It's never too early or late in the year to think about your next batch of seasonal greetings cards. A beautiful branded greeting card is the perfect way to keep customers, build your brand, and make more sales.
We live in a digital age, where online interactions dominate every aspect of life and work, so it's easy to overlook the power of traditional greeting cards. However, custom seasonal greeting cards can be a highly effective marketing tool for businesses. They provide a personal touch that shows your clients and employees that you care, while also offering an opportunity to promote your brand and build customer loyalty. In this blog post, we want to help you explore the various ways you can leverage custom seasonal greeting cards to market your business effectively and leave a lasting impression on your customers. There's more to it than just designing, printing, and mailing them out!
Why do custom seasonal greeting cards matter in business marketing?
There are several reasons greetings cards matter to your business. We'll list here the four central reasons. You'll probably think of more as you consider innovative ways to deploy them in your customer loyalty and retention campaigns.
- Creating a personal connection: Sending custom seasonal greeting cards to your business clients, your customers, and also your employees shows you value and appreciate their business, customer, support and partnership. It creates a personal connection that goes beyond the “necessary minimum” of the contractual engagement and fosters a sense of loyalty.
- Staying “top of mind”: In the business world, whatever your sector, industry, vertical, or niche, it's essential to ‘make sure that your customers and associates don't forget about you. Custom seasonal greeting cards provide an opportunity to remind them of your brand, products, and services and to reinforce their positive feeling toward your company. Every time they receive a card, you increase the likelihood of them choosing future engagements.
- Promoting your brand: Custom seasonal greeting cards allow you to draw attention to your brand identity and corporate values. This can be as simple as adding your logo, slogan, and using your branded company colors in the design of your custom greeting cards. That's an effect you can't achieve when you buy generic cards which aren't tailored to your business.
- Market research: Sending personalized greeting cards helps to build a strong relationship with your clients and colleagues. It conveys a sense of trust and appreciation, in which atmosphere, you'll get a higher response rate to requests to fill in quick surveys or answer simple research questions.
All very well. We've talked about generic cards and custom cards. But even if we've convinced you of the potential value to your business of learning how to leverage custom seasonal greeting cards to enhance your marketing efforts, what card style should you choose?
Choosing the right type of custom seasonal greeting cards
When you come to select the type of custom seasonal greeting cards to send, it's essential to think about to whom you'll be sending them and the image and message you want to convey to that demographic. You may need more than one design. For example, to send to potential new customers, loyal customers, business clients, colleagues, or employees. Here are some key factors to keep in mind:
- Traditional vs. digital: While digital cards may be convenient and cost-effective, they lack the personal and tangible impact of traditional printed cards. In fact, they often suggest carelessness in the mind of the recipient as you've taken something that should have a personalized touch and made it “virtual” and depersonalized. A digital card is twice as likely to be simply be deleted from the inbox; whereas a physical card has more chance of being opened, kept, and valued. So, we strongly recommend that you opt for physical cards to create a memorable experience for your recipients and help guarantee a better return on your investment.
- Personalization: Adding a personal touch to your custom seasonal greeting cards can make a significant difference. Think seriously about including a handwritten message or at the very least, personalizing each card with the recipient's name for a more individualized approach. You'll be surprised at the difference this can make.
- Quality: First impressions matter, so invest in high-quality cardstock and offset printing to make sure your cards have a positive impact and get displayed in the offices or homes of the recipients where others will see them. Avoid sacrificing quality for cost, as a well-crafted card reflects positively on your brand.
- Religious sensitivities: Stay mindful of diverse religious backgrounds and sensibilities when designing your custom seasonal greeting cards. Opt for inclusive and neutral messages that celebrate the spirit of the season while excluding no one. So, considering that your customers and colleagues may celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Divali, Winter Solstice, or a host of other religious festivals—or that they may be secular atheists—it may be better to write “Season's Greetings” or “Happy Holidays” rather than something more specific such as “Merry Christmas”. Also, avoid specific religious imagery such as nativity scenes, crosses, and so on.
