5 Ways to Think Differently about Your Company Christmas Card

During the holidays I got a proverbial Christmas card from 1 of the businesses we do business with. Inside there was literally a guy’s signature & his business card. And… He didn’t even sign in the middle. Clearly, I was #267 in his stack of cards to mindlessly scribble his name in as quickly as he could.

No heart.

No feeling.

And certainly nothing value adding.

As a student first and teacher second of marketing, I honestly believe this effort did more brand damage than good.

Here’s why:

His clear lack of caring and even less lack of effort spoke louder than his assistant’s minimal effort to buy a stack of cards, have him sign them, print labels, run them through a postage meter and stick them in the outgoing mail. (It got there late too by the way.)

He missed a great opportunity to stand out from the crowd instead. Here are

5 things he could have done instead that would have actually helped his business and brand and actually added value to me and the 266 others (give or take) that got his Christmas card.

1. Mail me a dollar bill instead with a little printed label that said: “Instead of spending a buck on another Christmas card you won’t read, we decided to just send you a dollar instead.”

I would have laughed out loud and he would have gained incredible human capital with me!

2. Written a personal note like, “Thanks for giving us your business. We know you have options when it comes to your _____ needs. Thanks for trusting us.”

I know when you multiply that by 267 it takes a while but when you multiply how much revenue they get from customers like me times 267, his entire staff could have spent an entire day hand writing card and it still would have been time well spent.

3. Send me a photo of your family. Let me know you’re human. Because your scribbled signature didn’t. And if you still believe that, “Business and personal should be separate,” then I’m not sure you understand the new world at all.

4. Put a Starbucks VIA coffee packet and a link to a free download of a leadership talk you heard this year that inspired you. Now you’ve actually added value to me. We did this last year with every business leader who came to our 1st AdvanceOneDay leadership Event and got raving feedback.

Total cost: Less than the Christmas card! (By the way, this is the stuff we teach at our AdvanceOneDay event. This year it’s on Friday, October 3rd)

(And you can watch all the videos from last year ABSOLUTELY FREE here! Just our way of #AddingValue to you.)

5. Don’t send me anything. Seriously, at least then there would have been no brand equity exchanges either way. And you would have given your assistant her 4 hours of real work time back.

Business Leaders & Marketers, Here’s the big lesson:

Don’t just do what you’ve always done.

You are 1 small step away from Adding Value and setting yourself apart from everyone else.