Consumers in the U.S. spent $692 billion last year during the holidays – accounting for roughly 20% of total retail sales in this country. The spending reflects a commonly held belief: the Christmas/end-of-year holidays are the only time worth giving a gift.

That’s patently false. There are a myriad of opportunities throughout the year to give a gift, especially when it comes to corporate gifting. Programs, employee appreciation, customer rewards, other holidays … the list goes on. Here are six strategies to extend your holiday business into a year-long affair.

1. Start Early, Go Long

Gifts for the holidays are a standard part of business for Eagle Eye Promotions in White Plains, NY. “We’ve done everything from flash drives to water bottles and power banks,” says owner Marc Baritz. “One of my financial service clients likes to give retail brands. We’ve had items pulled out of boxes, printed and put back into the retail packaging. I have a law firm that gave a PEZ dispenser and jelly bean dispenser; they like to stand out.”

But holiday gift giving doesn’t always mean the last two weeks in December. Baritz finds that clients are amenable to reshuffling orders around the holidays. Normally he begins seasonal sales in September. “I’ll suggest to people that they give their gift early or late, so that it becomes a Thanksgiving or New Year’s gift. They can talk about the positives of going into the New Year or their thanks for the previous year tied into Thanksgiving,” he says. “More importantly, this spreads their gifts out a little bit and gets them noticed.”

Other holidays throughout the year are a tougher sell, Baritz says, though the right positioning can win over customers. “I don’t see my clients moving into Mother’s Day but they’ll do it for a cause, such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” he says.

“I find it beneficial to create an annual calendar for possible gifting opportunities and ongoing programs.”Nicole Lacks, Impact Corporate Promotions

Owner Nicole Lacks of Impact Corporate Promotions, a member of Top 40 distributor Kaeser and Blair (asi/238600), gets to know every detail of her clients and their industries. That way, she can plan thorough gift-giving calendars that leverage cause-related events and special occasions specific to their business interests. “This allows you to proactively plan possible time periods throughout the year where your client can use gifting to their advantage,” says Lacks, whose company is based in Santa Barbara, CA. “I find it beneficial to create an annual calendar for possible gifting opportunities and ongoing programs.”

For a hospital client, Lacks’ calendar includes National Doctors Day and Nurses Week in the spring, National Safety Month in the summer, breast cancer awareness in the fall and ongoing gift programs year-round, such as new baby packages and hospital amenity welcome kits.

2. Give Gifts of Caring

Lori Caden, co-founder of Caden Concepts in Sherman Oaks, CA, suggests thoughtful appreciation gifts for clients to connect with their customers and employees. These can highlight their birthdays, anniversaries or just because they’re valued. She recommends unexpected, shareable treat-filled food baskets with a simple note such as, “Hope you’re having a sweet week.”

As Caden explains, “This is a great way to grow and nurture client relations. When it comes to this kind of gifting, a few times over the course of year is a nice gesture and goes a long way toward relationship building.” To help your clients’ budget for such programs, Caden offers this tip: “Larger corporations often build ‘gifting’ into their planning and forecasting. I simply allocate 10% to 15% of their annual spending on these types of gifts and/or employee welfare.” Other than sweets, another of her top picks for a comforting gift is a cozy throw blanket, which sends a caring message. “It’s one of those items everyone can use in their office or home,” she says.

3. Make Use of Milestone Markers

Connie Mandula, president and owner of CM Promotions Inc. in Bloomington, IL, works with a bank’s human resources department to recognize its employees with merchandise from its e-commerce store. “The HR department liked the simplicity of handing out gift certificates for birthdays and one-month anniversaries,” Mandula says. A $32 certificate is given out when the employee begins his or her job with the bank. After a one-month anniversary, another $10 gift certificate is given. And the final $10 gift certificate is rewarded on the employee’s birthday. The total of $52 corresponds to the 52 weeks of the employee’s first full year. “That’s three separate touches throughout the year from HR for that new employee,” Mandula says. “It really shows they care about their employees.”

David Schmaeling, president/CEO of Proforma Color Press (asi/300094) in Ventura, CA, finds that the HR department is a logical stepping stone within a client company if you’re starting with the marketing team or another contact. “HR knows all the employees and has all their personal information like years of service,” he says. “They may not know layout or the logo, but they’re the ones who are going to drive what’s going to happen with special events and company picnics.”

“Years of service” is an issue that consistently perks an HR manager’s ears. “To retain employees, they give out gifts when employees hit five, 10 or 15 years to keep people happy or interested; to make them look forward to something for staying with the company for a number of years,” Schmaeling says. The gift chosen is important. It must be appealing enough to provide incentive for those who see a colleague receive it to want to stick around for a while. For this reason, Schmaeling first tests supplier samples himself. “Then, if I like it, I’ll order extra samples and give them to clients to test to make sure they’re happy with them as well,” he says. “I had a couple of spec samples of The Chisel It bottle from Sweda made for a customer and they got all sorts of compliments before they even ordered them. Sometimes the trial process is important because it gathers momentum so people start liking it before they even get it.”

4. Turn on Trade Show Budgets

Gifts aren’t isolated to things like holidays. They also work well for big events such as trade shows. “Every month of the year you can promote gifting for trade shows,” Lacks says. “Most distributors receive a trade show gift budget from their clients between $1 and $5 per gift. Probe deeper with your client. Ask what their ultimate goal is for their investment. If you can bring added value or results with your item suggestions, your client might be willing to expand their budget.”

