In a previous post, I mentioned that promotional products can be used for internal marketing and sales incentive campaigns. Add customer gifts to the list. Now, many companies have rules about giving and receiving gifts in a buyer/seller relationship, so it’s important that marketing consult with their Legal department before establishing a customer relationship program that includes a promotional product.
After getting the green light from Legal, be sure to consult with sales about the parameters of the program and the promotional product(s) you are proposing. This collaboration is essential to secure sales buy-in and ensure the program is implemented in the sales department as intended by marketing. An added bonus: it will strengthen the rapport between the sales and marketing teams.
One thing you’ll most certainly hear from sales is that the promotional product must be something of perceived value. Ideally, it will be an item that symbolizes how important the customer is to your company. Marketing must never forget that sales is on the front line. We can’t ask a salesperson to stand before the company’s most valuable customer and hand the very important contact a t-shirt, or a USB thumb drive, or a coffee mug. This is about relationship building. It’s also about the company’s brand reputation. Spend some money! Make it an item the salesperson can present with pride. Make it a conversation piece for the customer for years to come.
Did you oversee a customer relationship program for sales that included a gift? Was it a success? A failure? Please tell me your story in Comments.
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