Gift giving can be an easily overlooked element of being a business owner when the many other functional and more admin sided areas of being an entrepreneur fill our to-do lists. At it’s core, gift giving is an amazing way to say “thanks”, but as businesses, they can take on even more of a role as they allow us to leave a bigger impression on people, like our clients, to solidifies an amazing client experience we’re already providing in other ways and can (potentially) translate into more referrals down the line. In this way, gift giving is a little “thank you” and a little “marketing” meshed together.
In this post, we’re going to highlight a few client gifting companies for photography businesses.
We’ve selected these options based on our research and some personal experience with gifting our clients in the past. Enjoy!
Why You Should Consider Giving Gifts to Your Clients
Giving gifts to your clients can be one significant way to improve a clients experience.
Pure and simple!
No, gifts won’t make up for bad photos, poor communication, and similar things – but they can absolutely boost how a client remembers you.
Often times, gifts will be given at the end of your working relationship, or at some other major milestone like when you just onboarded them as a client. With the right timing, gifts can accentuate moments of joy and excitement they are likely already experiencing with you and your business.
By leaving such an impactful impression on our clients, gifts also serve as a small investment into our client’s word of mouth marketing for us. While the images we give them and the overall experience we provide should be positive, a gift can leave them with something tangible and incredibly thoughtful that reminds them of your business regularly – and that stirring of their memory might be enough to bring you up more often to their friends, families, co-workers, and others if they know those people are looking to hire a photographer.
Gift giving can help you stand out from your competitors, and aid in establishing and nurturing better personal relationships with your clients.
It’s important to keep in mind that gift giving can sometimes come across as disingenuous or as “kissing up” – and like I mentioned, should never be used as a tool to simply excuse bad experiences in other areas. But careful gift giving can, again, leave a lasting impression.
One of the key things that will change how your clients receive their gifts will be making sure you are investing in quality ones that they will actually value and cherish. This is why we advocate curating your gift giving experience to be more personalized to each client, or at the bare minimum, in alignment with your brand values.
Many people find the idea of gift giving to great in theory, but hard in practice. Coming up with ideas for gifts can be quite hard, especially when you want it to be personable and unique. Because of this, we have come up with a few recommendations for companies to check out that specialize in personalized gifts.
Out of all the decisions we have to make as business owners each day, I think this area is a great time to relax a bit and enjoy the process of selecting a gift that you think will brighten someone’s day.
Here goes!
9 Recommended Gift Companies for Photographers
Boxfox
Boxfox provides ready-to-ship, themed gift boxes and allows customers to create personalized gift boxes by selecting individual products. Each gift box includes a handwritten note, adding a personal touch to the gifting experience. Their products range across categories such as home, beauty, lifestyle, and food.
In the past when I have given gifts to my clients, I loved the selections that were available with this company. The options felt usable and high quality. What led me to using them was actually receiving a gift box myself from a website designer I worked with in the past, and it certainly left a lasting impression!
No Issue
No Issue is a company that focuses on providing sustainable and customizable packaging solutions. Established with a commitment to environmental responsibility, No Issue offers a broad array of products designed to help businesses create branded packaging that is both eco-friendly and visually appealing.
The company’s product range includes custom boxes available in various sizes, styles, and materials, allowing businesses to design packaging that aligns with their brand identity. Additionally, Noissue offers custom-printed tissue paper, which is user-friendly and available in a wide range of colors and designs. There are many other customization options as well in their product line.
Swag.com
Swag.com offers a huge selection of items from major companies that you can print your own branding onto. This company is much less niche than the first two we’ve covered, but can provide you with a wider range of options if you’re feeling “stuck.”
Coffee accessories from Fellow, writing tools and pads from Moleskine, apparel from The NorthFace, and many more options.
Amazon
I mean…it’s Amazon 🙂
When it comes to gifting, Amazon certainly has a ton of options available as they virtually have every product imaginable. While their selections may not as be intricately curated as you’d find with companies like Boxfox or No Issue, you may still be able to find good gifts to give your clients through here – especially if they have very specific interests that you know of.
Giftagram
Giftagram is more for odds and ends like catchalls, desk accessories, and more miscellaneous objects than the previous option. While their selection isn’t as wide as some of the other companies on this list, they do have some unique items that are worth a peak and are more niche than what others offer.
This gifting company is focused primarily on corporate gifting, but in reviewing many of there options there are a ton of great ones that would be a perfect pairing for a photographer’s client base, too. With that said, because of this more niche focus, it does seem like the prices are a little higher than average – so just something to keep in mind!
Harry & David
Harry & David are great choice for gifting your photography clients if you have clients who are real foodies. First impressions make a significant impact here, and as soon as you land on your website it’s very clear – you’re going to have an abundance of options for food baskets, wines, chocolates, and related things. While they offer some inedible items, they are best known for the food element, and it would be one of my go-to’s for gifts like this!
Learn more about Harry & David
Uncommon Goods
With a tagline like “we’re all out of the ordinary”, Uncommon Goods, as the name may suggest, provides more unique gifts than other options on this list. I really loved looking through what they offer as these gift choices can be particularly special if you have a distinct and niche brand.
Learn more about Uncommon Goods
Greetabl
If you are looking for a gifting company that has more simple, general purpose gifts like candles, mugs, and the like – Greetabl is a good option. It particularly makes this list, not just to present you with another option, but because their pricing tends to run a bit more affordable than most of the others here that provide more curated gifting experiences.
Etsy
You probably know Etsy by now since it’s a popular website, but if you happen to have never gone on there – it’s basically the Amazon of artistic things. Over the years, this site has changed in many ways, but there are still some amazing and unique gems that can be found here. As a resource for finding gifts to give our clients, there are a lot of great options here!
Know of any other gifting companies we should check out? Let us know!
Should I give gifts to others like people I hire and other businesses?
There’s no one size fits all answer to this question, but in our experience – there are a lot of great reasons to give gifts to others around you!
As photography business owners ourselves, we don’t constantly send out gifts to everyone under the sun, but it can be a special way to say “thanks” or share how much you value the work others are doing for you.
Conclusion
Gifts are a great resource to use as a photography business owner to show someone your appreciation for their efforts and their business. They can add a more personal and memorable touchpoint, especially when you choose gifts that are going to resonate strongly with your clients (and others).
As you can tell, there are many, many options out there. With tons of companies that focus on letting you curate gifts to send your clients, what we have listed here are some of our favorites as well as some easy and popular choices available to you.
To learn more about gifting as a business tool, we highly recommend checking out our Marketing for Photographers course, a part of our larger Business Course Suite for Photographers.
Chris is a SEO professional with a passion for helping photography businesses succeed online. With years of experience in the industry, he has a proven track record of increasing website traffic, improving search rankings, and driving revenue growth for his clients.
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