Giving Memorable Gifts

You give business gifts for specific business reasons: to thank a customer for their past business; to cement the relationship; and to encourage their continued business. You want to select and deliver gifts that leave your clients delighted.

To give gifts that are well received and memorable, and avoid giving gifts that offend, here is what you need to know.

1. Know your company
Does your company have a policy on corporate gifts? What is the policy? Do the gifts get charged to your budget or to an overhead account? What is the budget for these items?
2. Know your peers
Is anyone else in your company sending gifts to customers who are on your list? If so, your gifts should complement each other. Consider combining the budget amounts to give the client one nicer gift rather than two separate gifts.

Find out whether anyone in your organization is sending gifts to peers of your customer.

Coordinate to make sure that neither gift makes the other appear inappropriate.
3. Know your client’s company
Does the recipient’s company set limits on the number or value of gifts their employees can accept? Some companies limit it to “token” gifts. Some specify a dollar. Others prohibit them altogether. Find out what that policy is and abide by it. You don’t want to put your customer in the awkward position of having to decline a gift from you because it violates their company policy.
4. Know your client
This is the most important item. What does he like to do away from the office? Which holiday does she celebrate at this time of the year - Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, none? Would he prefer the gift delivered to his home or his office? What gifts from previous years has she liked enough to display in her office? Does he have a favorite charity to which you can donate in his name?
5. Know your suppliers
Who are the best suppliers for different types of products? Where can you get top quality items of different types from one source? Who has the best price; the best engraving; the shortest turnaround; the fastest delivery?

Suppliers with whom you have established a relationship understand you and your business. They often can suggest appropriate gifts and help expedite processing or delivery.

Have you considered how little post you get these days?

I know most of our post is junk mail, statements and bills, so getting a letter from someone or a card is quite unusual and certainly stands out from the rest of the post.

With email being so prolific and fast, it is sometimes easy to forget to remember the power of a hand written note. (more…)

Personalizing Greeting Cards

Nine out of 10 Americans look forward to receiving personal letters and greeting cards. Adding a personal touch to your greeting cards can make them even more special to the receiver.

Here are some tips for personalizing greeting cards:

1. Decorate the outside of the envelope with drawings and stickers. Adorning the outside of the card adds more pageantry to the thoughtfulness inside.
2. Write the person’s name or nickname on the inside of the card. Personalizing the card reminds them this card was sent just for them. (more…)
   

Guide to Staying Connected

Today’s busy schedules often leave little time for enriching people’s lives – our own included. But, carving out time to reach out to loved ones and strengthen our personal connections helps to boost our emotional well-being. Connecting with friends and family doesn’t have to take a lot of effort and it is often the simple, small gesture that has the most impact when it comes to showing someone how much you care.

Sending a greeting card is one of those simple gestures that reminds people someone is thinking about them. Making someone else feel special can also have the effect of making the sender feel good too. With all of the stress in people’s lives today, that small oasis of contentment is something we need now more than ever. (more…)

Emotional Benefits of Greeting Cards

A greeting card in the mailbox not only brightens our day, but can instantly connect us emotionally to friends and family. That special bright-colored or hand-written envelope stands out among our piles of bills and magazines and serves as a reminder that someone has taken the time from their day to reach out to us and show us they care. Whether because of an annual holiday or an unexpected gesture, greeting cards keep people connected, benefiting both the sender and receiver. (more…)

Business Christmas Cards Are Good Business

From © Mark McGregor

Use Business Christmas Cards To Build Relationships

Have you sent out your business Christmas cards yet? Is it worthwhile to send out a season’s greetings to your business contacts? Yes! With building a relationship with your clients and prospects, a business Christmas card acknowledges that you took the time and effort to think of them.

These tips will help you use business Christmas cards to build a relationship with your clients and prospects:

Don’t go overboard with designer labels and customized messages on your business Christmas cards. Dollar for dollar, no one really cares if you handwrote your company’s name or if it was printed onto the Christmas card.

Include a business card with your business Christmas card. If family and friends are your customers too, I would suggest sending out two separate Christmas cards.

What to Say: Ideas for Business Greetings

Thank You: General

• With special thanks and much appreciation.

• Sincere thanks for your extra efforts.

• Your thoughtfulness is appreciated so much more than words can say.

• With sincere gratitude for all you have done.

• You’re the best!

• You made my day!

• It was a pleasure to work with you.

• Thank you for thinking of us.

• Many thanks for all you do. (more…)

Below is a list of suggested Christmas and holiday card verses. You may choose to use one, combine verses or make your own. We will print whatever you wish inside our cards as long as it fits. This includes logos and signatures.

1. Seasons Greetings
2. Seasons Greetings and best wishes for the New Year
3. Wishing you peace, love, and joy this Holiday Season.
4. Wishing you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season.
5. Wishing you a joyous Holiday Season and a most prosperous and Healthy New Year.
6. To a joyful present and a well remembered past. Best wishes for Happy holidays and a magnificent New Year.
7. Wishing you a joyous Holiday Season and a happy and prosperous New Year.
8. Peace on Earth
9. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
10. Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
11. We wish you and your family, Seasons Greetings and a joyous New Year.
12. Holiday Greetings!. . . celebrate each day.
13. To a Healthy, Happy & Peaceful New Year
14. May the closeness of friends, the comfort of home, and the unity of our nation, renew your spirits this holiday season
15. May the Holiday Season bring only happiness and joy to you and your loved ones.
16. Wishing you and your loved ones peace, health, happiness and prosperity in the coming New Year.
17. Merry Christmas May God bless you richly throughout this holiday season.
18. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year From the Greatest City in the World
19. May the Good Lord fulfill you with His promises and bestow on you His many blessings
20. At this Holiday Season we remember and honor those who are no longer with us and cherish those who are.
21. Peace On Earth and best wishes throughout the New Year
22. A wish of love and remembrance to you and yours on this Holiday Season.
23. Wishing you peace and joy in the New Year.
24. Wishing you a joyous Holiday Season and a New Year of peace and happiness!
25. Wishing you a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season
26. . . . the power of love enduring. A Blessed Christmas to you.
27. Wishing you a joyous Holiday Season and a New Year of peace and happiness.
28. Our wish this Holiday Season . . . A world to grow in where children will be safe and free. Peace!
29. Let the spirit of love gently fill our hearts and homes. In this loveliest of seasons may you find many reasons for happiness.
30. Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year.
31. ” Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.” With this thought, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, all the Happiest Holidays and all the luck the New Year could possibly bring to you.
32. Warmest thoughts and best wishes for a wonderful Holiday and a Happy New Year.
33. May peace, love and prosperity follow you always.
34. At the close of another year, we gratefully pause to wish you a warm and happy Holiday Season and a peaceful and prosperous New Year.
35. As the Holiday Season is upon us, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year and on those who have helped to shape our business in a most significant way. We value our relationship with you and look forward to working with you in the year to come. We wish you a very happy Holiday Season and a New Year filled with peace and prosperity.

Click on the Verse Number to view it in actual font.