together for eight years! I have access to a wide range of gourmet & specialty foods and giftware but it just doesn’t feel like a genuine gift when you handle these products on a daily basis. He’s not a plant or flower type of guy and gift cards seem impersonal to me. I could make him a nice meal but let’s face it, I’m not much of a cook! What is a girl to do?
James, if you’re reading this, our daughter and I will have a lovely store bought cake and a heartfelt birthday card or two waiting for you when you get home. The rest of it will be a surprise because I obviously haven’t a clue what to give you for a present!
