Author: Patsy M.

Thanksgiving Cards Give You a Head Start on the Holiday Season

Whether you are sending holiday cards for personal or business you have to think of how many times you thought, “Oh, I have time to get my cards out” then all of a sudden it is mid-December and you haven’t even ordered yet. This year get a head of the mad rush and send Thanksgiving Cards. Thanksgiving cards have been around for over 100 years!  What better time than Thanksgiving to show how grateful you are for friends, family or customers.

Thanksgiving Cards really do Give You a Head Start on the Holiday Season! Honestly, I did not know that anyone sent Thanksgiving greeting cards instead of Christmas cards until I received one from my plumber.  Thinking about it however the idea is a pretty good one. It is unique in the sense that a Thanksgiving greeting card will most likely be the first to be received during the holiday season and it will be displayed the longest. Everybody reads holiday cards to see who sent them so imagine this scenario; you’re a dentist, you send a business Thanksgiving card to a patient, they display it and everyone that sees it says “I’ve been looking for a good dentist, can I have her number?”, well, it could happen.

Remember to always choose high quality cards; remember that this card is speaking volumes about you.

Why You Should Have a Get Well card Assortment Box

You can plan ahead for birthdays and anniversaries but you never know when you’ll need a Get Well card for a sick friend, a co-worker or a relative.  I’ve found that keeping a Get Well Assortment Box on hand gives me peace of mind and saves me from having to run out to get a card unexpectedly.  It’s nice to have a choice of card designs and different greetings for all different situations – a bit under the weather, a serious sickness or recovering from a surgical procedure.

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A good Assortment Box will have designs suitable for both men and women and even a few cards that are totally blank so you can write whatever’s appropriate at the time.  I’ve used several types of The Gallery Collection’s assortment boxes for the past few years and am more than happy with both the card quality and variety in each box.  Their Get Well Assortment Box can’t be beat for convenience and the cards are definitely a better value than individual store-bought cards.

The self-sealing envelopes are a great feature and the cards and envelopes stay clean, organized and handy in a colorful, sturdy box.  Don’t you hate when you end up with the perfect, beautiful card and … the wrong envelope?  You can avoid that by keeping a Get Well Assortment Box on hand.  It will make your life a little easier and always let others know you’re thinking of them and wishing them well.

Business Holiday Cards from a Catalog

Looking through the piles of greeting card catalogs I receive for the upcoming holiday season I noticed something unusual. Most of the catalogs are featuring the same card; not a similar card but the exact design. Each catalog has a different company name so I thought maybe an artist was selling their designs over and over. Don’t know the answer but I must say it gets boring to see the same thing; I wanted to find a greeting card company that could come up with unique cards that would make my company look different from the rest.
 

Holiday Ribbon and Stars Card
Holiday Ribbon and Stars Card – Design H2MCX

My wish was granted when I received a catalog from the Gallery Collection, there were no knock offs, nothing similar to another company’s look; each design was one of a kind and gorgeous. I want my Business holiday cards to represent us as a business with class and style; choosing the right card can do just that. There is nothing worse than send a flimsy card in a cheap looking envelope. I was very pleased with my Gallery Collection card and the customer service was excellent. I would recommend Gallery Collection to anyone that wants quality with distinctive designs focused on business because they know what they are doing.

Christmas Party Ideas That Are Work Appropriate

Everyone loves the company Christmas party. However, office parties aren’t what they used to be thanks to the recession, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be fun.

Work_Appropriate_Holiday_Party

So, a great idea would be to have a holiday party during working hours. Serve a nice buffet with a variety of food so everyone is happy; no alcohol should be served. Get the entire company involved in choosing the theme and cuisine; send emails asking for votes, make the emails light hearted so no one is offended if you don’t take their suggestion. Now that you saved money on a location you can splurge on decorations, make the office festive, and get some great door prizes!

Assign a photographer or two to take candids during the party and make sure you post them afterwards. Don’t make it a job, find someone who enjoys taking pictures! Set up some board games around the office on game tables with folding chairs, nothing fancy. Games like Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit are great for teams! Give prizes that have nothing to do with job performance or achievement. For instance:

  • The person that complained about the heat the most
  • The person who had the best suggestion in the suggestion box
  • The person that brings the best smelling lunches

When the holidays are over send another email thanking everyone for attending and asking all of the employees their opinion – good or bad – so that next year you can pull off another successful office Christmas party.

