PROMO | 3 MIN READ
Please Don’t Send a December Holiday Greeting Card!
Written by Paul Strack
[email protected]
It’s early November and tis the season. The sound of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas is already in the air. And on top of every marketer’s To-Do List is: prepare and send Holiday Greeting Cards.
STOP!
Don’t do it.
I implore you – Do NOT send December Holiday Greeting cards to your clients. You are wasting your time and money.
As marketers, we pride ourselves on daring to be different. With all the marketing clutter around us, we must consider ways to make our businesses stand out in the crowd. And sending a greeting card during December just isn’t the way to do that. EVERYONE does that.
How many offices do you visit each December and notice the plethora of holiday cards attached to the front desk reception area? Or if you’re lucky, maybe your card gets a prominent location on the lobby Christmas tree. How is this even helping your marketing efforts? Granted, it’s not always about marketing. But if there is an excellent opportunity to stand out from the competition, why not take advantage of it?
In the spirit of the holidays, we must do something for our clients, right? We need to express our gratitude to them, right? After all, they do have choices and they choose us!
That’s why Thanksgiving was created. Duh.
What better time to say THANK YOU – than during this national day of gratitude?
And there’s still time to do it. Here’s how:
Step 1
Get your customer list in order and cleaned up. Bad data is the enemy of good direct mail.
Step 2
Create a fun design. Don’t overthink it. It doesn’t have to be a Hallmark Classic. Use earthtones – browns, orange, reds, golds and maybe a nice textured stock. A turkey design is fine, or a cornucopia. Or even better, pumpkin pie. Here’s an example of some text – Life is better with pumpkin pie, but business is better with you. It’s okay to occasionally get sappy with your clients. It’s the holidays. Better yet, have fun with the spirit of the holiday. Enclose coupons for ONE EXTRA DESSERT or SKIP AN AWKARD CONVERSATION.
Step 3
Finally, get these suckers in the mail! The sooner the better. Try to get them mailed by November 15th. Yes, many offices may be sparsely populated or even closed during the week of Thanksgiving. If so, your card will be awaiting their return.
And get this – It will be the ONLY card they may receive at this time. You will stand out.
Oh. and if you can’t pull it off in this time frame – prepare a New Year’s greeting card. What better way to welcome in the New Year with a greeting of thanks and a look forward to new opportunities.
But please, don’t send a card in December. It won’t get the attention it deserves.
