The world of business has changed.
Gone are the days when the best way to reach customers was with a print ad or flyer in their mail box. In this world of networking and instantaneous access to hundreds of competitors online, people need a reason to choose your business instead of the cheaper/faster one they found online.
It's all about the relationships. It's about connecting and feeling like the person behind the desk (or behind the package on your doorstep) knows who you are and what you need. Maybe it's a backlash against the impersonal box stores and anonymous internet interactions that dominated throughout the late 1990's and early part of this decade. Or maybe it's the ability to network and connect online and get to know people before you do business. Whatever the reason, it's here now.
And as low tech and traditional as a Christmas card from a business might seem, it fits perfectly into that new paradigm of connection.
No matter what business you're in, sending a holiday card to your customers and vendors is a proven way to let them know you value their trade. Sending a holiday card to employees lets them know you recognize them as individuals with lives outside of the company. And in both cases, it makes a difference.
As I write that, it occurred to me that maybe it isn't something new...it's something old. Anyone who has looked through an old scrapbook or browsed the ephemera dealers at an antique shows has seen 19th and early 20th century business Christmas cards, Valentine's Day cards, and New Year's greetings imprinted with the names of grocers, clothing stores, banks and even funeral parlors. In fact many of the first commercially printed Christmas cards were designed to promote local businesses.
If it's done right, a company Christmas card or other holiday card is an inexpensive, effective marketing and motivational tool. And in these days of tight budgets and rising prices, that's a tool you can't afford to miss.
Gone are the days when the best way to reach customers was with a print ad or flyer in their mail box. In this world of networking and instantaneous access to hundreds of competitors online, people need a reason to choose your business instead of the cheaper/faster one they found online.
It's all about the relationships. It's about connecting and feeling like the person behind the desk (or behind the package on your doorstep) knows who you are and what you need. Maybe it's a backlash against the impersonal box stores and anonymous internet interactions that dominated throughout the late 1990's and early part of this decade. Or maybe it's the ability to network and connect online and get to know people before you do business. Whatever the reason, it's here now.
And as low tech and traditional as a Christmas card from a business might seem, it fits perfectly into that new paradigm of connection.
No matter what business you're in, sending a holiday card to your customers and vendors is a proven way to let them know you value their trade. Sending a holiday card to employees lets them know you recognize them as individuals with lives outside of the company. And in both cases, it makes a difference.
As I write that, it occurred to me that maybe it isn't something new...it's something old. Anyone who has looked through an old scrapbook or browsed the ephemera dealers at an antique shows has seen 19th and early 20th century business Christmas cards, Valentine's Day cards, and New Year's greetings imprinted with the names of grocers, clothing stores, banks and even funeral parlors. In fact many of the first commercially printed Christmas cards were designed to promote local businesses.
If it's done right, a company Christmas card or other holiday card is an inexpensive, effective marketing and motivational tool. And in these days of tight budgets and rising prices, that's a tool you can't afford to miss.
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