It's trivial ... really!

Not all holiday trivia is created equal. This summer, a series of holiday catalogs will feature a collection of questions that you won't necessarily find in your local paper or on the back of a cereal box. Questions like:

"What does the name "Max" have to do with the holidays?"
and
"When did Santa make his debut in advertising and what was he selling?"

The holidays should be fun and interjecting useless trivia when socializing with colleagues, clients and/or friends is all about fun.

P.S. - If you can't figure out the answers to these questions, keep checking back. The answers will be posted later this summer.

Business holiday card tips

A quick review of the tips from past years blog posts....

Watch for returns.

If a card comes back with an address correction, pull out another envelope and resend to the new address. If no address is provided, do some research and find the new address. If the card has been damaged, bent, torn or mangled in the first round, WRITE A NEW CARD! No one will believe it’s the Post Office's fault when the envelope arrives in perfect shape and the card inside is not.

Update your holiday card address database all year long.

In November, it’s too late to scramble for addresses, so maintain and update your holiday address list all year long.

If you sent a coupon or special offer, track the results.

Why send offers in your company Christmas card if you don't know what works? Keep track and use that info to improve future mailings.

Make your extra cards count.

If you have extra cards, send a greeting to a wounded soldier at a veteran’s hospital, brighten the holidays of a homeless family in a shelter with a card and gift certificate for a local store, or take the cards to an assisted living facility and give them out while visiting the residents.

Match the card to your company’s image.

By selecting a look that reflects your company’s values, you are saying "This is who and what we are, and we connect with who and what you are." Without shouting it, the message will get across.

Cards build customer loyalty.

Studies have shown that sending holiday cards is an extremely effective tool in establishing and supporting customer loyalty and reinforcing name recognition.

Holiday cards build team loyalty.

Receiving a signed holiday card from one’s employer has been shown to increase employee identification as "part of the team." Choose a card with a humorous or lighthearted image to reinforce a sense of belonging.

Holiday cards can reassure customers and clients in uncertain times.

An elegant, well-worded corporate holiday card can convey gratitude for past service or business, offer wishes for a prosperous New Year, and show recipients that your company is still successful.

Small tokens can mean a lot.

Enclosing a gift card for a local grocery store or gas station is a wonderful way to reward employees. It’s less expensive than a big holiday party, but still lets employees know you care.

...More coming next post!

Business holiday cards are critical this year!

A few organizations are claiming that the recession is over and recovery is right around the corner.

I would love to believe them. But the fact is, none of us really knows when the day will come when we can all take a collect sigh of relief and go on with our businesses and lives without worrying about the rising foreclosure rates or the latest round of layoffs.

So until we know for sure that all is well, companies cannot afford to neglect the little things that keep their name in front of customers.

Business holiday cards, company Christmas cards or whatever you want to call them, are one of those things companies cannot afford to let slide. For very little cost (around $1-2 each), business holiday cards make a major impact on customer perceptions about your business.

Studies have shown that the majority of customers feel more positively about businesses which send holiday cards. They are perceived as more stable, more reliable and more accessible.

Always sent company Christmas cards in the past, but thinking of cutting back this year? Thank again! Another researcher found that companies who stopped sending cards were perceived as less financially successful and less of a safe place to shop, because they may not be around down the road.

Is that really the message you want to send?

Time to pull out that holiday card list! Winter is almost here!

Getting in the mood for business holiday card shopping

It's mid-September. In much of the country, temperatures are still in the 70's or even 80's. The sun is shining. So how do you get in the mood for ordering company Christmas cards...or signing them? You know it's the right time...the deals are great, and you need time to address and sign all of those cards for employees and customers...

But it's tough!

Fear not!

If you're responsible for selecting your company's holiday cards this year, here are some suggestions to help you get in the right frame of mind for dealing with business holiday cards....

• Crank up the a/c and pull on your favorite cozy winter sweater or soft hoodie. A little bit of shivering will distract you from the sunshine and sultry temps outside your door.
  
  
• Pour some cooking oil or even better, spray some silicon, onto your front steps. That frantic grab for the handrail will help bring back memories of winter's glory. A bonus -- a sprained ankle or twisted knee will give you plenty of time to sit and card shop online!
  
