Hitting the target: know your audience before you send

You've decided to try using business greeting cards as a way to keep in touch with your customers, contact prospects or motivate your employees. That's awesome!

But before you send a single card...before you sign them, address them or even buy them. take time to consider your audience. Who will read these cards? What are their ages, occupations, interests? How are they connected to your business? What do you know about them? Have they shopped with you or used your services? Or are they employees with company histories? Or are they just people or businesses you're targeting based on mailing lists, geography or industry?

Before you send out your business holiday cards or thank you cards or welcome cards, take a few minutes and list everything you know about your target audience. You may find you have more than one. They could be segregated by location, previous contact with the business, age, gender, lifestyle, marital status, etc. Whatever differences seem important to you, in terms of your business, are the demographics you should examine.

Once you have your groups (and most businesses find they have between three and six distinct groups), select a greeting card for each group. Or choose the same card, but use different sentiments in each group's cards.

Order cards that match each group. Here are some things to consider:

• Images -- if there are people in the card's image, do they match the demographics of your target audience? Images of young families may not resonate with senior citizens. Also consider what the image says about your company. A serious law firm may not be best represented by something too cartoon-y or informal.
  
  
• Message/sentiment -- Make sure the words you choose to have printed in your cards convey the right image for your company. Tailor your message to your industry. For example, a medical practice might wish their recipients good health, while a car dealership might offer their prospects a message of safety or adventure on the road.
  
  
• Holidays -- If you're using holiday greeting cards, make sure the holiday they mention is one your target audience celebrates. Remember, this isn't about what you or the people you work with celebrate -- it's all about the recipient.
  
  Once you've selected your cards, it's a good idea to also keep an assortment of all-occasion cards on hand, too. That way if an unexpected event comes up, you're ready to send a card out on the spot.