Greeting Cards Highlight – Religious Christmas Cards

I think of myself as a religious person; I go to Church on Sunday and always try my best to turn the other cheek. It dawned on me while I was choosing my yearly Christmas card that I should be sending religious Christmas cards, after all Jesus is the reason for the season. I decided on a Nativity scene and narrowed it down to these:

Peace Joy Love Christmas Card
Peace Joy Love Christmas Card – Design 773CX

 

• Gilded Nativity (Design 79PCX) – This card is all foil so it is very dramatic and it is also the Gallery Collection Scholarship winner. Hard to believe a young student has so much talent.
• Peace Joy Love (Design 773CX) – This triptych illustration is so peaceful and joyful it really lives up to its name. Depictions of the three wise men, the shepherds with their flock and in the center Mary and Baby Jesus make this design a beautiful Nativity.
• Song of the Angels (Design 657CX) – This painting is a masterpiece by Adolphe-William Bouguereau and I love the way it is bordered with gold foil setting off the golden hair of the angels
• Stained Glass Nativity (Design 133CX) – This design is very cleverly put together-each one of the wise men are set in their own stained glass panel with Mary and Jesus facing them in the last panel.
• Madonna Adoring the Christ Child (Design 74MCW) – Madonna Adoring the Christ Child is a painting by Correggio framed with an ornate pattern of gold foil.

It is so difficult to choose from such a wide variety I am getting three different designs; Song of the Angels, Madonna adoring the Christ Child, and Gilded Nativity!

Greeting Cards Highlight – Photo Mount Cards

I absolutely love what Gallery Collection is doing with photos; how do they come up with all of these ideas? Photo mount cards are actual photos mounted on card stock with the photo framed in foil. I am totally going this way for my holiday cards this year but I have to narrow down from these:

Holiday Hearth Card
Holiday Hearth Card – Design 86GCW

 

Holiday Hearth (86GCW) – This photo card is so cozy looking it is a definite contender for this year’s card. Love the black stock; very dramatic.

Miami Skyline (76CCW) – I run a business out of Miami so this would be great to send because the sky really does look like this. Wonder if it would make my Northern client jealous! I could use it as a Thank You card instead.

Glowing Holiday Pines (73MCS) – Ideal is the thought that comes to mind when I look at this card, talk about Silent Night, you can almost hear the hush of the snowflakes falling.

Autumn Vignette (73SCX) – Maybe a Thanksgiving photo card instead of a Holiday photo card? A Thanksgiving card will hang much longer than a Christmas card and will be the first to arrive!

Holiday Penguin Trio (76SCX) – I have never done cute before so maybe this year I can break the ice with these adorable penguins.

Well I narrowed down to four holiday and I definitely want the Miami scene for an All Occasion card, I just won’t put a greeting on the inside so I can use for any thing I like. I want to hurry and make my decision while I can still get great discounts!

 

Christmas Party Invitations for Your Office Holiday Party

Our company has had an annual Holiday Party for the past 23 years. We used to spend a bundle on our company’s Christmas party invitations. The last two years we finally wised up and ordered them from The Gallery Collection and we’ve saved money, gotten a terrific reaction and received tons of compliments.

Celebrate the Joy Corporate Party Invitation

There’s a great selection to choose from and it’s so simple to customize them. Twice now, we’ve chosen the flat card format with a matching design on the back. They’ve been excellent quality which is important to us. Another good feature is that you can order as few as 25 invites. We usually need between 40 and 60 and it’s convenient that there are many quantities available to order.

There are over two dozen designs of Holiday Party Invitations to choose from – from simple to fancy – and there’s plenty of room to add all the particulars about the event. I’ve really enjoyed trying out the different fonts and colors that are available on various designs. (The secret is to start early so you have plenty of time to have fun experimenting!)