  
• Start working on your family holiday newsletter. It could take a couple of months to reframe last year's losing football season into a "wonderful family lesson in accepting the ups and downs of life" or sort through disasterous family vacation memories to find those few tidbits worthy of inspiring envy in friends as they read of your "exciting summer get-away." You'll have the holiday spirit in no time!
  
  
• Pull out the November and December calendars, and start working on scheduling everyone who wants the same 10 days off during your busiest season. Suddenly selecting and holiday cards will seem like a delightful alternative!

Ready to shop for those cards yet? We thought so!

Last chance for company Christmas cards!

It's December already! So where did the time go? And where are your business Christmas cards?

Opps! There are only 23 days until Christmas, but it's not too late to order holiday cards today! Here are some tips for last minute business Christmas card orders.

1) Keep it simple. Now is not the time to design a custom verse, create a new logo or fret over the format of the signature. Get your orders in with a minimum of custom work and you have the best chance of getting the cards done right and on time.

2) Overnight your paperwork. Now is not the time to trust regular mail or lower-cost three or five day package delivery. Spring for the first thing in the morning delivery, then follow up to make sure it was received.

3) Opt for e-mailed proofs. Forget seeing your signature and logo on the card itself. Time is short, and you want those cards delivered on time. Opt for an e-mail proof, then double and triple check spelling, verse and layout. There's no time for reprints!

4) Order from a company that understands business needs. While there are lots of quick and cheap printing companies online, many have never dealt with a large or critical corporate order. They are just not B2B professionals. With time as a critical factor, go for one of the B2B specialists with a long history in the business like G.Neil or HR Direct. They understand your needs and your schedule, and have the experience to get you what you need.

Got a couple of extra cards?

If you find yourself with a handful of extra company Christmas cards after you've written all you need to for your employees and customers, here are some ideas for putting those calorie-free leftovers to good use:

Send a card to a wounded soldier

Write a message of healing in those extra business holiday cards and send them to:

A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington,D.C. 20307-5001

Send a card to a sick child

Check out the Hugs and Hope website for information about sending cards to kids who are facing frightening illnesses or injuries in the hospital this holiday season.

Reach out to the homeless

Send a message of hope to the homeless in your city with a holiday card. Write a seasonal message of hope in each, then enclose a gift card to a fast food restaurant, Wal-Mart or grocery store. Then take them to the local shelter or food kitchen and hand them out along with cookies and hot cider. If it's a family shelter, bring small wrapped toys along.

Cheer up local seniors

Many residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities have no family or friends. Brighten their day and their season with your leftover cards. Take small holiday decorations, CD's or small gifts like bright holiday socks. If you want to take food, check with the staff in advance to learn about special diets. Let employees take the cards and gifts to the facility and spend some time with the residents. That will boost employee morale, as well.

No matter how you decide to use those extra cards, you'll know you're making a difference in a life, instead of just filling a trash can. And isn't that what the holidays are all about?

Give employees a treat with gas cards in their Christmas cards

The good news is, gas prices have fallen over 40% since the highs of last summer. The bad news is everything else is up...food, clothing and rent have risen sharply. And that means your employees are hurting.

This year, add something thoughtful to your employees' business Christmas cards. A $25 gas card is a nice way to say you care about employees, even when raises and promotions just aren't in the budget.

Or consider a grocery gift card from your town's most popular grocery chain. Avoid choosing a specialty market -- food needs vary, and a smaller market may not offer the vegetarian, Kosher, Halal or other foods some employees require. A specific food like a turkey or ham is a bad idea for the same reason.

Some malls also offer gift cards good in any mall store. Adding these to employee Christmas cards is another nice way to remember employees during the holidays.

No matter which option you choose, in the midst of this year's economic stresses, adding a little something extra to your company Christmas card will make a Happier New Year for everyone.

Don't miss the chance to connect with business holiday cards

It's November.

Do you know where your company's holiday cards are?

It's not too late to order holiday cards for your business! Here are some important deadlines you might want to keep in mind to make sure your company Christmas card gets to its destination on time.

