Do you send Christmas cards to your customers?

[Justin_B]

I didn't bother last year but plan to again this year. I don't have that many clients so it's not an expensive exercise.

Actually while I'm here, does anyone know where I can get 100 or so cards printed (on the inside) with my company logo and strap-line? (I'll still sign the things myself). The cheaper the better!

Thanks,

Justin

 

[KreativeJuice]

Hi Justin,

Check out our offer below...times getting on though so you had better be quick!

Kind regards
Karen

 

[neildigital]

Christmas Cards
Full colour throughout
A5 4pp
350gsm 1 Side Coated
From your artwork
Creased, and supplied with quality diamond flapped Envelopes
100 cards - £50 plus vat

For me to do the artwork/image an additonal £25 plus vat

 

[Jeff Knows]

Nope, I find the whole idea distasteful to be honest for several reasons. Mostly because it looks a little like forcing religious belief inside a relationship that merits absolutely no unimportant communication.

Unless all your customers are Christian, agreed to receiving them and it contains an invoice or other relevant business related information I think you run the risk of seriously pissing some people off.

 

[neildigital]

Nope, I find the whole idea distasteful to be honest for several reasons. Mostly because it looks a little like forcing religious belief inside a relationship that merits absolutely no unimportant communication.

Unless all your customers are Christian, agreed to receiving them and it contains an invoice or other relevant business related information I think you run the risk of seriously pissing some people off.

Are you for real? Please.. I would not think his clients would be pissed off for receiving a card, which does not have to be religious at all...

N

 

[yuzi87]

I was planning on doing the same, i think people will appreciate the thought.

I just wont send one to any of my Asian customers.

 

[Justin_B]

Hi Jeff, are you suggesting it would be more acceptable if the cards contained an invoice?

 

[AlphaTalk]

Unless all your customers are Christian, agreed to receiving them and it contains an invoice or other relevant business related information I think you run the risk of seriously pissing some people off.

Whoah, really? A lot of our staff are non-christian and are very happy to recieve Christmas cards from our suppliers and customers!

 

[S-Marketing]

I kind of see where Jeff is coming from, but have to disagree.

If one of my clients (of a different religion) sent me a card on a day when they were celebrating a religious holiday, I think i'd be quite chuffed.

 

[Mike W]

Unless all your customers are Christian, agreed to receiving them and it contains an invoice or other relevant business related information I think you run the risk of seriously pissing some people off.

Whoah, really? A lot of our staff are non-christian and are very happy to recieve Christmas cards from our suppliers and customers!

Lol! You serious?

I am sure most people would be perfectly happy receiving a card. And even the most hard hearted would take it in the spirit it was intended

 

[Jeff Knows]

Hi Jeff, are you suggesting it would be more acceptable if the cards contained an invoice?

I'm saying it would be more acceptable if it was a proper business communication instead of a tradition and event only recognized by a portion of society.

If they didn't ask for it and it has no relevance to the business you do with them it is spam. Offensive spam for some people. I personally don't think it's the place of business to try and create this fake friendly relationship with it's customers. Nobody is fooling anybody, it's marketing, it's cold, it's impersonal and it's creepy.

Let your customers get cards from the people they care about. Cards they'll display and leave your relationship with them a business one.

I think the whole idea of business encroaching into various personal, spiritual and religious things in peoples life for marketing is wrong. Isn't there anything in life anymore you can keep to you and your family without some business guy 'politely' reminding you he sell Printers, Scanners and Keyboards?

They know you are there. They know what you do and when they need you they will come get you. Leave it at that. Unless you have some kind of deep personal relationship with these people that card is going straight in the bin. Do they call you up for anything other than what it is you sell? Have you helped them move (Without being a removal company)?

Generally I just see it as you stepping above your order. You have a place in these peoples life and like the vast majority of business it is most likely in the 'leave-me-alone-unless-I-call' box.

 

[Mike W]

If they didn't ask for it and it has no relevance to the business you do with them it is spam. Offensive spam for some people. I personally don't think it's the place of business to try and create this fake friendly relationship with it's customers. Nobody is fooling anybody, it's marketing, it's cold, it's impersonal and it's creepy.

Not so sure Jeff Knows that much as far as this topic is concerned

 

[AlphaTalk]

Unless you have some kind of deep personal relationship with these people that card is going straight in the bin.

