One of the things I did for my business recently was order business cards. As part of my marketing plan I am going to send them out in flyers advertising my services. With any luck this will all pan out nicely for me and then I can send out holiday cards at Christmas to my new clients. I started looking at Cards Direct to get an idea of what kinds of cards I might send this year.
Of course I don’t need new clients in order to send out holiday cards. As you grow your business, regardless of what it is, you should take the opportunity at the end of the year and send greeting cards to all your clients and your networking circle. The reasons are simple:
1. It’s a nice gesture. Really. Who does not like receiving Christmas cards in the mail? Probably my favorite part of the season is receiving cards from family, friends and even my colleagues.
2. You remain a visible presence to you clients. Even if you haven’t worked with someone for a while or they were what you considered to be a one time customer, holiday cards can be an important marketing tool to keep yourself fresh in their mind.
Last year was the first year though that I had ever received photo cards. We got them from some old friends that unfortunately we don’t see often enough. I’d really never thought of doing this myself until I realized just how creative you can get with them and all the family and friends that would love to get them. (Because everyone asks how the kids are and how big they are getting!) I’m loving the photo card holders and have gotten some excellent ideas!
My biggest problem is that I forget to send the kids’ pictures from school and family photos throughout the year to all the family we have spread out across the US. So this year I’ve begun shopping for photo cards instead. Family and friends get a great card and I don’t have to remember to put the pictures into the cards because they are already there. (Anything I can do to cut down on my to-do list is winner to me!)
Now if I could just remember where the address book is…
This is some of the best advice you can follow as a business. In this Internet age when customer service goes out the door you can really lose sight of what is important.
A simple card can really show your customers you care and that will stick in their minds for a very long time.
Creating a potential customer for life.