In this situation, Lacks instructs her clients to follow the business version of the Pareto Principle: pre-qualify and target the top 20% most profitable and/or largest buyers at the trade show. This will maximize their marketing dollars and also push the client to consider higher-impact gifts.

For example, when Lacks’ telecom client wanted a sexy, unforgettable gift giveaway to create a “splash” at their annual trade show, she responded with a custom designed bikini with the logo sublimated in a step-and-repeat pattern. “The racy bikinis were worn by gorgeous models at the front of my client’s booth to maximize the visual impact, resulting in a minimum of 5,000 heads turned!” Lacks recalls. “This created extended lines which wrapped around the trade show floor.” The client also pre-qualified attendees who came to its booth, and gave the most promising 20% a custom bikini.

The budget had originally started at $8 per item, but the bikinis ultimately cost $69 each. And they were worth it. “The custom bikinis became their most successful giveaway in their company’s history, which garnered continuous re-orders. The results outweighed the cost,” Lacks says. “So, don’t always stick to the client’s budget. Instead, create a valuable marketing solution that will land them the top clients they want, and the higher investment will come back tenfold.”

5. Any Goal Merits a Gift

Troy Lewis, director of online sales at Your Promo People, a division of JH Specialty Inc. (asi/232445), stresses that any time of year is a good time for a gift, particularly when it comes to incentivizing customers or employees. “You can help your clients proactively think of goals and turning them into programs with action.” The trick is to grab their attention with potential. How can you help them solve problems and achieve goals? “Get together with your customers and listen to their needs,” he says. “Create the sale; don’t wait for the sale to happen.”

His “best practices” for helping clients to think beyond the confines of the typical gift-giving box include:

• Focus your ideas on what the customer is trying to achieve.
• Get out of your comfort zone.
• Remember that no idea is a bad idea, and ideas can always expand into more ideas.

Safety programs have been his gold mine for gift sales. “Safety recognition gifts are a great way to show recognition to employees for injury-free work on the job,” he says. “Transportation companies are a huge win for our team, and we put together six-figure deals recognizing our customers’ employees.” Some of the favored gift-rewards in programs he has planned include neon wall clocks and work stools.

Schmaeling also works closely with safety managers to plan programs that’ll keep workers focused on corporate goals. “They’re incentivized by their insurance companies to lower risk and decrease incidents, so by giving their employees gifts, they’re less likely to do hazardous work that may cause injury,” he says. “I have one client in particular that gives out some fairly nice gifts every two or three months. If they hit their number of days without an injury, then he gives out gifts.” Products include higher-end captain’s folding chairs, Ogio backpacks and Yeti-style tumblers.

6. Word-Of-Mouth Rewards

While thank-you gifts may have crossed your clients’ minds, reproducing them exponentially probably hasn’t. Mandula and her creative team helped the staff at a laser vision surgical center create a VIP program for its patients. After having iLASIK surgery, patients receive movie gift certificates in mugs along with a letter welcoming them to the program and inviting them to enjoy their new vision with a movie night out. The letter also explains a referral program, which earns them a chance to win a trip for two with every new customer contact they refer.

In addition, each referral brings with it an incentive gift. The first is a folding chair, followed by another chair with the second referral. A third referral earns a blanket and then a fourth delivers a camping table as a gift. To keep the program top-of-mind, a promotional gift is sent several months after the iLASIK surgery. A popcorn/movie box arrives with candy, a second letter and more referral cards.

You can also generate word-of-mouth with gifts. Schmaeling did this by gifting his own clients with custom-made T-shirts. “Recently we helped a local restaurant chain with a tagline that said, ‘I’m addicted to Urbane Cafe.’ We showed up at a meeting with Urbane one time with that on our shirts. They were taken aback, saying, ‘Wow, we can’t believe you went to that trouble.’ But we go to Urbane all the time. We love their food.” Since then, Schmaeling and his team have worn the shirts to a couple of the café’s openings, which generated interest from customers and gained visibility on the restaurant’s social media accounts. “Now whenever they have a store opening, we supply them shirts and bags that have the tagline on them. It has worked out fairly well.”

That’s the beauty of gift-giving. Frequently what you give, you receive in abundance through additional business, referrals or client loyalty. It’s a lesson you can teach your clients through these gifting ideas that go beyond the holiday season.

Stats of the Season

How many holiday cards are purchased annually? What percentage of people blow past their budget? Learn this and more with these holiday facts:

Holiday gift returns run over 19% in the Midwest, the highest in the country.Mental Floss

71% of corporate gifts will have the company’s logo imprinted on it. ASI

77% of U.S. adults who set a holiday budget will exceed it. Coinstar

1.6 billion Christmas/holiday cards are purchased each year. Only 145 million are bought for Valentine’s Day, the second most popular holiday for cards. Greeting Card Association

The average American spends $967 annually on holiday gifts. Prosper Insights & Analytics

October is the most popular month to start sourcing holiday gifts in the promotional products industry, so it’s no surprise that gift searches in ESP begin to soar. These are the search terms in ESP that see the greatest surge from September to October.

Tonia Kimbrough is a contributing writer for Advantages.