There are many reasons to send a greeting card. Most often, it’s to celebrate a holiday and offer generic well-wishes. But if we take a little bit longer and put in the effort to write a more personal message, the impact that the card will have on the recipient is well worth your time.
We’ve looked at other opportunities to send greeting cards that your clients will appreciate and will improve your read rate. This way the card won’t go straight into the recycling and will put your business front and center in their minds.
Below are 5 reasons to send a greeting card to your clients. With this advice, you might be able to have more of an effect on your clients than you expect.
Make a real connection
In such a busy world, we often don’t take the time to make genuine connections with people, so when we do, it can mean that much more. One of the best reasons to send greeting cards is to reinforce a connection you have with an individual.
You don’t necessarily need an excuse to do so, though we look at a few common times to send greeting cards later in the article. The act of including a thoughtful, personalized message will typically be enough to create that important, human link. The fact that 3 in 4 people in the USA struggle with loneliness will make the simple act of reaching out have that much larger of an impact.
Offer your congratulations
Sending cards is a great way to commend someone for an important milestone or achievement in their life. This could be anything from an engagement, wedding, new child, passing exams, or opening a new branch of their business.
Whatever the occasion, sending a card can tie their thoughts about you to the joyful emotions they’re experiencing, creating a positive association. When they next think of you, they may also remember whatever they were celebrating at the time your card arrived. This also shows them that you care about them, and not just a number in your system.
Celebrate an important day
This may be what most people think of when they imagine occasions to send greeting cards. Holidays are a popular time to reach out to people and, since it’s commonplace, it doesn’t feel intrusive to do so, even as a less personal and more professional connection.
While certain times of the year, like Christmas time, are most typical, any major holiday can be a reason to send a greeting card.
Just be careful with your wording around the specific holiday—you don’t want to assume that anyone celebrates any specific tradition, particularly a religious one. A more inclusive message, like “season’s greetings”, can be a good way to avoid any mishaps there.
Express your thanks
There are plenty of reasons to send a greeting card thanking your customers. It could a referral they made, feedback they provided, a recent transaction, or just their continued loyalty and support.
Equally, it might just be a thank you for meeting up with you, providing inspiration in some way—intentional or otherwise—or for an introduction they made.
Whatever the reason, sending a card is a fantastic opportunity to show your gratitude, keep your business in their thoughts, and maybe even remind them if there are opportunities, sales, or further appointments coming up.
Give them something physical to open
We live in a digital era where it’s easy for messages to get lost. The average person receives over 100 emails a day just for work. So why would you risk your personalized message being just one in a horde of other emails vying for their attention?
Receiving physical cards is far less common, even with all the junk mail out there, and thus, far more important. Part of the reason to send a physical greeting card is the tactile experience of opening the card ourselves.
We invest more energy than just clicking a mouse or dragging our thumb across a touchscreen. We physically open the envelope, turn the card over, and read it. It takes more time than scanning an email and quickly deleting it.
Because of this, the message is given more thought. If you can write a message that the recipient will consider, you have a much better chance of them engaging with your card.
Send greeting cards to be memorable
Whatever the occasion or reason, sending a physical greeting card offers a more impactful experience than an email would. They can reinforce connections with clients and create positive associations with your business by commemorating special days or achievements.
By celebrating or thanking your clients, you give yourself an opportunity to remind them of your existence and hopefully drive further future engagement with you.
Part of the positive experience is the physical act of opening a greeting card. With the right personalized message, that can be a powerful tool.
With the above reasons to send a greeting card, you’re well placed to create lasting connections with your clients!