Giving can change the giver, too.

Notice what giving does for you Most talks about customer gifts focus on the receiver. Will the person remember you? Will they tell a friend or come back? Those are fair questions to ask. But they miss something about how people work. Giving can change the giver.

Business days fill up with orders and appointments. Deadlines and interruptions fill the gaps. You can care about your customers deeply. Yet by five o’clock, you may feel worn out. You think about the work customers create. You think less about who they are. Your team can feel this way, too.

What giving changed for me

Recently, I took gifts to eighteen dental offices. They were all around Birmingham. I put thought and work into each gift. I walked in to offer a little joy. I was just learning these people’s names. I was there to introduce my business, of course. But giving made those offices feel more personal. I thought about the people getting the gifts. I hoped they would enjoy them.

That is the moment I want you to notice. The receiver gets a gift. The giver gets a chance to feel more warmth.

What the research found Some research points toward this effect. Psychologists Jon Jecker and David Landy studied favors. They looked at people who helped someone else. In the conditions they tested, liking grew. The giver liked the person they had helped more. Another study looked at gifts that reflect the giver. In that study, both people felt closer. The giver felt closer to the receiver. The receiver felt closer to the giver, too. An act of kindness can change your own feelings. You may begin to feel differently about someone.

What could change for your team

Now picture this in your own business. A customer finishes an appointment or collects an order. Or they reach a key milestone with you. A team member hands them a small gift. They say, “We appreciate you.” The customer smiles. Perhaps they laugh. Perhaps they tell the next person they see. Your team gets to share that moment.

Think how this feels to the person giving. They did more than finish a sale. They did something kind and saw someone enjoy it. Next time that customer comes in, they share a memory. That is the part that interests me most. The business gives, and the customer responds. The team gets to enjoy giving. The whole relationship gets a boost.

We build gifting experiences for businesses for this reason. Relationships grow through moments people share. You can test this with one customer this week.

Try it with one customer

Choose someone your team sees often. Pick one clear reason you value them. Perhaps they have trusted you for years. Perhaps they have brought a friend to you. Offer them a small, thoughtful gift or kind act. Tell them why you chose to do it. Notice their response and your own feelings. Ask the team member who gave it how they felt.

I would love to hear what happens next. Does it change how you see that customer? Notice when they come in again. That is the test: one thoughtful act of thanks. One real person. See what giving does for both of you.

I’m Nichole Wilde, founder of Nichole Wilde’s Paradise Popcorn. Did this make you think of someone? Tell me about them in the comments. I would love to hear what you give.

Research mentioned: Jecker & Landy (1969) and Aknin & Human (2015).