What Not to Do When Sending Business Holiday Cards

Holiday greeting cards for business clients, partners, and anyone else who has supported your company throughout the year can help you show your appreciation and make your company stand out in people’s minds. However, a lot of businesses tend to make mistakes that can negate the positive effects of their holiday greeting messages.

Be sure the holiday card exchange works for your business, not against it. Here are some tips when sending business holiday cards.

When Sending Business Holiday Cards

Don’t Wait Until the Last Minute

Sending holiday cards late can cause your business to look a bit unprofessional. Avoid procrastinating when purchasing or sending your holiday greetings, plan ahead. Create a schedule that includes all the holiday tasks you need to accomplish so you don’t fall behind. Additionally, you may be able to get a better deal when purchasing your business holiday cards if you do so early in the year.

Don’t Misspell Names

All the good that a heartfelt holiday message can do is going to be negated if you can’t even spell the recipient’s name properly. Avoid major missteps by double checking names and using spell check for the rest.

Don’t Send Them to the Wrong Location

For partners and B2B clients who you’re sending holiday cards to, it’s usually best to send them to their business addresses, instead of their homes. Double check those addresses and ask if you don’t have them or aren’t sure. You don’t want anyone getting left out because you had the wrong information.

Don’t Forget Support Staff

Many of the clients who you’re sending business holiday cards to probably have assistants or receptionists. If there are any of these staff members who you interact with regularly, send them a card too. They’re probably going to end up dealing with the card you’re sending their boss, so you don’t want them to feel left out.

Don’t Include a Sales Pitch

The holidays aren’t a time for over-the-top selling. A simple greeting and heartfelt message is enough to let clients know how much they mean to your business and to keep you top of mind the next time they need your product or service. Don’t muddy the message by trying to sell something in your happy holidays cards for business clients.

Don’t Use Impersonal Holiday Greeting Messages

It’s fine to keep your business holiday cards fairly general. But they shouldn’t feel completely generic and impersonal. Include a message that’s actually relevant to each person on your list, make sure their name and business is included, and double check all the details so there isn’t anything that’s totally irrelevant in their card.

Don’t Overlook the Value of a Handwritten Card

A handwritten message can seem much more personal and special than something printed. It may not be possible for you to write out every message by hand. But you should try to at least sign them so recipients know you really took the time to personalize every message.

Don’t Send Generic Greeting Cards

Your holiday cards give your business the opportunity to really stand out in the minds of your clients. You’re not going to achieve that desired goal if your cards look like everyone else’s. Instead, use custom business holiday cards or something that’s eye catching and specific to your business. This will help recipients actually remember that you sent them a holiday card. And they might even display it in their office.

Don’t Make Assumptions

Unless you have a very small and specific list of clients on your card list, you probably don’t know exactly how everyone does or does not celebrate the season. It’s best to avoid any overt religious symbols or messages that might make people uncomfortable, and instead include general and inclusive happy holidays cards for business clients.

Don’t Feel Like You Can Only Send Cards at Christmas

Holiday cards for business use aren’t the only way you can share greetings with clients. If you don’t want to make any assumptions about how people celebrate the holidays, consider sending new year’s greetings instead. You could also choose another holiday throughout the year so your greetings won’t have as much competition.

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This article, "What Not to Do When Sending Business Holiday Cards" was first published on Small Business Trends