Christmas: Thursday, December 25th
Hanukkah (First night): Sunday, December 21st
New Years Eve: Wednesday, December 31st

The USPS sets up mailing deadlines for holiday cards and packages to make sure items arrive on time. For Christmas delivery, the 2008 schedule is available online. The new schedule includes military and international deliveries..

Remember, the dates shown are the deadlines. Since late is far worse than earlier, time your mailings well in advance of the date on the chart.

Use humor to address tough economic realities this holiday

Everyone knows times are tough, so why not laugh at what we can't change?

That's exactly the idea behind a line of holiday greeting cards just released by Order of St. Nick, a company that specializes in edgy, funny greeting cards. Their new collection uses images and verses to hit at today's worse financial issues, from foreclosures to high gas prices.

One card deals with a lost 401K and offers the recipient a timely wish:

"Have a Great Depression and a Subprime New Year."

Another shows a Depression-era child rejoicing because Christmas dinner will feature squirrel instead of rat. Check out the whole line at Depressing Times.com.

These cards might be a good way to get a laugh out of customers stressed by recent events in the stock market and at the supermarket. But you have to be careful in your choice of recipients. Sending a subprime mortgage themed Christmas card to an employee or client who has just lost their home would be cruel, and we often don't know who is facing that issue.

If you decide to go for humor, but want a slightly lighter touch. A reindeer tangled in Christmas lights or a stack of cheering penguins might bring a smile to a recipient's face without a tear in their eye.

And right now a good laugh or even a small smile might be exactly what your clients and employees need.

Quality pays when it comes to business Christmas cards

A story from one of my readers:

I got a sample in the mail from one of the business holiday card companies I've been seeing a lot online. Their prices were so low, and money is tight, so I wanted to see what I could get for my money.

Thank goodness for samples! Had I ordered these cards sight unseen, I wouldn't have been able to send them to my clients. Yes, they had a tiny price. But they were also cheaply printed on thin and flimsy paper. They looked like they belonged in a dollar store, instead of in a corporate office!

Clearly, sending out a business holiday card is more than just getting something into the mail. You also have to consider the message your card sends when recipients open the envelope. Before you order, think about:

Paper weight. Thin paper feels cheesy. Is that the message you want to send about your company?

Print quality. Crooked, smeared or bleeding colors make your company Christmas card look cheap. And while you may need inexpensive or affordable business holiday cards, you certainly don't want cheap holiday cards.

Image clarity and appearance. Look for a well designed, attractive image or graphic for your company Christmas cards. Tacky designs send a tacky message about your business.

Unless you're trying to send a tongue in cheek message about the company Christmas card tradition, I'd recommend you deal with a company that knows what quality means. Two of my favorites are listed on the sidebar to your right.

Saving a few cents per card isn't worth the risk of making your company look cheap. Go for the best...your business is too important to do otherwise

Thanksgiving cards can help you beat the Christmas rush

Before you know it, the holiday season will be here. You're already feeling rushed. But I'm going to suggest you start even sooner!

What?! Sooner??

In fact almost a month sooner. Because I'm going to suggest you start the holiday season with business Thanksgiving cards. Cards of thanks. Cards of gratitude for business transacted or hard work performed. Cards that do not require thoughts about religious differences or who celebrates which holidays when.

Cards that will catch your clients' or employees' attention before the holiday rush officially begins.

More and more companies are offering business focused Thanksgiving cards, along with their traditional business holiday cards for Christmas and the New Year. But fortunately for you, few businesses are taking advantage of this other opportunity to acknowledge the people who keep your business running. And in business.

So what are the rules for sending business Thanksgiving cards? They are exactly the same as for Christmas cards. Hand sign each one, adding a personal note if possible. Hand address them. Get the titles and names and addresses right.

And if you send a Thanksgiving card, consider skipping the Christmas/Hanukkah card and sending a Happy New Year card instead. It's another less cluttered holiday, where your cards stand a better chance of standing out and getting noticed.

The right business holiday cards at the right holidays can be golden for your business. Ready. Set. Go. The holidays are almost here!

Mr. Postman, wait and see...(Or when should these cards go in the mail?)

You found the perfect business holiday cards...just right for your business. And they've just arrived from the printer. Now when should you mail them?

Ah, yes...another "It depends." But the fact is, it does! Here so factors that will determine when your company Christmas cards should hit the post....

