“The truth will set you free.” So what, you ask, has this to do with business Christmas cards? The truth is, we are all so up to our eyeballs and eardrums in advertising everywhere we turn that we tend to simply tune it out and discount the lofty claims. Some ads do catch our attention – because they are so annoying and so often repeated! Personally, I do give these ads special attention, so I can be sure to avoid these products and businesses whenever possible. I don’t want to reward them for annoying me and don’t want to encourage them to give me more of the same.
I often used to listen to the radio. Now I carry my own commercial-free music with me, room-to-room, house to car to office. I do this so I won’t be harassed with advertising! I rarely watch television anymore, direct from the station…too many commercials. Have you tried changing the channel during the commercial? You get more commercials, maybe even the same one on every channel. I now record shows, just so I can skip commercials. All of this, akin to computer spam, is avoided and filtered out.
So, for goodness’ sake, how do I reach out to my customers?! The truth? The old-fashion way. The nice way. The friendly, neighborly way. Once a year, I send beautiful, top-of-the-line business Christmas cards to everyone I know. Once a year, I also send beautiful top-of-the-line business Thanksgiving cards to my actual customers. During the year, I stay in touch using cards that say Happy Birthday, thinking of you cards, and when warranted get well or congratulations cards. Any reason, however random, will do, to keep myself and my business name in front of clients in a positive and cordial way. I think this habit also reflects our company ethic: to deliver the meat and not just the sizzle. I know it pays off in client loyalty and perhaps as a side effect of those neighborly greeting cards, in the mutually friendly and pleasant way we interact while conducting business.