CLIENT GIFTING
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Thinking Outside the Gift Box — the Art of Creative Client Gifting
By Christine T. DeMao
As registered investment advisors, our work depends on developing a trusted bond with the clients we serve. Because we are deeply involved in our clients’ lives, when big life events happen for them, whether it’s a marriage, the death of a parent, a career transition, a serious illness, the birth of a first child, or the purchase of a dream home, we are often among the first people they contact to share the news.
The Business Case for Creative Gift-Giving (And a Very Important Reminder)
At our firm we view these special occasions as an opportunity to deepen our connection to our clients and express our gratitude for their business. Personalizing gifts to mark these moments takes time and effort but it can be a client engagement strategy designed to improve client retention and drive referrals, and it may even help an advisor stand out in a competitive market. Because our profession is highly regulated, make sure you understand your firm’s gift-giving policies and restrictions before making any purchases. When you’re ready, I hope the ideas that follow will spark your thinking!
It Really Is the Thought That Counts
When selecting gifts to celebrate a client’s life event, our goal is to create a “wow” moment. Any firm can send a bottle of champagne to acknowledge retirement—and for some clients, that’s the perfect gift. But a custom art print that captures the people, places, and moments spanning a client’s distinguished career can make an impression the client will remember for years to come.
Instead of checking off the last item on a particular client’s wedding registry, we created an heirloom recipe box filled with our staff’s cherished family recipes and sent it with the cookware needed to create each dish. For a client who bought a 200-year-old historic home in Tennessee, our housewarming gift was a set of coffee table books from an antiquarian bookshop that featured the home’s storied past along with a return address stamp featuring an illustration of the manor. These examples resulted in heartfelt letters of appreciation from our clients.
When clients welcome a new baby to the family, we send a set of classic children’s books that are personalized with the child’s name. For clients who are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, we curate a time capsule of gifts that feature the music, movies, books, pop culture touchstones, and candy from the year they were married. We have heard from clients that these time capsules bring back a flood of happy memories and tend to be a highlight of their celebration. Sourcing these items takes time but these packages communicate to our clients just how much we value their relationship.
Make it Useful and Uniquely You
When sending gifts to our clients and centers of influence to mark important moments in our firm’s story, we aim to select items that embody our firm voice and personality and reflect who we are as an organization. When we hosted a surprise gala to celebrate our firm’s 20th anniversary, we had logoed floaty pens made by the Danish inventor because our founder collected them in his youth. The choice was playful, out of the ordinary, modest, and totally on brand.
We also pay attention to usefulness. Everyone can relate to the awkward feeling when you receive a random gift that isn’t functional and doesn’t jibe with your personal style. To avoid that fate, when we select something that will be sent to multiple clients—like an onboarding welcome gift or a gift to celebrate a firm milestone—we look for items that feel special but have broad appeal, minimal packaging, and are less likely to end up in a landfill. High-quality consumable gifts are usually well-received. For our firm’s recent 35th anniversary, we worked with Compartes Chocolates to send a small box of branded truffles wrapped in a sleeve featuring photos of moments from our history to thank the people who have made our success possible.
Our new client onboarding gift contains a branded tabletop firepit and accessory kit with a deck of cards introducing each member of our staff. The messaging of “We’re fired up to work together!” is a little nerdy (which is also on brand) but it’s fun and serves a useful purpose.
Celebrate Your Neighborhood Makers and Artists
We also love to patronize local makers for gifts, greeting cards, and even the artwork we display in our office. Pittsburgh has a vibrant community of illustrators, painters, potters, photographers, graphic designers, candymakers, and bakers from which we can draw. A few years ago, we worked with a local illustrator to create a holiday card featuring each member of our staff imagined as a nutcracker, to the delight of many recipients on our mailing list! This year we are working with an emerging local watercolorist to create a winter scene for our annual holiday card and candy mailings. Minted.com makes it easy to upload the artists’ work on their cards, and we can add the artist’s profile on the back to credit their work.
Our firm is fortunate to have many clients with whom we have worked for a long time. To express our appreciation for the longevity of those relationships, each fall we send a gift to every client who has reached a new landmark anniversary1 of working together. This year’s gifts featured an elegant handmade vase from a local potter. It’s a win-win when we can support our community and invest in our client relationships at the same time.
Cultivate a Network of Gift Vendors and Artists
When we talk with other practice management professionals about our approach to gifting, we are often asked, “Where do you find such creative gifts?” Our short answer is—the internet is your friend! Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest can be an endless source of inspiration, and their algorithms can do some of the heavy lifting as you shop for ideas. Follow a few vendors that pique your interest, order some samples to evaluate the quality firsthand, and watch the suggestions multiply in your feeds.
Some of our favorite vendors are The Knack, Teak and Twine, Carton Blanche, Greetabl, Fieldshop, Spoonful of Comfort, Southern Baked Pie Company, Palisades Canyon, and Chelsea Markets Gift Baskets. These companies are a great starting place if you are looking for curated packages of high-quality items.
Next, explore your local artistic community. Larger cities typically have organizations that promote local artists. In our region, we have the Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators and the Pittsburgh Watercolor Society, among others. Research the member directories on these groups’ websites to find a creator whose style aligns with your brand identity. When you attend your local arts festivals or sporting events or frequent a store that features handcrafted goods from regional makers, stay alert for items that catch your eye and make a positive impression. If your hometown publishes a city magazine, pay attention to the cover artist each month. At the playhouse, concert hall, or home opener for your favorite sports team, make a note of who designed the event program covers.
Once you identify a few possible collaborators, reach out and ask if they work with businesses and accept commission requests. In our experience, these artists and vendors are typically delighted to hear from a prospective corporate customer, and they are eager to work together to create something truly memorable.
Happy gift-giving!
1 We send gifts at each new five-year interval, spanning five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years working with us.
Christine T. DeMao is the chief operating officer and a managing partner at Gibson Capital, LLC, a registered investment advisory firm based in Wexford, Pennsylvania. She has spent nearly three decades working with and for registered investment advisors. You can connect with her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/christinetaylordemao.
image credit: Adobe Stock Images
