Why let your card get lost in the display?

You send a holiday greeting card in December to everyone you can recall.

Not because the IRS, the SEC or the FDA require you to do so, but because you appreciate the relationship with that contact.

Now that you’ve made the commitment to keep in touch with your clients, colleagues and referral sources, take the next step.

Make sure that your card stands out in the display on your client’s office door or the credenza in the boardroom.

How can you make your card distinctive?

Don’t order from a catalogue. Imagine that your competitor, or a dentist, chose the same one.

Instead, use an image or photo that conveys a sense of your company or organization and its uniqueness.

Center that image on the front of the card, leaving the rest white, as frame. Place a greeting of warmth and holiday cheer in the spaces above and/or below the picture.
Add your logo, discreetly, in the lower left corner.

Inside the card, offer a wish for the joys of the season, a prosperous New Year or some other heartfelt expression of connection with the recipient.

On the back of the card, show your company name, address, phone and website URL, plus a short description of your mission or services.

When the recipient gets your card, the small logo immediately makes it clear who sent the card, even without opening it.

When the card is placed among other holiday cards, the white frame makes it stand out. Plus, colleagues of the recipient will notice it from among the other cards.

Let me confess I do not follow my own advice. Instead, I compose an email with a Holiday Haiku.

Like the card with an image in a white frame, it is distinctive. I’ve flexed my writer’s muscle to create a 17-syllable seasonal poem since 2009. Recipients tell me they know it’s the holiday season when my haiku arrives.

This Month’s Tip

Like other marketing activities, this holiday card is not about you, personally. It is about the you on the other side of the table, the person who is opening the envelope. Keep the image and discourse neutral. The United States has many faith groups. Respect them; you cannot be sure another person shares your beliefs about a seasonal holiday and may take umbrage.

Candles are a universal image, they spread light during a period of the year when daylight lasts less than 10 hours.

Snow and winter scenes are popular, unless geographically unlikely.

A photo of a team member, interacting with a client or visitor, who is seen from the back or in profile, conveys the mission of your company or organization.

Contact

Ready to prepare a unique holiday card, or even a haiku of your own? Contact me at 212.677.5770, set an appointment here or email me at Janet@JanetLFalk.com. Let’s imagine snowflakes, trees and candles — in a new light.

See also:  Make YOUR Holiday Greeting Card Memorable

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