Ask your question ... sign up today! It's FREE!
Other   URGENT - Need Help Fast!  
 
This question has been closed, and points have been awarded.
Sending Holiday Cards
Posted By: joelle on 7/11/2007 11:13 AM (CST) 125 Points
Has anyone tried or have any thoughts regarding sending Holiday cards vs. Thanksgiving cards from a business? I am thinking about sending a Thanksgiving card in early-mid November vs. the "Holiday" card that usually goes out just after Thanksgiving.

Posted by: Frank Hurtte Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 11:30 AM (CST)
Joelle,
I have sent Thanksgiving and 4th of July Cards out since the mid-90's.
I work with Distributors and Manufacturers who generally recieve litterally hundreds of Holiday Cards.
I want mine to stand out. And for personal reasons, I refuse to send "Seasons Greetings" cards because... Well because I think they are overused and well .. they suck.

Another tip. The Christmas Season - my holiday of choice - is filled with family activities. The months of October and Novermber are generally not as busy.
 
Posted by: Steve Hoffacker Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 11:40 AM (CST)
Joelle,

For years I sent Thanksgiving Cards and they were very well received. Many people commented on receiving them and how it was nice to get something at that holiday rather than in December when it is more common or expected.

Steve
 
Posted by: joelle Author Response
7/11/2007 12:30 PM (CST)
Thanks for your feedback! I was thinking of sending them a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving with fairly general message: “One of the true joys of the Holiday Season is to say Thank You and wish you the very best for the New Year!” I figure it covers all bases, yet will still be one, if not the, first cards they receive. I thought they might be likely to keep the card throughout the holidays with the others they receive.

I am happy to hear you have had success with this in the past.
 
Posted by: prhyatt Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 1:34 PM (CST)
I agree with Steve and Frank. After reading your response, I have one suggestion: I would forego the reference to "Holiday Season" and simply make it a Thanksgiving message; ie, "when we remember our blessings, we are thankful for loyal customers like you" (less warm and fuzzy if you prefer). I encourage my clients to choose Thanksgiving in part because it stands out and in part because it is naturally "generic." If you mention the Holiday Season, people automatically think Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza, and many could be turned off by what they consider to be a premature start to the season if you mention this prior to Thanksgiving.
 
Posted by: R. Miguel Coelho Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 1:42 PM (CST)
Hi. One lateral tip that will sound coerent and consistent with what has been said so far:

Personalize the cards according with your relationship with the customers.
Examples: if you treat a good customer by 1st name and have a long solid relation with him, don´t put in the card (as I sometimes receive...) Mr. Antonhy insteady of Tony, for instance. One good chance of make it sound you will turn into a corporate routine. Those details will turn the whole iniciative, no matter the timing of sendong cards, down the tubes.

Sending cards (holyday or others) is just one more instrument in a CRM strategy, but one that has to sound and feel personal.

Good target + Good message + Good timing = Good BUSINESS

Miguel
 
Posted by: NuCoPro Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 2:58 PM (CST)
If you are sending out a few hundred or less, handwrite the salutation, a personal message and your signature. It shows people that they are important to you.

I receive a Thanksgiving card every year from only one company, so they STAND OUT!
 
Posted by: Tricia* Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 3:54 PM (CST)
Hi Joelle,
Another thought - we did New Years Cards (which is a pretty universally accepted 'holdiay') with a message "we look forward to serving you in the new year and helping you meet your 200X goals/growing your business/seeing you in the store soon/etc." This is a bit more proactive than a simple thank you - which is really nice, but I think the other way gets the person thinking about you in a way that you really want the card to work for you in the first place - to cement a relationship & build on it.

One other thing we did one year was sent out a magnetic tear-off calendar (during December) that had a greeting printed on the first page - and a business card attached at the top. So again, a full year of keeping your name in front of your customer.

Ditto on the whole personalized address notes above.
Tricia
 
Posted by: CarolBlaha Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 5:17 PM (CST)
I also agree its a great idea-- but remember in your message that while saving its a joy to work with them-- say Thank you!!

Carol
Sell Well and Prosper tm
 
Posted by: ASVP/ChrisB Accepted Answer
7/11/2007 5:57 PM (CST)
Sounds great, but I wouldn't mention the "Holidays' because people get heartily sick of marketers bringing forward the seasons for their own benefit.

How cynical are shoppers when they go to the supermarket the day after New Year and it's all Valentines Day themed, after Valentines it's immediately Easter eggs, and so on (in Australia, anyway)?

Sending a Thanksgiving card would make you stand out. Conversely, not sending a "Holidays" card will likely go totally unnoticed, so don't worry about trying to combine the two.

You could try something different early in the New Year by sending a different kind of "Back in the Groove", post-holidays card, that arrives maybe second or third week in January after all the other cards have been thrown away, that would add to the stand-out factor.

Hope that helps.

ChrisB
 
Posted by: stephan Member Response
10/1/2007 10:18 AM (CST)
Thanksgiving is a good idea, IF you live in the USA. Other countries celebrate Thanksgiving at different dates (like Canada on October 8th) and it would be a bit embarrassing to be more than a moth late to your Canadian clients or suppliers.
 
Posted by: gail* Member Response
10/1/2007 11:07 AM (CST)
Only one thing to remember if you're sending out a Thanksgiving greeting and have Canadians in your client base -- we celebrate Thanksgiving the first week of October.
 
Posted by: gail* Member Response
10/1/2007 11:08 AM (CST)
Sorry Stephan - just saw your post. :)
 


Get more answers ... ReTweet this!

Would you like to post a response?
Welcome to Know-How Exchange!
This is a collaborative community. We welcome everyone's participation.
All you need to do is login. Enter your account info in the box above (top right).
Not a member? Not a problem. Register here (it's FREE and EASY).




Know-How Exchange powered by MarketingProfs


Sponsored Links

Buy a Link Now

Just Released ... Download Today!
Just Released ... Download Today!
Look inside
User Name:
Password:
Remember Me
Forgot your password?

Top 25 KHE Experts
(Other)
Jay Hamilton-Roth (30010)
mgoodman (19875)
W.M.M.A. (14852)
michael (12085)
stevea (10789)
telemoxie (9113)
Peter (henna gaijin) (8835)
NuCoPro (8663)
Gary Bloomer (8488)
mbarber (7997)
darcy.moen (7639)
SteveByrneBranding (6573)
Mikee (6530)
SRyan ;] (5656)
ASVP/ChrisB (5328)
Pepper Blue (4893)
CarolBlaha (4731)
thinkmor (4500)
Puru Gupta (4079)
BARQ (3940)
Inbox_Interactive (3930)
wnelson (3801)
Levon (3708)
Michele (3400)
Juliet (3179)
Recently Posted Marketing Jobs
Senior Marketing Associate
Demand Generation Sr. Manager
Web Consultant
Director of Marketing & Community
Content Acquisition Manager
Marketing Manager
Senior Marketing Executive - ICIS Americas
Vice President, Marketing
[more jobs]

Join over 357,000 members ... SIGN UP!

My email address is and I'd like my password to be .

Already a member? Sign In!

My email address is , and my password is .


HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.