AMiable Solution #258: Are You a Good Gift Giver?

Which of the following statements describes the way you approach gift-giving:

A. I think about what I know about the recipients and try to find something that either complements their interests or can help them with a challenge I know they have.

B. If I don’t know the recipients very well, I try to find out more about them so that I can choose a personal gift.

C. I select something that I know I’d like.

D. I buy gift cards because they’re easy and universal.

E. I buy whatever’s on sale, trusting in the “it’s the thought that counts” mentality.

How you approach your gift buying says quite a bit about you. And if you take the same approach when marketing to customers, it says volumes about your organization, too.

In her 2013 article for Psychology Today, Peg Streep says that when you give a gift, or in our case, when you market to a customer, “the gift doesn’t just reveal the image the giver has of you; it exposes the character and the thinking of the giver as well.”

Her article, “The 5 Types of Gift Givers,” is largely unflattering. Only one type of giver—the genuine gift giver—demonstrates the way we should all give and market. Genuine givers truly think about their recipients and what would make them happy.

The other types, however, are not role model material at all: the Status Hound, whose gifts have nothing to do with the recipient and everything to do with the giver; the Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing, who wants to be thought of as a good gift giver but has a bad attitude; the Power Player, who uses gifts to cause others pain; and the Complainer, who makes it clear that buying your gift was a hassle.

Our point? If you’re not putting the right attitude and the right amount of thought and consideration into your marketing, you might as well be sending your prospects and clients a box of rocks or an unsigned check. Every campaign, every offer, every communication you send should give your market something that’s valuable to them. It should be a thoughtful expression of your desire to help them and to make them happy.

How do you rate?