At Reachdesk, we know gifting works. Thoughtfully timed and well-chosen gifts open doors, build relationships, and leave lasting impressions. But why is gifting such a powerful tool? What makes people respond so strongly to receiving gifts, and how can businesses use this to their advantage?
In this blog, we’ll dig into the psychology and science behind gifting—exploring how it strengthens relationships, enhances trust, and boosts long-term loyalty. We'll also provide actionable insights on how businesses can effectively use gifting strategies to drive results.
The science of gifting: Why we give
Gift-giving is about more than exchanging physical items; it’s a social ritual deeply rooted in human psychology. When we give a gift, we tap into an instinctual desire to connect, communicate appreciation, and strengthen bonds.
What happens in the brain?
When someone receives a gift, their brain releases dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin—chemicals linked to happiness, reward, and bonding. These "happiness hormones" not only make the receiver feel good, but they also create a sense of gratitude and trust toward the giver.
This response goes beyond fleeting joy. It lays the groundwork for lasting relationships. By tapping into one of the five love languages—gift-giving—businesses can use
The historical roots of gifting
While gifting has evolved, its underlying motivations—gratitude, loyalty, and relationship-building—remain timeless.
Early human societies
Prehistoric humans exchanged gifts to foster social bonds, share resources, and build alliances. These early exchanges symbolized trust and mutual reliance—traits still central to business relationships today.
Evolution of gifting practices
As civilizations developed, the act of giving gifts became more formalized:
- Cavemen gave gifts and symbolic objects like jewellery or ornaments between 35,000 and 10,000 years ago.
- Ancient Egyptians offered gifts to their gods to gain favour and ensure prosperity.
- In Ancient Greece, gifts were central to rituals, celebrations, and diplomacy—it’s even where birthday cake originated.
- Medieval Europe saw the rise of gifting as a way to cement political alliances and relationships between nobility.
Throughout history, gifting has transcended mere transactions; it has been a powerful means of building lasting connections, expressing appreciation, and fostering a sense of reciprocity. Today many businesses struggle to achieve this level of meaningful engagement through modern marketing channels, the timeless practice of gift-giving offers a refreshing way to stand out. Let’s explore how incorporating thoughtful gifting into your strategy can help you achieve your business goals and create genuine connections.
Gifting in modern business: Why corporate gifting works
The power of gift-giving—building trust, strengthening bonds, and fostering connections—has stood the test of time. And while everyone enjoys receiving a gift, that alone won’t sway decision-makers to get their budget out. The numbers, however, do the talking: 35% of consumers made a purchase, payment, or donation in the last year thanks to direct mail. Let’s unpack the psychology behind gifting and why it works wonders in business.
Why gifting works in business
- Creates Reciprocity: People feel a natural urge to reciprocate when they receive something of value. In business, this can lead to warmer leads and accelerated deal cycles. Companies that use gifting see a 9x higher response rate thanks to the power of reciprocity.
- Enhances Emotional Engagement: Gifts evoke positive emotions, deepening relationships and increasing customer satisfaction by over 95%.
- Builds Trust: Gifting shows you value the relationship beyond transactions, leading to a 400%+ increase in pipeline by fostering meaningful connections.
- Demonstrates Thoughtfulness: A personalized gift signals care and attention, helping brands stand out. Personalized strategies have led to 42% higher event attendance and 15% better demo show rates.
- Strengthens Loyalty: Regularly recognizing milestones or achievements with gifts boosts loyalty and retention. Thoughtful gifting nurtures relationships, leading to long-term gains across the board.
Applying the psychology of gifting to business strategy
Now that we understand the psychology of gifting, how can companies strategically use gifts to drive business results? Here are some key areas where gifting has a significant impact.
1. Gifting helps sales teams prospect more effectively
Gifting is a powerful way to cut through the noise of traditional sales outreach. Personalized gifts like champagne or cupcakes can boost close rates by 19% and generate up to 447% more opportunities.
For sales teams looking to break into key accounts, eGifts like coffee and lunch vouchers can increase booked meetings and boost response rates by 212%. When prospects receive a thoughtful gift, they feel valued and are more likely to engage positively, setting the stage for meaningful conversations. Now, that’s some powerful stuff!
2. Boost event engagement at every stage with gifting: Pre, during, post
Gifting can enhance attendee engagement at every stage of an event—before, during, and after—ensuring your brand remains top of mind.
For example, Cint aimed to stand out at their events by delivering customized swag tailored to each location. Before the Athens event, they sent out Roman-inspired coasters featuring iconic landmarks to generate excitement. During the event in Paris, they showcased custom biscuits beautifully crafted to resemble the Eiffel Tower, creating a memorable experience for attendees. After the events, following up with thoughtful merchandise or tokens of appreciation reinforces connections and sparks meaningful conversations, making your outreach feel more personal and impactful.
3. Gifting increases customer retention
Customer engagement is crucial for success teams looking to retain and grow key accounts, and gifting can play a strategic role at every stage. From sending brownies to key stakeholders during onboarding to surprising champions with personalized whiskey for upsells, thoughtful gifts help build deeper relationships.
