Introduction

Although you can’t give your clients and prospects the actual gift of time, by including a calendar along with your corporate holiday cards this year, you might help them manage it. This is our sixth blog in a series to help you make the most of your holiday card campaign.

As the year comes to a close, what is more timely than a calendar to start the New Year? Occasionally companies frown on employees receiving gifts, but something as widely used as a calendar, rarely gets banned. In fact, it may be welcomed, as it is one less thing the office manager needs to order for every desk.

A personalized greeting on a corporate holiday card can set your business apart. That personalization can sometimes be a little tricky if you want to include messages and signatures from your remote sales staff. Many companies have a sales force in the field. It is perfect for building close relationships with your prospects and customers, but adds obstacles to a broad campaign like the corporate holiday card. This is the fifth blog in our series to help you carry out a successful corporate holiday card campaign. Whether you have individual sales representatives spread across your region or sales teams located in remote field offices, here are some ideas to help you send an effective, yet personal, holiday card.

An unexpected surprise in the mail can make your day. Grab your
customers' attention by mailing corporate Thanksgiving cards to kick off the traditional start of the holiday season. When is the last time you received a Thanksgiving greeting? By remembering your customers with a holiday greeting at this time of year, you are ensuring that your card will not be lost in a pile of other cards but instead will be noticed, read and remembered. In addition to the surprise factor, Thanksgiving cards are advantageous because you can mail them before your own holiday, end-of-the-year rush. Another appealing factor is that the Thanksgiving holiday is not affiliated with a religion, thus reducing your chances of offending a client's religious beliefs. Everyone likes to know they are appreciated, take this opportunity to thank those who deserve it. Examples of Business Holiday Greetings for a Thanksgiving CampaignRather than just wishing your customers a joyous holiday season, use this opportunity to truly give thanks for them. Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings and express your appreciation, why not show your clients that they are an integral part of this season for you? Here are a few examples:

What can you do to jazz up your corporate holiday cards this year to make them more personal for your client and more useful to your business? By including QR Codes and PURLs inside the card you can tailor your message, offer your clients a choice of gifts and provide a specific offer. This is the third post in our blog series, Holiday Card Campaigns 101, designed to make your cards more valuable to both you and your clients.

When you receive holiday cards, how many do you remember? As you send your corporate holiday cards this year, keep in mind that your customers and prospects are probably being deluged with mail; so make your card stand out. This is the second post in our series Holiday Card Campaigns 101. With just a little planning your card can be a valuable tool in your overall communications plan.

You know it will be making its appearance on your "To Do" list any day now... The approach of the holiday season means it is time to start planning your company's holiday card campaign. This post, "Your Business Holiday Card Campaign Checklist," is the first in a series of blogs designed to help you develop a holiday communications campaign that will dazzle your customers and prospects. The obligatory corporate holiday card mailing is often an afterthought. The whole process is usually pulled together quickly, without any planning, sometimes gathering all available personal and an already-overworked admin in a mad dash to get it stamped, wrapped, sent and received before the actual holiday. Once it is sent, everyone heaves a sigh of relief, and back to work they go. Don't let this annual opportunity slip past you this year. With a little preplanning, you can make your holiday cards work for you. It is your chance to:

Businesses of any size find it difficult funding marketing initiatives that include direct mailings because of the problematic nature of tracking their success rate. Every organization is expected to defend the costs associated with their departments. Marketing directors no longer get a pass when it comes to direct mail campaigns, but the good news is that new technology can quantify a variety of measurements that help determine the success of their investments.

With the introduction of new and increasingly complex digital technologies,
marketing directors face tough challenges. They have to be experts on new technology before it has matured while simultaneously digesting results from the last marketing campaign. It's like driving down an unfinished road and checking your rearview mirror – all at the same time. Sometimes, it’s all too easy to let marketing strategies become ineffective and stale.

It's rare that a business creates such a significant and iconic logo for their company that nothing else is needed to promote their product. That image sells itself and their brand is known all over the world. For the rest of us, it takes herculean marketing efforts and a myriad of campaigns to establish a foothold in the memories of our clients.