Ordering online has been a cinch and the website is user friendly – even if you don’t have much experience in this area. When I did have a question, I just called and talked to a rep who was very knowledgeable and most helpful. The turn-around time was quick and we received our invitations in plenty of time to address and send them out.

Like I said – we’ve had rave reviews. The invitation is the beginning of the party – so make it a good one!

Do You Need to Send Holiday Party Invitations to Employees?

I was on the Holiday party committee last year and it was the first year I was involved. There is an awful lot of work that goes into planning that I never knew or frankly, thought about. It was a good experience for me but being the newbie I had to try twice as hard to get my suggestions approved. Each year an email was sent to the employees giving the details of the party; I thought holiday party invitations would be nicer. I had to come up with a proposal that would be not be dismissed. I did some research to find the invitation I had in mind and the cost. i knew it would be a hard sell, spending money on the invite when an email worked every other year.

Save the Date Holiday Party Invitation

My proposal was centered on thankfulness to the employees that worked so hard all year and a printed invitation would be respectful of that hard work. We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. I pointed out that people like to be treated well every day but especially around the holidays when we take time to count all of things for which we are grateful. An invitation can be a kept as a reminder of a great party, it can be brought home to show the family that the company appreciates dedicated people. It says “We’re better because of you. Thanks for all you do.” Or “It’s great working with you. You are one of the reasons for our success.”

My idea was a unanimous YES! I was actually thanked for bringing new ideas to the group and the employees really did appreciate the gesture.

Tips For Customer Relationship Management

Customer relations is a business term that refers to the interaction between a company and its customers. All companies have customer relations, even those that choose to ignore how the company relates to its customers. Good customer relations are the key to customer retention and customer retention is the key to a growing business; customer relations are as important as the product.

Customer_Service

Customer relations management is not just for the customer service department; it may begin there, but a customer’s satisfaction and loyalty effect everyone in the company.

A helpful tip is to develop a method to get feedback from customers about your products and services; what worked and what didn’t work. Make sure all departments are on board from order takers to the sales department. Ensure as much information available is captured, the order department may not think something is as important as the sales or marketing teams. For example, if an order taker gets a complaint from a customer and he doesn’t record the incident no one but the order taker will know that the customer had an issue. One unhappy customer can spread the word about your business and cost you potential clients very quickly. You can expect to have only one chance to make a good impression with your customer service department. Focusing on your customers’ needs and providing excellent customer service is an efficient way to grow your business and earn customer loyalty.

Another tip would be to empower the customer service people to resolve problems, offer solutions and remedies themselves, within reason of course. Customer service reps should know when to escalate but at the same time know when it is not necessary-this can be accomplished by:

• Providing a list of FAQ’s with the solutions to avoid adlibbing answers, promoting consistency
• Assign teams to specific problems; shipping, shortages, backorders for example
• Ensure all incidents are answered promptly then follow up with a customer satisfaction phone call or email.
• Incident logging of all customer complaints/ support requests.

Fabulous Christmas Cards for a Real Estate Office

If you are looking for Christmas Cards for your Real Estate Office, Gallery Collection has the best selection of industry specific cards around. There are many different types of cards in the Real Estate category; richly embossed designs where you customize the outside and the inside with one of their greetings (there’s an extensive selection) and add your company’s name. We’ve ordered here the past few years and our cards consistently get rave reviews. We’ve used them to keep in touch with previous (and hopefully future) clients and every year they produce an abundance of always-appreciated referrals.

House Ornaments Christmas Card

You’re able to add your logo for a professional look and there’s an option to compose your own custom greeting and produce a card that’s totally unique. We did just that to create an elegant, festive invitation for our Holiday Party last year. The card we’re ordering this year lets us add our company name to the front of the card. There’s a great variety – from traditional to modern to humorous. I found it quite easy to use the website to preview several designs and compare the results.

A third alternative is a group of photo cards which let you create your totally one-of-a-kind card, distinct from everyone else. With these, there are endless possibilities to promote both name and face recognition. We’re strongly considering ordering one of these next year although the calendar cards look enticing too!

Although unsolicited, and because I appreciate excellence, I just want to say – don’t be afraid to order! The quality and selection here are always outstanding and it’s backed up with superior Customer Service. You really can’t lose.