Actually, in our case they go on the big table in the middle of the office for all to see, but each to their own!

 

[yuzi87]

Well i run a security company and have a regular customer base who i visit every 6 months for their equipment services. I know my customers well and they know me.

Jeff is it wrong for me to send cards as well then? Also how can u say only a portion of people in this country celebrate xmas?

Like somebody else said if i got a card through the door from a customer and it said happy st patricks day, or happy ramadan etc. I would not be offended, I would think that person was kind for thinking of me and taking the time to send it.

 

[neildigital]

Jeff Knows...

I feel sorry for your clients, if that's the relationship you have with them!

I am always trying to help that extra bit, or keep communication going with clients. Thats what business is all about...

Neil

 

[AdamJ]

If people want to send them then send them. I personally think there is little business value in it so don't bother and tend to bin any we receive at the office, but that's just me and each to their own. Can't see it does any harm to send them.

 

[S-Marketing]

I dont think that just because we know people through business they cannot also be friends.

I spoke to a graphic designer I sometimes use on the phone the other day. We spent about an hour on the phone, 5 mins discussing the design work I needed, and the other 55 discussing my new house, his kids, his business, my business, family, etc. I will be sending him an Xmas card

 

[Jeff Knows]

Lol I have opened a can of worms here.

I think of it this way. How, in any way, are you unique to your customers? What makes the message you write on the cards you send any more important than any other cards they receive from business'? Not much is my guess.

Yuzi87, You say you meet a customer once every 6 months. How many other business representatives does that customer meet at the same frequency or more? I'd hazard a guess that it's quite a lot, I'd also hazard a guess he has the same level of relationship with them as he does with you.

Does it even come close to the relationship he has with the guys he has a drink with on the weekend? What about that third cousin that he only really sees at family events? Those relationships are far more important to him, you can't even compete.

I think it's easy to forget how meaningless we are to customers. I run several quite personal services, I have great brand loyalty and a relationship with my customers that is fairly personal. But in the grand scheme of a persons life? I barely register. I'm a business, it's something we can't escape and there are 100 other business lined up ready to take our place and be just as close to our customers as we are should we vanish.

These relationships might be quite personal when compared to your usual business relationship. They are still a million miles away from actually being a personal relationship though and very, very few companies ever cross that bridge and it's something that's impossible to keep a hold of as you grow. So why try?

Ignore me all you like, plenty of people have over the years but I used to work for an eCard company. We offered a mass-mailing service for business' who would use it at Christmas and such. The amount of hate mail we got back for allowing it was just tremendous, roughly 6% (The usual complaint rate was about 1.2%).

It could be completely different with physical cards, I don't know. However I learned then that trying to mix business interests with peoples personal life is a very volatile place to be. Some people don't mind, some people absolutely hate you for it, responding like you'd pasted an ad on their 3 year old's face.

It's something I wouldn't go near, customers are happy not hearing from you at-all. I, personally, don't think it's worth the risk for something that is pretty meaningless. Your customers won't be sad if don't receive a card from you, they won't even notice.

 

[KreativeJuice]

2 words for you Jeff....Bah, Humbug!

 

[Jeff Knows]

..........

 

[neildigital]

..........

Send me your address, I will send you a not so Christmas card..... just for you!! hee hee!

 

[S-Marketing]

I must say that although I dont actually agree with him, Jeff does seem to be producing a more reasoned arguement than any of us who think he's wrong.

To say that a Christmas card doesn't have to be religious is insane. Regardless of the content or picture on the front, a Christmas card couldn't be more religious if it was nailed to a cross.

I think there must be a happy middle ground. Maybe send customers a card, and wish them a merry Xmas, but dont try and sell them something or remind them of your 'special offers' at the same time.

 

[thebigIAM]

Hah-hah! My bah humbug credentials are far superior to that! I don't even send Christmas cards to friends and family.

No real Christmas trees either. How wasteful and disgusting.

 

[sarah@opace]

Hi
Yes we send them to current clients and to prospective new clients, it's a small thank you and also a small reminder that your are still here and it never hurts to refresh someones memory, also it's a nice thing to do and will make you feel good at this time of year good luck, but if you are getting them please please get funny ones, i couldn't get my boss to pick a funny one, but i think they are a lot nicer then some that end up in dullest xmas card comps lol

 

[Justin_B]

To be honest I wasn't expecting such polarised views on this, I thought it would be a bothered/not bothered type of decision, and the possibility that people may be offended hadn't occurred to me.

