Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa are among the great reasons to connect with your customers and prospects during the holiday season. I reached into the Heartspoken archives to share again this very helpful post from today’s guest: corporate etiquette expert, speaker, and trainer Lydia Ramsey. We’ve become friends and realized that her interest—etiquette and manners—actually intersects beautifully with two of mine—connection and personal, handwritten notes. At their best, etiquette and manners are the glue that holds a civilized society together, and that’s a powerful connection!
When Lydia found out I was also a representative for Navitor and Carlson Craft, two top quality card and stationery companies, she offered to share this wisdom with Heartspoken readers, many of whom have business associates and clients. Please share it with your friends, both personal and professional! Several of the tips certainly apply to personal holiday cards too.
Ready or not, now is the time to be thinking about and planning for a holiday card for your business. If you wait until the last minute to start—like after Thanksgiving, sending your cards may become more of a chore than a pleasure. If you delay too long, your clients and colleagues may already have left the office for the holidays or they may be too swamped at that point to notice your card.
- Purchase a quality card. It is not necessary to spend a fortune, but good quality says you value your clients and colleagues enough to “send the very best.”
- Order your cards while there is still time to have your name or the company’s printed on them. You want them to have a professional look.
- Send your greetings early while they can be appreciated. Have them in the mail the first week in December if you want them to be noticed and appreciated.
- Plan to sign your name and write a brief message. The holiday card that comes without a personal signature and a note seems more obligatory than celebratory. It does not matter that your name is already printed on the card.
- Address the envelopes by hand. While it is easier and faster to print address labels, you lose the personal touch. Consider paying someone to do this for you if you don’t have the time to do it yourself.
- Use titles when addressing your cards. The envelope should be addressed to “Mr. John Smith” not “John Smith” or “Ms. Mary Brown” not “Mary Brown.” By the way, “Ms.” is the correct title to use in business.
- Invest in holiday stamps and avoid the postage meter. That’s just one more personal touch—and a festive one at that.
- Email greeting cards may be tempting because they require less time and trouble. It’s not bad taste to e-mail your holiday wishes, but it is impersonal and not the most effective way to do it. Your cute and clever electronic message with singing Santa’s and dancing trees is a fleeting greeting. The recipient will click on the URL, download the card, open it, read it, smile, close it and, in all probability, delete it. Chances are good that your “real” card will have a longer lifespan. Most people save greeting cards throughout the holiday season, and many display them around the office.
- One final tip: Address your envelopes as soon as you receive your order. If you do that right away, you can sit back and relax while you write your personal message on each one.
These tips for the holidays and many more can be found in my eBook, Business Etiquette for the Holidays –Building Relationships Amid the Perils of the Season. This book also addresses appropriate conduct at the office party, holiday table manners, the gift-giving dilemma, and who, when and how much to tip during the season.
Lydia Ramsey is a Savannah-based business etiquette expert, professional speaker, premier trainer and author. Contact her at 912-598-9812 or visit her at LydiaRamsey.com to leave a comment, ask a question or learn more about her programs and products.
CLICK HERE to find holiday cards for lots of different holidays from Halloween and Thanksgiving to Rosh Hashanah and Kwanzaa. Pick out your favorite, but before you order, call Elizabeth Cottrell at 540-436-3969 from 9 to 5 Eastern time and ask for the “Heartspoken 10% discount.”
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Our Family Prayer
Thank you for addressing the point of adding personal touches to your cards. We get too caught up in printing everything.
Esther, your story is wonderful. Clearly you are someone who knows how to make connections and build relationships. Thank you, Lydia
Lydia, I’m glad you enjoy Esther’s writing as much as I do.
Reading this triggered one of my favorite memories. I had just become the leader of a volunteer group dedicated to providing emergency communications to government and local agencies. Christmas came and I found the perfect cards: the Goodyear blimp, intent on covering a football game far below, and Santa’s sleigh, equally intent on the game…same altitude, collision course. Inside there was some message about “are you ready?” I sent these cards out to each of the agency reps I had met over the last several months, indicating that we were ready to help no matter what the emergency. MADE MY POINT! Got plenty of attention, and everybody remembered the “radio lady”.
Esther, I LOVE this story! People really do remember when you send a catchy card. I love that you were team-building as well as wishing friends a Merry Christmas. Thanks so much for sharing this.