1) What message is on them? Is it Merry Christmas or is the image clearly "Christmas-y?" If so, you'll probably want to send them out to arrive about a week before December 25th. If the message is for a Happy New Year, shoot for an arrival on or around December 26th through 30th. If there's a weekend in there, send them out a bit sooner. Finally, if it's a generic holiday season wish, send them out to arrive on or about December 1st. Not only will you beat the last minute card crunch, you'll probably hit Chanukah, as well as Christmas and the New Year.

2)How far are they going? If your business holiday cards are just going around the corner or across town, you can probably send them out two or three days before the target date, and have them there on time. Cards criss-crossing the country, or heading overseas need much longer lead times. Check with your local post office for suggested mailing times for the company Christmas cards that will be heading far from home.

3)Is there time-sensitive material enclosed? Many businesses use their company Christmas cards as a way to send out discount coupons, employee gift cards or discount offers. If you are planning on enclosing something within the card, make sure the recipients have enough time to use it before the expiration date. Willingness to spend is often much higher in December than in January, so sending out your coupons earlier might increase holiday sales.

Quality counts for business Christmas cards

Once you've made the decision to send business holiday cards, make sure you select well made, beautifully printed cards. Check for:

• Quality paper
  
  
• A well crafted graphic or clear photo image
  
  
• High quality printing, free from smears and stray ink spots
  
  
• Consistent colors in the ink on each card
  
  
• Easy to seal envelopes (peel and stick are the fastest and most secure)

If you shop around online, you can find companies who offer elegant but affordable business holiday cards.

I know what you're thinking.

But wait...it's only a card, and most people get dozens of personal and professional cards. So why does it matter so much?

The answer is simple.

Sending a cheaply printed or in-office printed card sends the wrong messages to your clients and employees. A company Christmas card is a great marketing and team building tool, but not if it send the message that your company:

• Doesn't care about them and therefore chose the cheapest card
  
  
• Is in financial trouble and could only afford cheap cards (even if this is true, send quality cards. The few dollars you'd save would hurt your company more in the long run.)
  
  
• Is sloppy and inattentive to detail
  
  
• Doesn't know how to find quality products or services

You only have a few seconds and a few square inches of paper to convey an number of essential messages to the recipient of your company holiday card. Make every one count.

Choosing your company Christmas card

The very first lesson you need to learn if you're responsible for choosing your company's Christmas card is that, well, it probably won't be a Christmas card. Or at least, not all of them will be Christmas cards.

Unless your company's niche market is such that every customer, vendor and employee celebrates Christmas, you're going to have to deal with the issue of choosing the right holidays cards for everyone on your list including those who do not observe this Christian holiday.

The good news is that's getting easier. The bad news is it's getting harder. Let me explain.

More and more companies are designing business holiday cards that eschew the traditional Santas, nativity scenes and brightly decorated Christmas tree in favor of snowy landscapes, messages of peace and stylized snowflakes. Finding cards that offer a generic Happy Holidays is easier than ever.

But...with information readily available about the religious holiday schedules of Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, Jews and others, can one really justify sending a Happy Holidays card in late December to people who do not in fact have a holiday at that time of year? Ignorance about other faiths and the dates of their holidays is no longer a reasonable claim.

If at all possible, sending the right cards in the right seasons is a much more effective tool for building personal relationships.

But even if you elect to send just one kind of card, claiming that there is some kind of "holiday season" that is universally observed, at least in the US and Canada, you need to be aware of the images....a snow-covered Christmas tree shaped evergreen in front of a house bedecked in garland with a red-ribboned wreath on the door is in fact, a Christmas card. Regardless of the words. Even if it says Happy Holidays, it is a Christmas card. Be sensitive to that message.

If you are unsure about your clients' or employees' religious faiths, take the time to choose a seasonal image free from traditional Christmas imagery. Consider one with a message for the new year...even people who observe separate religious calendars acknowledge the secular New Year. A card like the one here is an excellent choice for a company looking for a way to tap into the power of personal greetings, while respecting religious differences.

For more information on business holiday card etiquette, check out BusinessHolidayCards' article.

Why should a business send holiday cards?

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.