How to create a corporate gifting strategy that delivers ROI

In this article, we’ll outline a step-by-step approach to creating a corporate gifting strategy that not only delights your prospects and customers but also drives demand and proves value. We’ll also share insights from industry experts at Salesloft and Demandbase to give you a peek into what’s working for leading B2B brands. Let’s dive in!

Why corporate gifting matters for B2B marketers and sales

Corporate gifting is no longer just a ‘nice-to-have’—it’s a powerful tool that can enhance your ABM campaigns, build rapport, and increase conversion rates. According to research, organizations with strong ABM strategies generate up to 208% more revenue for their marketing efforts, with corporate gifting and direct mail providing the highest ROI according to 84% of marketers. When done thoughtfully, gifting can nurture existing relationships, revive stalled deals, and open doors to new opportunities.

However, to get a return on your investment (ROI), you need more than just great gifts. You need a gifting strategy that is aligned with the buyer journey, personalized to the recipient, and tied to measurable outcomes.

How to build a winning corporate gifting strategy

 

Here’s your guide to creating a gifting strategy that not only makes an impact but also drives demand generation and measurable ROI. Here are eight actionable tips for success:

 

1. Personalize your gifts

The core of an effective corporate gifting strategy is personalization. Tailor every gift to the recipient's specific interests and goals. This isn’t just about sending something with their name on it—it’s about showing that you’ve done your research and truly understand what will resonate with them.

Kelly Walters from Salesloft shared a few examples of how personalization can work wonders. In one instance, her team discovered a prospect was a huge Star Wars fan and gifted him a LEGO stormtrooper helmet. In another case, they sent a donation to a charity race a prospect was running. Both times, the gifts were unique to the recipient and made a lasting impression.

Top Tip: Listen for clues from prospects during conversations, and use social media platforms like LinkedIn to gather more personal insights. These little details can give you a significant competitive advantage when choosing gifts. If you know someone loves coffee, send a personalized mug or a coffee subscription. Tailoring gifts to personal preferences can turn a simple gesture into a memorable experience

2. Use a tiered gifting approach

Not all prospects are the same—and neither should your gifting strategy be. A tiered gifting approach ensures that you allocate resources wisely based on the potential value of the account or the seniority of the recipient.

For higher-value prospects or C-suite executives, consider premium gifts that reflect the importance of the relationship. For mid-tier or lower-value accounts, you might opt for more scalable but still thoughtful options, such as e-vouchers or branded swag. The key is to ensure you are creating an account-based experience by matching the gift with the value of the opportunity.

Top Tip: Map out your ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and craft a gifting budget accordingly. Organizations that define strong ICPs achieve 68% higher win rates, so understanding your audience is essential to making every gift count.

3. Align gifting with the sales cycle

Your gifting strategy should evolve based on where a prospect is in the sales funnel. For early-stage leads, something simple and low-cost—like a coffee voucher—can help break the ice. But as relationships progress and you move into later stages of the buying cycle, you can increase the thoughtfulness and value of your gifts.

For example, if a deal has stalled, consider sending a luxury item like a curated gift box to rekindle the conversation. If you’ve recently onboarded a client, send a thoughtful welcome gift to reinforce their decision and celebrate the start of the partnership.

Top Tip: Use gifting not just to open doors but also to nurture existing relationships and move deals forward

4. Focus on reciprocity without expecting a return

Corporate gifting is about giving without the expectation of an immediate return. While it’s natural to hope for a booked meeting or a signed deal, not every gift will lead to an immediate response. The key is to approach gifting as part of a longer-term relationship-building strategy.

By focusing on creating genuine moments of appreciation, you’ll build goodwill that may pay off down the road—even if not immediately.

Top Tip: Think of gifting as an investment in your relationship-building strategy. Patience and consistency are key.

5. Take advantage of seasonal and special occasions

Seasonal gifting is a tried-and-true strategy, but it’s still effective for a reason. Tying your gifting efforts to national holidays, corporate anniversaries, or even niche holidays (like International Coffee Day or Earth Day) can make your outreach feel timely and relevant.

