Maintaining a company's presence in the minds of its customers is a key marketing objective for any

Maintaining a company's presence in the minds of its customers is a key marketing objective for any business. One of the many ways to do this is by sending clients gifts, such as beautiful and thoughtful corporate gift baskets. These gifts provide a positive interaction experience between the company and its customers, while supplying treats that stay well within the bounds of non-personal gift items.

Chocolate hampers are a very popular type of corporate gift that everyone enjoys receiving.

How do companies decide what to order? They must first consider the size of the personnel group that will receive the basket. This could be an individual, a business group or division, a project team, front office staff or an entire small business. The gift basket should be large enough to share among the group's employees.

Businesses can browse a selections from online providers, taking care to avoid contents such as wine, champagne or any adult-themed items. Many online gift basket businesses separate their offerings by the contents, such as fruit baskets, candy and nut baskets or chocolate baskets. A wide assortment of chocolates and other items always works well, although any perishable items should be avoided. The hampers could be delivered on a Saturday or at the end of the week, and the contents should still be fresh when employees arrive in the morning.

Companies should select ones that offer a unique presence that stands out among other gifts, especially during the holidays. A basket in the form of a high tower of boxes, filled with assortments of gourmet chocolates, dried fruits, popcorn, pretzels and more is sure to get a lot of attention. Truffles and fresh fruits covered in chocolate spoil easily and are best avoided.

Baskets can be ordered online or over the telephone. A company should enclose a brief message with the basket. This could be as simple as thanking clients for their business or telling them it is a pleasure to work with them. Always double-check name spellings. An incorrectly-spelled name has a way of making one seem suddenly very impersonal. For phone orders, the staff person should read the text out loud to verify its accuracy. Gift baskets should always be delivered on weekdays, since most businesses are closed on weekends.

Many customers choose business providers not only for their proficiency, but for the way the business makes its clients feel. Any clients that feel valued and receive good service will most likely continue their business relationship and possibly refer other new customers.

Great baskets could wind up becoming some of a company's best-spent marketing dollars.