I don't agree that Xmas cards have to be religious, I'm not myself - and would always send a 'Season Greetings' type of message anyway.

I also don't agree with Jeff that business relationships and personal relationships are mutually exclusive. Some of my closest personal friendships started out life as business relationships, including my wife!

 

[Vicarious]

I'm saying it would be more acceptable if it was a proper business communication instead of a tradition and event only recognized by a portion of society.

Someone had better tell M&S that they wasted all that cash on Peter Kay, Danni and Twiggy as only a portion of society will recognise their efforts..

I mean seriously my muslim brother in law and his wife are looking forward to Christmas and recognising it as the fun traditional event that it is.

As Christians we are not blind to the fact that it is a fun tradition that has way outgrown its origins and in the christian calendar Easter is more important anyway.

I wont be sending cards but I do recognise it is important for your customers to regularly see your name on something and know you have thought of them. Because of the melay of christmas I am not sure a card does that

 

[Jeff Knows]

To be honest I wasn’t expecting such polarised views on this, I thought it would be a bothered/not bothered type of decision, and the possibility that people may be offended hadn’t occurred to me.

I don’t agree that Xmas cards have to be religious, I’m not myself - and would always send a ‘Season Greetings’ type of message anyway.

I also don’t agree with Jeff that business relationships and personal relationships are mutually exclusive. Some of my closest personal friendships started out life as business relationships, including my wife!

I think they are mutually exclusive. That's not to say people can't move between them however. Your wife isn't married to your business, is she? Your personal relationship with her is as a human being.. not as a consultant.

Ok, that sounded extremely dismissive of your profession and I didn't mean it too say that consultants aren't human beings... I just couldn't find any better words.

Anyway, I've had my say. I just think there is a lot more being implied with a Christmas card to some people than is maybe initially thought and what could be interpreted as an innocent gesture by some can also be really quite offensive to others. For me, it's best just to keep away from anything like that in a business/customer environment.

 

[Lease4Less]

Nope, I find the whole idea distasteful to be honest for several reasons. Mostly because it looks a little like forcing religious belief inside a relationship that merits absolutely no unimportant communication.

Unless all your customers are Christian, agreed to receiving them and it contains an invoice or other relevant business related information I think you run the risk of seriously pissing some people off.

It's arguments like this that have caused parts of the UK to stop calling it Christmas and instead call it "The Winter Festival"

Sending out Christmas cards, either to business associates, customers or family members is traditional. You don't have to be religious to celebrate Christmas, I bet the majority of people who do don't go to church on Xmas day.

It's also a time of year for many companies to make extra money out of the situation. I don't see religious adverts on the TV from Next and M&S, you just see celebs promoting the company with Xmas sales!

To say a customer that doesn't celebrate Christmas being insulted by receiving a card is rediculous.

 

[Elbe]

With a previous employer, I used to send hand-written Christmas Cards to our top 20 customers....thanking them for their support....always had complimentary comments back.

 

[Lease4Less]

With a previous employer, I used to send hand-written Christmas Cards to our top 20 customers....thanking them for their support....always had complimentary comments back.

This is exactly why cards are sent out to your customers/buisness associates.

This world has serious issues if sending someone a card wishing them "all the best and a prosperous new year" is taken as an insult, or deemed ramming a religous message down their throats.

What the hell has happended to Good will to all men?:|

 

[Jeff Knows]

This is exactly why cards are sent out to your customers/buisness associates.

This world has serious issues if sending someone a card wishing them "all the best and a prosperous new year" is taken as an insult, or deemed ramming a religous message down their throats.

What the hell has happended to Good will to all men?:|

What's wrong with a phone call? What's wrong with 10% off added to their account for 6 months? What's wrong with a simple letter? What's wrong with the other plethora of available business to customer related thank you's and gifts? Free pork pies to anyone who buys in winter, a bottle of whisky?

Why do we need to hijack something that is quite personal, such as a card from one person to another, to market to them?