Seasonal campaigns are also a great way to engage with dormant or at-risk accounts. For instance, if you’re running a campaign around Halloween, you might send out a batch of halloween themed cookies with a note that says: “Don’t ghost us! Let’s carve out some time to reconnect about [X]. Our partnership is a batch made in heaven.” This will help you reconnect with leads who have gone quiet.

Top Tip: Don’t limit yourself to major holidays—obscure holidays can be just as effective and help you stand out. Need help? Explore our 2024 Holiday Gifting Guide packed with gift and messaging ideas for core personas and holidays in Q4.

6. Align gifting with your sales cadence

Gifting isn’t just a one-off event—it should be woven into your sales cadence to maximize its impact. If your cadence includes email outreach, follow-up calls, and LinkedIn messages, think about how gifting can complement these touchpoints. A thoughtful gift can break through the noise, grab attention, and differentiate your brand in competitive environments.

For instance, instead of sending a generic follow-up email, you could include a note saying, “Enjoy a coffee on us, while we chat!” paired with a coffee e-voucher or bundle.

Top Tip: Align gifting with your broader marketing and sales strategy. For example, if you’re launching a new product or attending a major event, send a themed gift to make a lasting impression.

7. Use automation tools to streamline gifting

Corporate gifting doesn’t have to be time-consuming. Tools like Reachdesk automate the process, making it easy for your team to send personalized gifts at scale, enhancing your ABM strategy and driving better ROI. By integrating gifting into your CRM tech stack, you can track gifting ROI, monitor redemption rates, and measure how gifts influence deal progression.

Top Tip: Encourage your sales and marketing teams to use a gifting automation tool consistently by providing training sessions and ensuring they have an adequate budget.

8. Celebrate wins with clients

Gifting isn’t just for prospects. Celebrating milestones with your clients is a fantastic way to nurture relationships and ensure long-term loyalty. Whether it’s a contract renewal, a company anniversary, or a recent project win, sending a celebratory gift, like a personalized champagne bundle can reinforce the partnership.

Top Tip: For at-risk accounts, gifting can help remind clients of the value of your services and give you an opportunity to re-engage them.

Measuring Success: How to track the ROI of your corporate gifting strategy

 The biggest misconception about corporate gifting is that it’s hard to measure ROI. The truth is, with the right tools, you can track every touchpoint and its impact on your sales pipeline and overall demand generation efforts.

Here are some key gifting strategy metrics to track:

1. Redemption rates

Measure how often recipients redeem e-gifts or claim their physical gifts. High redemption rates often correlate with strong engagement and indicate the effectiveness of your strategy.

2. Marketing influenced opportunities

Track how many opportunities were created as a direct result of gifting. Whether through first-touch or multi-touch attribution, ensure that your CRM is set up to capture the impact of your gifting efforts on the sales pipeline.

3. Sales impact

Ultimately, the most important metric is whether gifting leads to revenue. By tracking closed-won deals where gifting was a factor, you can clearly see the impact on your bottom line.

4. Customer retention rates

For current clients, gifting can influence renewals and upsells. Keep an eye on how your gifting strategy impacts customer retention and renewal rates, especially with at-risk accounts.

Top Tip: Use tools like Reachdesk’s Insights to monitor the ROI of gifting campaigns directly from platforms like Salesforce.

It’s time to create a corporate gifting strategy that delivers results

Corporate gifting, when done right, is a powerful addition to any B2B strategy. By personalizing gifts, aligning them with the sales cycle, and using automation to streamline the process, you can ensure your gifts deliver real results. Remember, the key is not just to send great gifts—it’s to track the impact and continually refine your approach.

For more insights on how to generate demand through scalable gifting, check out our webinar featuring insights from Alex Olley (CRO at Reachdesk), Leanne Chescoe (Senior Manager, EMEA Marketing at Demandbase), and Kelly Walters (Senior Marketing Manager at Salesloft).