4 Things You Need to Know About Business Greeting Cards

A lot of companies have used business greeting cards as a marketing tool all year round. However, not much thought is given to formulating an actual strategy with this tradition. Buying a set of greeting cards from a stationery store and sending them to a mailing list is one way to go. But greeting cards can do more than that.

Business greeting cards have the potential for customization and it can be a great way to stay in touch with your customers, clients, and business partners. You can send them greeting cards during the winter holidays, Mother’s Day, Easter or Valentine’s Day to celebrate events and show your appreciation. But even if it’s not a national holiday, you can still send a greeting card as a part of your promotion and give value to them.

Here’s how you can use business greeting cards to keep in touch with your customers and business partners.

1. Personalized greeting cards work wonders.

The thing with store-bought greeting cards is that they are “store-bought.” There’s not much effort given to buying this from a stationery shop. This generally means you don’t care enough to invest time and effort into customizing your own. How does that translate to your customer? Bland. Generic. So much for appreciation.

MORE: How to Design Powerful Print Marketing Materials for Your Business

Forget about buying those discounted greeting cards in bulk. Instead, create your own design for your business greeting cards. Make them consistent with your brand identity. Include your own brand visuals, especially your logo. Include graphics that are both appropriate for the theme of your greeting card and reflect your company culture well.

2. Customers like a short but sincere personal message.

This is where the greeting card shines through more than any other form of marketing—being personal. I like getting personal messages addressed to me instead of generic ones. I’m pretty much obliged to reply to the sender after receiving them. In a business context however, there are some tweaks that you should consider.

It may be economical to print the same message on all of your greeting cards. However, make sure to write a short and simple message to your customer by hand. This is especially useful for small businesses with frequent customers. You’re putting extra effort into creating customized greeting cards after all. Go the extra mile and write a few sentences to show appreciation.

A simple “Hey Em. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you and I’m looking forward to continuing our partnership in the future” can be quite effective.

3. Customers may perceive your words differently.

Greeting cards are admittedly made for holidays. You usually send them to people that you know personally. But when it comes to greeting card marketing, your recipient is a customer or a business partner. Sometimes, companies tapping into a greeting card marketing campaign during religious and national holidays end up writing unintentionally offensive messages.

MORE: 25 Jolly Holiday Card Designs for Inspiration

Your business greeting cards need to be personal enough to show appreciation but it should be generic enough so it doesn’t offend anyone. Avoid designing cards that are religious in nature. Opt to use religion-neutral, politically correct statements. You may also want to stay away from funny cards (unless your brand identity fits).

4. Everyone likes gifts!

Finally, commemorate the holiday by giving your recipient a gift. It could be in the form of a coupon to claim a 20% discount or a gift that they could claim when they come to your store. It could be a gift card from one of your business partners, as long as it is useful to the segment you are targeting. If you’re an e-commerce business, use a call-to-action statement to lead them to a special landing page you made to coincide with your greeting card campaign.

How will you use your business greeting cards this year? Tell us in the comments section below.