The Artifact of Appreciation: Has the Client Gift Been Regulated Out of Meaning?
The Artifact of Appreciation: Has the Client Gift Been Regulated Out of Meaning? We’ve all seen it. The logo-stamped fruit basket at the holidays. The branded bottle of wine at a real estate closing. The embossed pen set after a major deal. We call them "client gifts," but in the modern business landscape, what do they truly represent? Are they a genuine token of appreciation for a long-standing relationship? Or have they become a hollow, transactional artifact, a calculated line item in a marketing budget, or worse, a gesture so diminished by regulation that it borders on the impersonal? This isn't a discussion about the "Top 10 Gifts for 2025." This is a deep dive into the soul of the gesture itself, its corruption, and whether its slow decline is having a ripple effect on the very foundation of client loyalty and business longevity. The Original Intent: A Token of Trust, Not a Lure At its best, a business appreciation gift was never "bait." It was...