Forget the poinsettias, popcorn tins and fruit baskets. This year, give your clients and business associates a gift that puts a creative twist on end-of-year appreciation — without breaking the bank.
Below, we offer construction companies five gift ideas that cover a range of business relationships, budgets and styles.
Something edible: Chocolate tools
There are few tools that construction pros mind breaking, but molded chocolate wrenches, screwdrivers, hammers, drills and saws aren’t likely to be among them. Buy them in giftable boxes or as solo treats from The Chocolate Vault, in Horton, MI. Companies in the U.K. can also purchase these delectably deceptive chocolate hand tools (shown above) through e-commerce site Firebox.
Something inexpensive: Bottle openers
The size of a credit card, these metal bottle openers fit snugly in wallets, making them a duly useful reminder of your business relationship year-round. Have your logo, company name or other insignia etched, stamped or printed on its surface. Vendors like My Metal Business Card and Barwrench offer a range of color and finish options.
Something thoughtful: Custom deskware
Your firm has plenty of design talent within its own ranks, and perhaps even a fabrication facility of its own. So, instead of outsourcing the manufacturing of year-end gifts, why not do it yourself? Desk objects like business card holders, cups for writing implements and paperweights require few parts and can enliven workspaces with designs and colors that remind clients and business partners of projects you’ve built together. Or spread some extra holiday cheer by stamping out or milling down Christmas ornaments.
Something high-tech: Google Cardboard and a 3-D project model
Celebrate the completion of a major project during the year by creating a keepsake, mobile-friendly 3-D model to share with the project team or its owners. Throw in a low-cost mobile viewing tool such as Google Cardboard (shown above) along with the visualization file and watch them enjoy it on iOS and Android devices. Google offers SDKs for its mobile VR platform to aid developers in creating compatible models. IrisVR and InsiteVR are among the other companies in the space offering developer tools for 3-D visualizations on mobile viewers.
Something that gives back: Donations
Philanthropy makes the world go ‘round, and for a particularly civic-minded client, donating to an organization of importance in their name can be a way to reinforce mutual priorities. There are plenty of organizations to choose from, with donation and sponsorship options including microloans to small businesses, supplies and other support for U.S. classrooms and animals as food and income for families. Vet your choice through sites like Guidestar.org and Give.org, which show how the group allocates funding dollars.
As to whether gifting a charitable donation counts as good manners, the jury is still out — but we're in favor.