Every December, you find yourself watching the mailbox for them. In fact, they seem so important. What are we talking about? of course. Why are they so important? What makes them so special to each of us?
Is the importance due to the spread of holiday cheer? Is it due to the importance we place on token gifts that will be thrown out after the end of the year? Of course not, but Christmas cards are a measure of relationships
Relationships! How many people do you only have contact with once per year through a Christmas card? How often do you find you list has not changed for the previous five years?
Christmas cards may simply be an excuse to stay in touch, but do not require a lot of commitment. We are not committed to a day-to day relationship. Our lives are busy, but these people have been very important to us at some time in the past. A card lets them know that we are still alive and their response lets us know the same about them. In addition we can fill each other in about the year.
We sum up twelve months of activity, so much activity that we cannot stay in touch other than through a Christmas card, into a five inch by seven inch cars that we write around the words of some poet.
We do not send these cards to friends or relatives we see daily or even weekly. Instead, they get gifts, with little tags attached. We do not try to sum up the year, because they spend time with us and already know.
It is possible that you send fewer cards every year. Are they being sent to people you have a relationship with? Are they being sent to people you hardly even know any more? Do you know if they have children and the kids names?
Perhaps you are among the people who buy cards every year just in case someone from the past sends you a card. Then you can quickly get a return card into the mail. After all, reciprocity is important in the giving and receiving of Christmas cards.
Many people are offended by a two page newsletter. It seems that it would be more proper to actually spend time with people if you really cared about them and wanted them to know about your life. When was the last time you had a cup of coffee or a soft drink together and spent time catching up on life?
While printed Christmas cards is lovely, with beautiful pictures and warm greetings, the are not the same as personal contact. Cards mean more from people we hear from more often.
This Christmas, try to make those cards more meaningful. Try spending time with people. It could be in person, on the phone or even in an online chat room. Then you will have something import to say that is meaningful to the person when you send the card.
By Ged Matthews
Ged Matthews - Owner and founder of P&M Distribution Ltd in the UK. Specialising in the sale of Christmas cards through the website http://www.christmasnetwork.co.uk
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http://EzineArticles.com/?Why-is-a-Christmas-Card-Important?&id=2809838
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If your marketing budget is tight then rather than just print off mailing labels for your whole customer database be a little more selective. Many companies send a Christmas card to their entire history of customers but is that really necessary or cost effective. Probably not, and whilst every business is different you may consider it safe to make a cut off for customers who have not ordered for x number of years. You may want to take things further and order two styles of Christmas card a premium Christmas card for your top customers which have hand written signatures from the company directors and a cheap budget card for everyone else. Be wary of trying to impress your customers too much with flashy personalised Christmas cards as they will think that you are putting more effort into making an impression rather than cutting your own costs to make the products or services you sell them cheaper. There is a fine balance to strike between presentability and respectability.
