Birthday Cards are the Right Choice for Both Colleagues and Friends

Business birthday cards let you share inspiring messages with employees, coworkers, and customers on their special days. Keeping a variety of business birthday cards on file at your desk means you’re always prepared with perfect greeting cards whenever you may need one. Taking that extra step by sending greeting cards to people you work with could turn out to be a vital part to your company’s success and retention of employees and vendors.

Everyone wants to know that their clients and associates are thinking of them. Exchanging greeting cards is an easy and unique way to stay in touch with these valued individuals. If you keep assorted birthday cards on hand at work you will always be ready to send greeting cards when the occasion comes along. To stay organized, I keep a simple spreadsheet with all of my Gallery Collection coworkers’ and vendors’ birthdays listed, so that at a glance I know when to send out corporate birthday cards or any type of greeting cards.

After I select greeting cards for each person, I write a short but personal message. Sending out birthday cards to people you know gives them a reason to pause and think for a few minutes about the person who sent the greeting card. When they receive the birthday cards and realize you have been thinking about them, it helps to nurture that relationship, whether it is personal or business related.

Assorted Greeting Cards: My In-Case-of-Emergency

So I went on a shopping spree the other day. As always, my intentions were to stop at the store to pick up the one thing I needed, which was a greeting card assortment box. But as any shopper knows, it is never that simple! Once you get to the store, you start looking around and seeing all these other products that you could use or that you might as well get while you’re there.

It occurred to me that I should pick up some snacks and bottles of soda for my Super Bowl party. And I also browsed the movie section and picked up a few DVDs. Now that football season is over, I’m not going to know what to do with my time on Sundays! Along with all of this other stuff that I bought without really needing, I got my box of assorted greeting cards, which I sometimes refer to as my emergency kit. Once I picked up what I was really there for, I was all set.

I like to purchase boxes of assorted greeting cards because when I look for a single card, I end up spending too much time reading through every card (as well as spending too much money). It’s also easier to have an assortment on hand instead of running to the store when I realize someone’s birthday is right around the corner. I love giving personalized greeting cards, even when I don’t know the recipient all that well. The box of assorted greeting cards that I found was perfect because it included birthday cards, sympathy cards, thank you cards, anniversary cards, and get well cards…all the cards I could possibly need in the case of an emergency (or a senior moment).

For the Love of Sending Greeting Cards

My friends will all tell you how much I love sending greeting cards. I’m the type of person who has been known to read half the cards in the store before selecting the perfect one (which is why nobody I know will go to a card store with me). I don’t just send birthday cards or Christmas cards; I love sending thinking of you cards or even “Today is Wednesday” cards. Whatever the occasion, I’ll buy cards in advance so I have them on hand when needed. Naturally, when I started working for a greeting card company, my friends laughed and said I must be in heaven now.

I am in heaven because not only are there new and beautiful cards to admire every year, I am surrounded by people who continually chat about greeting cards. “How do you like the new birthday cards?” our Creative team wonders. “Which Christmas cards are your favorites?” asks our Chief Marketing Officer. “Did you see the new assortment box?” questions a coworker. The all-things-greeting-cards atmosphere combined with the enthusiasm of our employees are surefire ways to produce a quality product that I personally love to talk about.

So when my boss asked me to write for our greeting card blog, I decided that my love of greeting cards was the perfect topic. Greeting cards are a wonderful way to connect with people, and I’ll share a tip…I save and reuse cards too. I cut up the cards with great pictures and use them as gift tags or presents. This is a terrific way to reuse a paper product, and anything friendly for the environment can’t be a bad thing.

Business Greeting Cards…A Golden Opportunity

Holidays and Special Occasions come and go…very much like an opportunity. Some opportunities are often very obvious while others may be somewhat obscure. As a business, whether small or large, the use of greeting cards can offer a golden opportunity to keep your company’s name and image in front of your customers throughout the year, strengthen relationships with business associates, and foster goodwill amongst employees. Here are some tidbits for a properly executed business greeting cards program:

Holiday Cards – extend your good wishes of the holiday season. But keep in mind that the card design and greeting should reflect the holiday that the individual celebrates.

Birthday Cards – can be sent to employees as a form of promoting goodwill and adding a personal aspect to these relationships. Birthday cards sent to business associates or customers can be a means of building relationships and offers the opportunity to express your gratitude for their valued business. In either case, be mindful of the type of card that is sent. For instance, a humorous card may not be appropriate for everyone. Birthday cards can be sent to the office or to the home depending on the type of relationship. If the relationship is one that is more casual and personal, then it is appropriate to send to the home. If the relationship is more formal, then it would be best to send to the office.

Thank You Cards – provides a way to thank a customer for an order or a business associate for a sales lead or referral. Thank you cards can also be a means of offering a promotion or discount to customers and clients as a special thank you for their continued business. Thank you cards may also be used to provide encouragement and thank an employee for a job well done. These greeting cards can be customized with your message and company name but should be hand signed and hand addressed. If the card is blank on the inside, at least three sentences should be written with the first sentence specifically mentioning the specific item or deed which you are thankful for. Remember to check for any spelling and grammatical errors.

Get Well, Sympathy, Thinking of You Cards – can be sent to an employee or business contact who is ill or has experienced a loss. Thinking of You cards can be used interchangeably with either of these occasions in which you may not want to specifically mention an illness or death. A hand written note should be included and the card should be sent to the home.

Keep the above in mind and your business greeting cards will surely turn into a golden marketing opportunity.

Keep an Assortment of Birthday Cards on hand – someone will really appreciate it!

One of my fondest memories from childhood was celebrating my birthday each year. Because I was a child, of course the presents mattered most, but I always enjoyed receiving birthday cards from my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. The enjoyment has carried on through out my adolescence and into adulthood.

In today’s fast-paced world, there are many ways to wish someone in your family, a co-worker, or a client a happy birthday. In my opinion an e-mail, phone call, or electronic birthday card takes a big back seat to getting the real thing…an actual birthday card. I think everyone should have a box of assorted birthday cards on hand to reach out and brighten up that special day of those around you.

I am always happy to open birthday cards from family members, friends, or business associates. I believe the time it takes to wish someone a happy birthday is time well spent. Your recipients will enjoy your warm wishes for sure, and what an easy way to keep in touch and let them know how important they are, just by sending greeting cards! I think this gesture requires just a bit of effort, but will be rewarding for both the sender and the card opener. And naturally…this all hit me when I was reading my birthday cards this year!