Get ahead start and make the holiday season less stressful

This year I will plan to ship corporate holiday gifts ahead of time. Horror story. Last season I thought there was no hurry and that I would get true deals by waiting until mid December to purchase gifts for my clients. Client gifts of gratitude for their business is really important and if you falter to send a holiday gift you have botched the customary gift that has come to be expected yearly. Don't forget how important and necessary these appreciation tokens are. Three years ago I decided to skip the gifts because of a budget crunch. Thinking it made very little or no difference I felt quite smug about the amount of money and time and hassle I would save for this extra meaningless expenditure. Was I ever completely wrong. In fact many of us were wrong. The other company people I meet with weekly all talked it over and were in agreement that one year couldn't make that much difference and we were quite smug about our money saving strategy. In my business my main competitor is someone who has tried to get my clients but I've always received their trust. Unfortunately for me he made a decision to take the risk and send out gifts early. The next year I found I was losing some of my clients because they had decided to take a look at other firms that could deliver the same or equivalent service. As we asked new clients many of them had already signed up with the competitor and my laid back and trusted style that I would easily keep clients was slipping away. I had to work really hard to keep the clients I had and put in a lot of time and effort for the next few years to get some of my original companies loyalties back. Maybe it wasn't just the holiday gift, but the next year I took note. Listening and asking questions of good friends and relatives about what made them loyal and things that made a difference I noted that follow up letters of thanks,telephone calls, and gifts aren't just tokens they are are reminders and stamps of assurance for the clients. So two years ago I made sure I had money for gifts at holiday time budgeted. I started looking for gift ideas and sent them out the first of December. What I found out was that I immediately got cards and calls from clients. They loved them plus mine were the first gifts to arrive at their office. My secretary and I were talking and she pointed out the gift we got at Thanksgiving one year with the note that here's your first holiday gift to enjoy. Since it was the first and only gift at that time it did make a big difference. Most gifts of food, gifts baskets, and cards come that last week before December 25 and although we appreciate them they sometimes get tossed in and mixed up and we can't remember exactly who gave what. Besides workers are bringing in treats and food for each other all week. So my secretary and I started talking and analyzing that the first gifts that come in are the most recognized and appreciated and you normally remember them. That brings me to our plan for this year. We have already contacted a basket business to send out holiday gift baskets to be delivered no later than December l. Why? Because last year we thought we'd order them later and they were sold out of the one we really wanted. Since we have clients in 10 states we had failed to note that many would not arrive on time because of shipping days needed. We gave up after checking about sending flower arrangements or poinsettias which seemed useless for a few days in the office. As a last resort we scrambled to get gift cards for area restaurants or bakeries near each client. It took way too much time. We were able to find some gift cards in food market, but they were not the right denomination. We also felt uneasy that the exact amount we were spending was apparent, putting a dollar value on the client. But we got the cards sent out. It was fine and at least we sent a gift. However one of the more vocal and blatantly honest secretaries called to thank us and did say she preferred the gift baskets because she was the one who had to order and go to the restaurant to bring back what was ordered with the gift card. She also made it clear that to feed everyone they had to add more money. Yikes, not a good idea. This year I called Baskets by Rita the first of October and placed my order for gourmet gift baskets and Colorado gift baskets to be delivered just before Thanksgiving so they will arrive that first week of December. They explained to me that they have to order all holiday products in August and September to have enough stock to not run out additionally suppliers run out early. We're feeling really smug. Our clients will know these are gifts of appreciation, there are food items to be shared by all, they come packaged beautifully giving that WOW factor and our card and gift will be the first one they get and will be hanging around the break room all holiday season. It won't get misplaced with all the other gifts. Since there is not a dollar amount attached you are not blatantly telling them what money amount they are worth. Plus my secretary is so happy because this is a slower time for us and she was able to make all plans in a more relaxed way. We discovered another money-saving hint for giving holiday gifts. We will have baskets shipped to 9 other states, but the majority are in the Denver area. My secretary has arranged to save some of the shipping and delivery costs by going to pick up most of the Snow Pak Gifts and deliver many herself. We've added a wine and cheese FAC the first Saturday in December in our office for clients and we'll give most of them out then. If not, it would be good for me to take them and give them myself and make the personal call. The morale of the story is do not underestimate the power of the holiday appreciation gift and order early.

Give the Gift of Beer

Going back as early as 7,000 BC beer has been enjoyed by people all over the planet since its discovery. While techniques and recipes have changed over time and geography, the basic factors of fermentation and malting are a fabulous scientific discovery. But let’s not get so technical! We get it. Beer has been around forever and people like it! In fact, for much of history, alcohol was preferred over water, since water purification techniques had not been developed. Can you imagine a world where it is healthier to down a few beers than to quench your thirst with water? Try using that excuse next time you stumble home after having one too many! Although in present-day America we tend to classify beer among the "pub or bar" category more than the “fine dining” experience, in ancient times beer was the preferred drink of Egyptian Pharaohs. Countries such as Germany and Belgium are proud of their hundreds of breweries and take the craft of brewing very seriously. Try picking a beer in a Belgian market. You will literally have hundreds of selections! In the USA domestic breweries are becoming more and more popular. As a result, beer is becoming more popular in higher class social groups and has achieved the status of wine in some markets. Take Colorado for instance. Colorado has the most breweries per capita of any U.S. state and I think beer is easily the preferred alcoholic beverage of Coloradoans. As with wine, breweries and particular restaurants have started pairing beer with certain dishes for a finer dining experience. After thousands of years of experimentation and alteration, there is a continuous variety of beers available around the world, and new beers are still being created. When presenting a gift, why not think about including this long loved beverage? A beer basket from Baskets By Rita is a fresh and distinctive gift for any occasion. We can modify any beer basket to incorporate your choice of beers or a selection picked by our basket making, beer loving experts. We also pack our beer baskets with a assortment of snacks like cheese, crackers, chips and salsa, nuts, summer sausage, and popcorn. Take for instance our Beer Tub Gift . Our beer basket is a perfect gift for that beer lover. We fill our galvanized tub with a 6 pack of our Colorado Micro brews, chips and salsa, assorted nuts, beef jerky, beer cheese, crackers, trail mix, chocolate chip cookies, pretzels, popcorn and more. This beer gift basket is a great corporate thank you gift, welcome to your new job, birthday gift basket or even a host thank you gift on game day.. If viewing this post has left your thirsty for more, why not take my advice and sign onto www.basketsbyrita.com and get yourself a beer basket? Don’t forget to pass this on via Facebook or Twitter!
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