Reward Customer Loyalty: How To Boost Loyalty Using Cheap Christmas Cards

Christmas is a time for giving. It’s the season to share and get excited about the new year. It’s also a great time for businesses to reach out to their loyal customers and give them a little back. A classic way to do this is with a Christmas greeting card. At a time when everyone is too busy to write a personal and simple message of goodwill on a card, companies that make the effort to do so leave a positive mark on their customers. A generic printed card is better than none, but there are ways to take advantage of this sharing opportunity for even greater customer impact.

1. Order cards with your business information printed on the back so customers can easily show their appreciation by calling or visiting your business. Personalized cards can be purchased at your local print shop or ordered online.
2. Compile a list of your customers’ names and mailing addresses. If your budget for shipping is limited, you may want to trim the length of this list and retain the details of customers who have been loyal to your business for the longest time.
3. Buy enough stamps for the number of customers on your list.
4. If your budget allows it, order holiday return address labels with your business mailing address.
5. Write a selection of 3-5 different personal messages on a piece of paper. Vary messages from religiously neutral to unabashedly Christian, if you know your customers’ religious beliefs. If you don’t, then write 3-5 positive and uplifting messages that are not religiously biased. Having a variety of different personal messages allows you more room to express yourself and reduces the chance that two customers will compare cards and conclude that the messages weren’t as personal as they originally thought.
6. If you have staff helping you, divide the writing duties among the available staff members. If you don’t have support, consider hiring the support of an office support company that offers a card issuance service.
7. The first writing task consists of transcribing one personal message per card. Consult the list of names for the first and last name, and begin the message with the customer’s name. If the names are known, these should be used to add a more personal touch to the card. Sign your name. You may also consider including your staff in the farewell, for example, regards from John Basil and my team.
8. To avoid a situation where the personalized card is sent to the wrong customer, the following task must be performed immediately. Handwrite the customer’s address on the envelope and insert the card into the envelope. Remove this customer from your list so you don’t accidentally send two cards to the same person. It’s tempting to use printed address labels, but this step, while tedious, is a critical part of the investment you’re making in your customers. A handwritten envelope shows personal effort and tells the customer that you are treating them as an individual. It’s also unlikely that a handwritten envelope would end up, unopened, in the trash with the rest of the seasonal junk mail. Seal the envelope, add a festive return address label and a postage stamp.
9. Repeat steps 7 and 8 until you have written all the cards and the envelopes are ready to mail.
10. Take a trip to your local post office and mail your cards.

Suggestions:
To prevent your hard work from ending up in the trash with the rest of the holiday junk mail, try one or more of the following tips:

• Use cards with square envelopes that look significantly different than standard size envelopes.
• Use brightly colored or patterned envelopes that attract attention.
• Use postage stamps and avoid postage stamping (postage will detract from the personal appearance of the envelope).
• If your postal system allows it, decorate the envelopes with festive stickers (which can be attached when the stamps are affixed).

All small businesses, even those with a very tight marketing budget, can use the simple tradition of sending Christmas cards to reward customer loyalty and encourage them to return in the new year. Write the cards yourself or get help, but don’t miss the opportunity to send the message that your business cares about its customers.

(c) Copyright: Sharon Krantz. All rights reserved throughout the world.