Marketing With Gratitude: Best Customer Appreciation Gifts of 2022

When was the last time you did something to show appreciation for your customers? If you’re due for some gratitude marketing, appreciation gifts are a great way to go. Custom branded gifts help customers feel appreciated while spreading your brand, making your logo a regular part of your customers’ day. Whether your customers are interested in shopping totes or complementary pens, there’s something for everyone in our collection of best customer appreciation gifts of 2022. 

Why Give Custom Appreciation Gifts?

When customers feel appreciated, your business reaps the benefits. Return business, word-of-mouth referrals, and cheerful shoppers are just the beginning of what you get when you express your gratitude. Here are the top three benefits your business will get from sharing customer appreciation gifts. 

• It improves customer engagement: Appreciation gifts allow a way for customers to engage with your brand, making you more memorable and more present in their lives. This will also lead to more referrals and more return business.
• It promotes customer loyalty: When customers feel appreciated by a company, they’re more likely to continue to shop with that business over others in the same industry. They’re also more likely to reach out to settle concerns instead of writing off the business entirely when problems arise, because they feel they will be heard.
• It keeps your brand top of mind: It’s hard to forget a business when their gifts are in use in your home. Customers who receive and use promotional products will think of your business often and are more likely to talk about your business with others.

How to Distribute Appreciation Gifts

When sharing your appreciation, make sure to find ways to share your brand as well. While a gift in any situation is welcome, you can get even more than customer satisfaction from a giveaway. When done right, personalized customer appreciation gifts will improve brand visibility and encourage customer engagement with your business. 

• First-come first-serve promotions: If you have a limited supply of gifts, encourage customers to engage quickly with a limited-time first-come first-serve offer promoted on your site and social media. Even if not every customer gets a gift, they’ll still appreciate your efforts to say thanks.

• In-store giveaway promotions: Encourage customers to come to your shop with in-store giveaways. You can pass out pens at the door or share custom shopping totes at the checkout. Whatever you choose, customers will feel appreciated while getting excited to engage in-person with your brand.
• Social media giveaways: Get customers engaged with your social media with online-only giveaways. You can offer a subscribe-and-share promotion, hold contests, take polls, and more to get customers interacting with your brand. Need ideas? Check out our blog about social media giveaway ideas.
• Gift with purchase: It doesn’t have to be free to show your appreciation. Bring up your sales while showing appreciation with a free gift offered with customer purchases. Whether you offer branded pens at the register or a custom mug in your online checkout, a gift will sweeten the deal in a way any customer can appreciate.
• Newsletter vouchers: A coupon or gift voucher in your newsletter is a great way to reward customers for subscribing while encouraging them to engage with your store. Coupons and gifts also encourage customers to maintain their subscriptions for future deals.
• Appreciation events: Holiday parties and promotional events are a great time to share customer appreciation gifts. Whether it’s treats for trick-or-treaters, pens tied with a bow for winter holidays, or goodie bags to celebrate a customer appreciation event, hosting a big party for your customers is a great way to say thanks.

Want more ideas on how to say thanks? Check out our other blog post all about how to show gratitude as a business. 

Best Customer Appreciation Gifts

Choosing the right gift is an important part of showing your gratitude. What is your industry? What things would your customers appreciate and use? While we have a wide variety of promotional gifts available to match any industry, here are some catch-all favorite ideas for customer appreciation gifts that can work well for any brand. 

Mineral Alpha Soft Touch Pen with Rose Gold Trim

One of our most popular pens and a style that works for any brand, this stylus pen is a great gift to show your appreciation. Customers particularly love the rose gold trim, sleek design, and convenient stylus attachment for writing and signing on touchscreens. Just add your logo and a “thank you” message and this pen is ready to gift! 

Full Color Soft Touch Basilia Stylus Pen with Rose Gold Trim

Another rose gold favorite, this pen features trendy chevron notch accents and the capacity for a full color imprint. That means your brand will be displayed in all its colorful glory every time customers jot down a note, sign on a touchscreen, and more. 

Hyde Cork Notebook & Paragon Pen

This set is two gifts in one, featuring a brightly colored notebook with a cork accent, a ribbon bookmark, elastic closure and pen loop, and complementary Paragon Pen. This gift is perfect for big events, contests, and first-come first-serve offers. 

Foldable Mira Shopper Tote

Want a gift every customer can take home? This foldable shopping tote is easy to store, lightweight, and boldly colored to keep your brand visible everywhere it goes. Customers can keep this handy in their coat pocket or vehicle glovebox so your logo is right by their side whenever they shop. 

Morris Tote Bag with Pocket

A generous capacity coupled with grey accents and pockets make this shopping tote a real winner. Perfect for in-store with-purchase gifting, this bag tells your customers to come back and shop again while expressing gratitude at the same time. 

14 oz. Naomi Tapered Bistro Mug

Let your customers take that cozy bistro feeling home with them with their own custom tapered mug. Ideal for in-store promotions, this mug is the perfect way for restaurants and cafes to remind customers what hospitality feels like every time they take a sip. 

16 oz. Ree Vacuum-Insulated Stainless Steel Tumbler

Portable sips mean portable branding, offering more places for your logo to be seen as your customers use your generous gifts. This insulated travel tumbler will let your customers sip and share your brand on the bus, while they’re out to lunch, in the office, and more. 

If you really want to show appreciation for your customers, let your logo do the talking on custom gifts and giveaways. While it may seem like the customer is getting the better bargain for your generosity, sharing customer gifts is a powerful way to improve customer loyalty, customer retention, and customer satisfaction. Use the best customer appreciation gifts of 2022 to win your way to a lasting customer base and better business. 

Want to learn more about the power of gratitude in business? Check out our other blog post with appreciation gift ideas for employees.