Effective Strategies for Personalizing Custom Seasonal Greeting Cards
To round up, let's just do a quick rundown of the core strategies that we've seen working in our client's custom seasonal greeting cards campaigns. Remember that you'll need to tailor your designs, messaging, and distribution methods depending on the season you're celebrating, the demographic you're targeting, and the results you wish to achieve—whether that's additional holiday sales, brand building, or customer retention. Either way, you can help to make your custom seasonal greeting cards truly stand out and resonate with your recipients by implementing some or all of the following strategies:
Handwritten notes
Handwritten notes—which may not be possible if you need to send out thousands of cards, but should be doable for a highly targeted campaign of just a couple hundred cards–communicate sincerity and thoughtfulness. Take the time to handwrite a message inside each card, or at the least, sign it by hand, expressing your gratitude and well wishes.
Add a personal Message
Even if you can't handwrite the message, you can still include a more personalized printed note besides the main printed message on the card; a note that reflects your relationship with the recipient, be that a business partner, a customer, or a supplier. Reference a shared experience, a milestone, or their contribution to your business to make the card feel more meaningful and personalized.
Individualize with names
Make each recipient feel special by including their first name on the custom seasonal greeting card. This small touch adds a personal element and shows that you put effort into acknowledging them individually. Even if you use an automated system, it's still an impressive effect which makes a world of difference.
Branding
Don't forget to incorporate design elements, colors, and fonts that represent your brand, creating a consistent and recognizable image. Include your logo and slogan, add contact details, and even include a shortlist of seasonal sales items if that feels appropriate.
Gift cards and discount codes
To further delight your recipients, encourage engagement, and boost sales, consider including a gift card or an exclusive discount offer with your custom seasonal greeting cards. This can be as simple as a discount code the recipient can add to the cart at checkout, or a scannable QR code that will take them to a special offer page on your website. Or, if your aim is to attract customers into your bricks-and-mortar stores, they simply need to bring the discount card with them to get their benefits.
Make 'em laugh
Humor can brighten anyone's day and leave a lasting positive impression. If you can, and it's appropriate for your brand identity, try to incorporate tasteful and lighthearted humor into your card's design or message to bring a smile to your recipients' faces. Humor is hard to get right, so unless you have a talented humorist or cartoonist on the staff, outsource this aspect of your design to a third-party. Bear in mind that humor only works if it's truly original and witty. If you don't do it well, it can also backfire and put people off. So, only send out a humorous card if you're confident that it's also on message for your target group.
Design your own cards
Custom seasonal greeting cards you've either designed yourself or had designed for you according to your specifications are the only guaranteed way to make sure your cards stand out from the crowd. Custom seasonal greeting cards are a powerful marketing tool that can enhance customer relationships, promote brand loyalty, and leave a lasting impression on your recipients. By personalizing your cards, aligning them with your brand, and incorporating thoughtful touches, you can create a memorable experience that sets your business apart. Remember to choose high-quality materials, stay sensitive to religious diversity, and personalize where possible to maximize the impact of your custom seasonal greeting card campaigns.
Let's talk!
At QinPrinting, we've enjoyed almost 30 years of success in the offset card printing industry and our business goes from strength to strength. In part, the expertise and enthusiasm of our staff, the rigor and efficiency of our protocols, our state-of-the-art technology, and a sincere commitment to genuine customer service sustain our global reputation for excellence. Unlike most offset printers who require a minimum order of at least a thousand units, at QinPrinting we've set our minimum at just a hundred cards so we can be of service to small businesses, independent creatives, and individuals besides major corporations and international enterprises.
Get in touch today, either by telephone, email, Skype, or our handy online contact form to discuss your needs or to ask us for a no-obligation quote. We look forward to working with you and making your custom seasonal greeting cards the most beautiful ever!
