Food may be most popular holiday business gift, but there are others

Dawn Ferguson, vice president of sales and marketing for State Bank of Cross Plains, considers several things when buying holiday gifts for loyal customers of the bank.

Cost of the item is least significant; acknowledging business associations is most important. So is making sure the gift is enjoyed by everyone in an office, from the receptionist to the CEO.

Advertisement

"Food items tend to go a long way because they can be enjoyed by everyone," said Ferguson.

Sometimes the door swings both ways.

"We try to support our customers by using the products they sell," she said. That's why it's not unusual for the bank to give cheese and sausage from Bavaria Sausage of Madison because Bavaria does business with State Bank of Cross Plains.

Gift-giving at Christmas time is considered a minor gesture, compared to other customer-appreciation events and acknowledgments planned throughout the year by the bank, added Ferguson. "Businesses are overloaded with gifts this time of year, and trying to annually come up with something different gets tough. We like to say 'thank-you' by doing things for customers other times of the year, not just on holidays."

Yet, for businesses specializing in corporate gift-giving, the end of the year is a busy time.

Mille Lacs Gourmet Foods Corporate Gifts, the business-to-business division of Wisconsin Cheeseman, based in Sun Prairie, generates between 10 percent and 15 percent of total sales for the parent company, which specializes in gift boxes and baskets of food products.

One top seller, according to Vice President John Manzer, is the "First Impressions Basket" filled with chocolates, cheese spreads and preserves. "Banks will purchase this basket to say 'thanks' to their loan clients. Hospitals will purchase it to give as a gift to their volunteers. A manufacturer will purchase it as an employee-anniversary or safety (record) gift," he said.

"The market for business gift-giving has changed over the years," he said. 

"While food has always been a great choice as a consumer holiday gift, in recent years it has increased in popularity as a corporate gift as well," he said. "Food has an advantage ... with its 'one-size-fits-all' value. Creative packaging carrying the customer's logo reinforces the goodwill."

Carol Walsh and Ginger Hinderaker have operated Basketworks from a home office in Madison since 1992.

"We have seen an increase every year. Our fourth quarter is very busy. Corporations, large and small, like to acknowledge their gratitude for excellence. Our business is to promote their business," Hinderaker said. "Amount spent on a Basketworks gift basket ranges from $50 to $500. Longtime clients tell us what they need and give us a budget range," she said.

"Realtors send gifts at a closing; real estate developers send at the holidays," she said. "We have a client list that includes local, state and national politicians, CEOs, lawyers, doctors and many local business executives. An Internet company brought over thousands of dollars of their merchandise and had us design a very special basket for Oprah Winfrey. It was spectacular! Another request was a thank-you from a family from Kosovo whose nephew's vision had been restored after pro-bono surgery. The enclosure card was signed 'God Bless America!'"

At Chamberlain Research Consultants, President and CEO Sharon Chamberlain and staff members enjoy visiting Basketree Gifts, a gift-basket emporium at 2611 Beltline, near the intersection of Todd Drive, this time of year to select holiday gift baskets for the firm's top clients.

Baskets, individually costing as much as $300, include enough food for an office of up to 20 to enjoy and "a keepsake that someone can take home," Chamberlain said. "If we send wine and cheese, then it might be a really cool wine opener; sometimes we include holiday decorations. It all depends upon what kind of theme we go with. We try to do something different every year. Of course, the container is a keepsake all to itself."

But holiday baskets don't preclude remembering weddings, birthdays and the birth of babies of clients, she said. "Some of our clients work with us on a year-round basis; it really becomes a friendship partnership."

When The Guild, a Madison company selling fine-art furnishings and home accents through its catalog, "The Artful Home," and Web site (www.guild.com) went into business in 1999, there was a run on its hand-blown glass ornaments during the holidays.

"We'd see these ornaments for 30 to 40 at a time," said Marcia Kraus, director of trade and public relations for The Guild, 931 E. Main St. "We knew it had to be businesses buying them to give as gifts."

Today, the company looks for interested corporations and other businesses by actively promoting "the art of business gift giving" for people interested in buying original pieces of art for gifts. Examples include a rainbow-hued, glass-blown heart ornament for $30 to handmade wooden boxes and intricate glass vases for $100 on up.

"Many of the gifts can be engraved or personalized," Kraus said. All of them are meant to make a statement "so someone will look at the piece and the client will say, 'that was given by ...'"

Some firms take a different tack in holiday gift-giving by donating money to a charitable cause in the name of the client.

"We ask our clients to select from a list of local charities so they can take a more active role in choosing where they want that money to go," said Al Zins of Zins Boelter & Lincoln advertising agency. In the past, that list has included Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity and local food pantries, said Zins.

"We think it works a whole lot better than sending what might be unwanted apples, food and wine," he added. "There is a greater level of insurance that the contribution will be of value to someone."

For years, the M&I Wealth Management Group in Southwestern Wisconsin, a division of M&I Bank, has given "the traditional gifts of holiday cards, fruit, candy, wine ... and we will continue to give those kinds of gifts for the foreseeable future," said Jason Stamm, vice president and regional director. "But last year, we expanded our gift-giving program to include donations to area charities in the names of our clients. "The reaction from the folks we did hear from was very positive. They felt it was very thoughtful and in the spirit of the holiday season. The fact is that many people travel over the holidays or live out of state during the winter months so traditional gifts are sometimes a little impractical."

Stamm added that whatever gift is given, "top on the list of rules is knowing your customer. The only other thing from a business standpoint is doing something that differentiates yourself."