Random musings: Why you CAN'T afford not to send holiday cards recap #TBT

Today's blog post was originally published last year:

This is the event that I spoke at on Thursday of last week. We had a pretty good turnout...there were 14 of us there and I knew all but 4 of them.

Here is basically what I talked about:

Texts and posts are not good enough

Part of the reason it's not good enough is because we like touching stuff and displaying stuff. That's why vinyl records and books printed on paper are making a comeback

There’s a time and place for electronic greetings but the holidays is not one of them.

There are three main occasions to send greeting cards for your business…sending a thank you card, a birthday card and a holiday card. More cards are always better but if you’re not taking advantage of at least these three occasions every year, you’re missing out on keeping your relationship with your clients alive.

Most of the big holidays are between Halloween and Valentine’s Day, but there are lots of fun holidays to celebrate. I shared a card from Kimmer Sue and her husband Michael celebrating National Chocolate Day

But the holidays during this time of year are important for most people and your clients like being remembered during this time of year and those with whom you do business expect to be remembered during the holidays. And if you don’t send a card, you’ll leave the impression that you don’t care about them. Holiday cards show your customers and clients that you appreciate their business, and that you want to share the spirit of the season.

I then talked about ROI. It’s not always easy to measure the ROI on your holiday cards but if your customers are expecting a card from you but don’t get one it may be easier to measure the loss of business. Most people don’t stop doing business with a company because of price, product or service, but rather because they think you don’t care about them.

Remember all the wining and dining you did with your clients/customers when you were prospecting for their business? You need to keep it up even after they become your clients because your clients are your competitors’ prospect!

If you doubt that business holiday cards generate an excellent return on investment, ask yourself this: All other things being equal, which company would you choose to do business with -- the company that sent you a holiday card every year or the company that only contacted you when it was time to reorder or collect payment?

I do have a video from a realtor that shows a 3,500% ROI over a 12 month period by sending multiple cards and gifts during the year.

The holidays aren’t the time to be promoting your business, but a time to connect with your clients and prospects. Nothing more than “Happy holidays from XYZ Company” or maybe some subtle branding on the back panel of the card. Kimmer Sue can help with that.

That's pretty much it. Included below are some handy resources:

Relationship Marketing Weekly newsletter: ~~https://www.appreciationpal.com/#!611~~ (I need to set up my weekly newsletter again)

Access my calendar to book a 60 minute meeting: http://www.timetrade.com/book/9FP9K

Personal branding: Kimmer Sue - kimmer@vision-graphix.com

Now is the perfect time to prepare to send your holiday cards. Please reach out to me and I can help you get set up for your business and personal card (and gift) sending needs, not only during the holidays but throughout the year.