B2B gifting isn’t magic. You can’t just send out swag and expect deals to close themselves. But if you’re smart about it—and actually pay attention to what works—you can turn gifting into a real growth lever. This guide is for anyone running (or stuck managing) B2B gifting programs who wants to use data, not hope, to get results. If you’re using Postal or thinking about it, I’ll walk you through how to use their analytics to cut through the noise, spot what matters, and stop wasting budget.
Let’s get practical. Here’s how to actually use Postal analytics to make your B2B gifting strategies work better.
1. Get Clear on What You’re Trying to Improve
Before you even open the analytics tab, stop and ask: what are you really trying to change? Are you chasing more booked meetings? Faster sales cycles? Higher response rates? If you don’t know, you’ll just drown in charts.
Start with a tight goal. Examples: - Increase the reply rate on outbound sales emails by 20%. - Reduce the number of no-shows for demos. - Improve NPS or renewal rates among existing customers.
Pro tip: Don’t try to track everything. Pick one or two metrics that actually matter for your team right now.
2. Set Up Your Gifting Campaigns for Easy Tracking
Analytics are only as good as your setup. Postal lets you organize sends by campaigns, teams, or even specific reps. Take five extra minutes to do this right.
What works: - Naming campaigns clearly (e.g., “Q2 Outbound – Coffee Gift,” “Customer Winback – Summer 2024”) - Assigning the right contacts or account owners - Tagging campaigns by goal or segment
What doesn’t: - Dumping all sends into one generic campaign - Letting reps freestyle with no tracking—good luck making sense of that later
Ignore: Vanity tags or campaign names you’ll never remember. Keep it simple and searchable.
3. Dig Into the Basics: What Postal Analytics Tracks
Postal analytics isn’t perfect, but it covers the essentials. Here’s what you actually get:
Key metrics you’ll see: - Sent: How many gifts or swag items went out. - Delivered: How many actually arrived. - Accepted: How many recipients redeemed or acknowledged the gift. - Engaged: If you’re sending digital experiences/events, who logged in or participated. - Meetings booked: If you link gifting to meeting links or calendar tools. - Pipeline influenced: Deals or accounts that moved after a gift was sent.
Don’t obsess over: - “Impressions” or “views” (no one closes a deal because they saw a mug) - Pretty graphs with no context
If you want to get serious, export the data and cross-reference it with your CRM or sales engagement tool.
4. Tie Gifting Data to Real Outcomes (Not Just Warm Fuzzies)
This is where most teams fall short. It’s easy to see that someone got your gift. It’s much harder to prove it helped you book a meeting or close a deal. But that’s the whole point.
How to do it: - Track downstream actions: Did a gift lead to a reply, a meeting, or a deal? Postal can show some of this, but it’s way better if you connect it to your CRM (like Salesforce or HubSpot). - Look for patterns, not one-offs: One big deal after a gift is just luck. Consistent bumps in reply or meeting rates? That’s something to act on. - Segment your sends: Compare different groups—like cold outbound vs. late-stage opps, or customers vs. prospects.
What to ignore: - Your personal feelings about “cool” swag. If no one books a meeting after getting socks, they’re just… socks.
5. Test, Don’t Guess: Run Small Experiments
The fastest way to optimize gifting? Treat it like a science experiment, not a holiday card list.
How to run a useful test: - Pick two or three gift types (e.g., coffee gift cards vs. branded swag vs. charity donations) - Send to similar segments at the same stage (e.g., cold leads after first touch) - Measure actual results: replies, meetings, or pipeline impact
Keep it tight: Don’t run 10 variations at once. You’ll never get clear answers.
Pro tip: Postal makes it easy to split sends by campaign or gift type. Use that to your advantage.
6. Learn What Works—and Double Down
Once you’ve run a few campaigns and have real data, it’s time to stop guessing. Look for these patterns:
What to look for: - Gift types with higher acceptance and meeting rates: If coffee cards get you a 30% reply rate and socks get 5%, you know what to do. - Timing that moves the needle: Maybe gifts sent after a demo increase close rates, while pre-demo gifts flop. - Segments that respond best: Enterprise buyers vs. SMBs, or specific industries that love (or ignore) certain gifts.
What to avoid: - Chasing “cool” new gifts just because a vendor pitches them. Data beats novelty.
7. Cut What Doesn’t Work—Fast
It’s tempting to keep sending that branded Yeti tumbler because you already bought 500. But if the data shows it’s not moving your metrics, stop the bleeding.
How to approach it: - Pause campaigns with low acceptance or zero impact on meetings/pipeline. - Reallocate budget to gifts or segments that actually show results. - Don’t be afraid to just… stop gifting to some groups. Some people just don’t care.
Ignore sunk cost. Just because you spent money on swag doesn’t mean you have to keep shipping it out if it’s not helping.
8. Share Results (and Lessons) With the Team
Don’t hoard what you learn. Share the numbers—good, bad, or ugly.
Tips for sharing: - Show charts or simple tables, not just raw data dumps. - Be honest about what flopped. It builds trust and saves everyone time. - Rotate what you test next based on feedback from reps or CSMs on the front lines.
What to skip: Long-winded PowerPoints. Focus on “here’s what worked, here’s what didn’t, here’s what we’re trying next.”
9. Keep It Simple and Iterate
No analytics tool (including Postal) is going to make gifting easy money. But it will help you avoid the most common mistakes: wasting budget, sending stuff no one wants, and running on autopilot.
Stick to these basics: - Set clear, business-focused goals - Track real outcomes, not just sends - Test and double down on what works - Cut what doesn’t, and share what you learn
You don’t need to overcomplicate it. Make a small change, measure, and keep going. That’s how you turn B2B gifting from a guessing game into a real, measurable advantage.