There are some things that business have no business intruding upon in my mind. Religious holidays, weddings, funerals, hospital care, nursing homes, schooling. Places, events and times where a persons personal relationships are at the forefront. Christmas is one of those times.

We have all damn year to offer up a little love to our customers and I think it's just a little tasteless to shove your company name under their nose during the few times of the year when the 'real world' should be ignored.

What's next? A little 'We are with you..-company name-' on the sides of hearses? Heartfelt personal message my backside, we all know it's marketing, we all know how effective advertising is when you pull a couple of heart strings.

It's dirty tactics, in my book.

 

[AlphaTalk]

Free pork pies to anyone who buys in winter, a bottle of whisky?

Some of my colleagues and customers are of the Muslim faith, and would definitely be much more upset with the gift of a Pork Pie or a bottle of Whisky than a Christmas card!

 

[S-Marketing]

Agreed, a bottle of Whisky will certainly offend many more than a simple card.

 

[Lease4Less]

Jeff get off the soap box!!!

Do you not celebrate Christmas?

How the hell does sending your customer a card offend them? Fair enough if you are sending them a card saying "Dear customer, Happy Christmas and by the way we have some great offers on at the moment" then yes, this is not acceptable, but sending out a card signed "Happy Xmas, and best wishes for the new year" is surely going to taken the correct way.

To say that this is just a cheap way of promoting your company is sceptical to say the least.

 

[Elbe]

What's wrong with a phone call? What's wrong with 10% off added to their account for 6 months? What's wrong with a simple letter? What's wrong with the other plethora of available business to customer related thank you's and gifts? Free pork pies to anyone who buys in winter, a bottle of whisky?

Why do we need to hijack something that is quite personal, such as a card from one person to another, to market to them?

There are some things that business have no business intruding upon in my mind. Religious holidays, weddings, funerals, hospital care, nursing homes, schooling. Places, events and times where a persons personal relationships are at the forefront. Christmas is one of those times.

We have all damn year to offer up a little love to our customers and I think it's just a little tasteless to shove your company name under their nose during the few times of the year when the 'real world' should be ignored.

What's next? A little 'We are with you..-company name-' on the sides of hearses? Heartfelt personal message my backside, we all know it's marketing, we all know how effective advertising is when you pull a couple of heart strings.

It's dirty tactics, in my book.

That's a sad way to think...dirty tactic's??

In this competitive world, if you think we're hinging future biz on a Christmas Card, you'd be mistaken. It's a nice gesture, plain and simple.

I have a supplier who has been very helpful to a newbie like me...I'm sending her a card purely because she's been so lovely to deal with...nothing in it for me.

Goodwill to all men, I hope you have a Merry Christmas

 

[BusinessRookie]

Someone had better tell M&S that they wasted all that cash on Peter Kay, Danni and Twiggy as only a portion of society will recognise their efforts..

Agreed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom#Religion Information collected from the last census stated that 71% of the UK is of Christian faith and 15% are of no specific religion.

If you sent both religious and non-religious cards to customers, then you'd be reaching 86% of UK society, which would be far more than just a 'portion' of society.

 

I didn’t bother last year but plan to again this year. I don’t have that many clients so it’s not an expensive exercise.

Actually while I’m here, does anyone know where I can get 100 or so cards printed (on the inside) with my company logo and strap-line? (I’ll still sign the things myself). The cheaper the better!

Thanks,

Justin

We don't. Not a very environmentally friendly thing to do. We have sent Christmas E-mails to our customers.

 

If you send a Christmas Card to a customer who doesn't celebrate or believe in Christmas, does that not suggest you haven't paid much attention to your customer? :|

Just a thought

 

[Drpepper]

Agreed, a bottle of Whisky will certainly offend many more than a simple card.

Offend me, offend me (I'll PM you my address)

 

[Vicarious]

Agreed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom#Religion Information collected from the last census stated that 71% of the UK is of Christian faith and 15% are of no specific religion.

If you sent both religious and non-religious cards to customers, then you'd be reaching 86% of UK society, which would be far more than just a 'portion' of society.

Apparently that census was flawed and in fact the premise of group against is flawed and on it goes but it doesnt matter, if the actual figure is 99% not 15% will they be sitting at home on Chrimbo with a pot noodle lunch refusing to exchange pressies - think not.