The weather outside is frightful - as is the economy, but darn it you better be sending at least a holiday card to your clients. If you don’t you’ll make the naughty list for sure. Instead of simply sending wishes from “our family to yours” and all that mush, why not use the opportunity to mine some business?
That’s horrible. What would my client’s think? You need to send them something anyway, but it doesn’t need to be the same old dull card. Tis the season to be creative!
I often preach that boring marketing is a collasol waste of money. This season the same cards will be mailed and end up recycled without a thought. Here are some ideas that can get you marketing with your greetings without being obnoxious or pushy.
Share Who You Are: If you send a nice family card to friends that shows what you have done all year outside of work, why not send that to clients, too? People like to peer into others lives and get to know them. Share that you learned to snowboard after 15 years skiing. Maybe your son was in the state finals in soccer. These personal tidbits allow your clients to connect with you.
Gift with the Card: If you have an offer, a coupon or special that you can include with the card you have a better chance of repeat or referral business. Don’t make the card the offer. It needs to be separate. Why? You want it to be transferable. If the person receiving it doesn’t need it, have a place to write their name and pass the offer along. If you get the card back from a new client, you will know who to thank. You can even offer something for referring upfront.
Segment and Reward: If you have layers of clients: past, current and prospective send them all the same card but a different offer insert. Past clients might get something to return – do you have their email address? Current clients get a bonus for referring someone. Prospective clients a special offer to do business in the next 30 days. Don’t forget to use a highly visible expiration date and a strong call-to-action.
Gifts: There are those terrific clients that really deserve special attention. Because most holiday gifts are so mundane, I encourage you to only reward your very top clients and do something that they would enjoy and you can experience. Perhaps you host a lunch for your top 5-25 clients. You can write off the expense and network with everyone. Save the candy and fruit for the teachers and cleaning lady.
Don’t Forget the Call-to-Action: The main reason I like the insert is to complete separate the messages. It’s subtle, but people notice it and won’t take offense if done well. If you are only offering this to a few clients, you can hand write these for an extra touch. Make it ego focused on them and that they are so much your favorite type of client that you want more just like them. With so much competition for their attention during this season, you can afford to be bolder.
