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Christmas Cards:  This powerful relationship tool is very underutilised nowadays which can give you a huge marketing edge. The key to marketing success is to stand out and get noticed…for all the right reasons. If you think an e-card is going to achieve this you need to think again. Last year my inbox and junk email folder was flooded with over 300 e-cards, naturally none of them were opened so from a relationship development perspective they were a total waste of time and effort.

On the other hand, I only received 5 “snail mail” Christmas cards, every one of which was opened and I personally thanked every giver.  It’s amazingly easy to stand out, get noticed and build powerful relationships in a low cost way that your competitors are probably missing out on.

Apply these 5 simple tactics and you will be amazed at the power of this simple but often ignored marketing tool:

1.    Timing Matters

Send your Christmas cards to arrive in the first week of December and you will be in front of your customers for a full three weeks.

Additionally your card will be among the first that your customer will receive and office politics being as they are, you will be positioned prominently in their offices to prove to their colleagues that they are popular and important

2.    Height Matters

Picture a sea of Christmas cards on your customer’s desk. Probably most of them will be a similar height i.e. about 7-8 centimetres. You see most cards are designed using a landscape orientation. Use a portrait card and it will standout above the rest.

3.    Use Your Own Christmas Card Design

Every year you probably receive cards from a variety of businesses that use the same stock designs. It’s impossible to stand out if you’re lost in the “sea of sameness”. Let your customers know that you care about their business by designing your own card that incorporates your branding a unique value proposition.

A uniquely designed card can cost less than a catalogue card as you won’t be paying royalties and multiple mark ups along the distribution chain.

4.    Personalise Your Christmas Cards

The ultimate standout strategy is to print your customer’s name on the front of the card. Studies have shown that personalised marketing materials outperform non-personalised by 400%!

With modern digital printing techniques, personalised cards are very affordable for small and large volumes. You can even incorporate your customer’s address details to make the entire Christmas card production process incredibly easy. This is great when you have a large customer base.

5.    Promote Your Products

There is nothing stopping you reminding your customers of the range of products and services you offer by having them printed on the card or include a promotional insert. At Intertype we have customers that insert coupons for redemption in December and January so that the one marketing piece works hard for 8 weeks.

The good news is that it doesn’t have to take much of your valuable time nor cost a fortune. At Intertype we have developed a range of Christmas relationship builders that cost less than $250. If your budget is genuinely tight or if you only have a small client list go to your local $2 shop and you’ll be surprised what you will find.

Just do it!

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