For example, illumin curated a fun Wimbledon-themed bundle featuring branded tennis balls, custom socks, and tennis-shaped pasta to show appreciation for customers and prospects. Celebrating milestones like anniversaries or renewals with gifts like these demonstrates value beyond contracts, leading to higher satisfaction, increased upsell opportunities, and improved retention rates.
4. Gifting helps marketing teams drive real business results
Tracking the effectiveness of gifting campaigns used to be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but that’s a thing of the past! With corporate gifting tools like Reachdesk, marketing teams can easily access data to see how their gifting strategies are impacting their performance. Just ask Salesloft—they enjoyed an impressive 60X ROI by incorporating gifting into their approach!
Whether it’s enticing prospects to book a meeting with a free coffee voucher or sending lunch vouchers for a cozy demo experience, keeping an eye on gift redemption rates can provide valuable insights. This helps marketing teams see the impact of their efforts and turn interested prospects into loyal fans. So why not embrace gifting as part of your marketing strategy and enjoy the positive results?
5. Gifting helps HR teams hire, retain and engage top employees
For HR teams, gifting can be an integral part of onboarding, recognition, and retention strategies. Welcoming new employees with personalized items or celebrating their achievements with thoughtful gifts makes them feel appreciated and boosts morale. Companies that prioritize gifting as part of their culture have been shown to have better employee retention rates too. Talk about a win-win!
6. Gifting can help nurture long-term partnerships
Gifting is a powerful way to nurture partnerships by acknowledging important milestones or expressing appreciation during key moments. For example, Reachdesk customers, SentinelOne leveraged their partnership with Aston Martin Formula 1 by launching a two-part campaign that included an Aston Martin LEGO set and stickers, followed by a bespoke remote-control car. The response was phenomenal—the stock nearly sold out on launch day! This thoughtful gifting approach helped SentinelOne book meetings with key accounts and generate an impressive $1.1 million in the pipeline. What a result!
But gifting shouldn’t be done for its own sake; it needs to be a strategic part of your marketing and outreach efforts, just like any other channel. Keep reading to discover our top tips for achieving corporate gifting success.
Wondering what you can send?
5 tips to optimize your corporate gifting strategy
To make the most of your gifting efforts, it’s crucial to follow best practices that maximize the emotional and business impact. Here are five tips to guide your gifting strategy:
1. Personalize every corporate gift
Shockingly, 66% of customers feel like they’re just another number, which certainly doesn’t inspire loyalty. So, how can you turn that around? The answer is personalization.
Generic corporate gifts simply won’t cut it. To truly connect with your audience, choose gifts that reflect the recipient’s preferences, role, or industry. Personalization goes beyond merely adding a name to a product; it’s about selecting something that genuinely resonates. Consider customized items that align with the recipient’s hobbies, recent activities, or professional milestones to create a memorable impression.
Top tip: Personalization is not just reserved for the corporate gift—your messaging matters too. A thoughtful, personalized message can elevate the entire experience. Reachdesk AI makes this easy, helping you create personalized messages and choose the perfect gifts that align with your recipient's preferences.
2. Use data-driven corporate gifting tools to automate the process
Use corporate gifting platforms like Reachdesk to automate and track your gifting campaigns. With our platform, you can easily send gifts to any location using our handy address confirmation feature, seamlessly integrating gifting into every touchpoint of the customer journey—without the hassle of manual effort.
Plus, our robust analytics and tracking features offer valuable insights, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and refine your strategy for even greater impact. Ensuring every gift makes an impact.
3. Be strategic with timing
Seasonal holidays provide excellent opportunities for teams to show appreciation to prospects, employees, and customers year-round. From Independence Day to Happiness Happens Month, there’s plenty of room for creative gifting campaigns.
Don’t limit yourself to traditional holidays—surprise customers with unique corporate gifts like Holloween themed cookies in October. Just ensure they’re relevant and personalized to the recipient’s interests.
Timing is crucial, too; align your corporate gifting campaigns with key moments—celebrating a prospect’s milestone or recognizing an employee’s achievement shows thoughtfulness and makes your gifts even more impactful. Use tools like Champify to help you track role changes for timely engagement!
4. Keep it relevant and practical
Choose corporate gifts that are practical, relevant, and aligned with the recipient’s current needs or interests. Sending something too extravagant or unrelated to their world may backfire. Simplicity, usefulness, and relevance often make the biggest impression.
5. Think beyond physical gifts
While physical gifts are impactful, consider offering experiential gifts or eGifts, such as donations made in the recipient’s name, virtual experiences, or coffee vouchers. These types of corporate gifts can feel more personal and aligned with modern preferences, especially in remote or hybrid environments.
Take your business to new heights with thoughtful gifting
Gifting isn’t just a feel-good gesture—it’s a proven strategy grounded in human psychology. When done thoughtfully, it can build stronger connections, enhance trust, and drive tangible business results. By applying the science of gifting, businesses can foster deeper relationships and unlock long-term value across sales, customer success, and employee engagement.
Ready to start your corporate gifting journey? Get in touch with Reachdesk to build gifting campaigns that generate pipeline, accelerate deals and strengthen customer relationships.
