Gifts V Incentives

To recognise what an effective gift strategy is, it helps to understand what it isn't. Start by making the distinction between corporate gift giving and incentive award programs. Though gifts and incentive awards often involve similar types of recipients, they are different on both strategic and practical levels. Incentives are awards for achieving defined levels of activity, such as sales quotas, safety improvements, or good attendance.

In contrast, gifts are more or less spontaneous, given not as part of any defined exchange between giver and recipient. The gift recipient doesn't consciously set goals in anticipation of a reward, whereas the incentive recipient does. It's tempting to view gift and incentive programs in the same light. After all, you want to know that you're getting your money's worth from any business investment, and most givers want to motivate the recipient in one way or another.

But be careful. Leaving customers or employees with the impression that they're being bribed can do more harm than good. Instead, look at gift giving as a subtle, long-term process of relationship-building, following the basic guidelines described in this article.

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