Holiday Cards: Maximizing Professional Impact in December and Year-Round
Christmas and Hanukkah aren't the only time to send a greeting card to a client, but it is the most common. Here's how to maximize holiday cards.?
Any time of year serves a card's function: to remind people of you and your practice. In December, though, an attorney's mailbox is full of e-cards (and the usual junk). This is only one reason to skip an e-card and reach out irl (in real life.)
If you remember the cards you received last year, especially business holiday cards, do you remember what was and was not interesting to you? If you can't remember a business associate's card, that is its own answer.
Learn from others' missed opportunities. In my experience (of 30 years of seeing horrible business holiday cards), you can be different and it isn't that hard.
Let's look at some fantastic options below.
Skip December Cards Altogether
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO CONSIDER A CARD THAT FOCUSES ON JANUARY AND THE NEW YEAR! It is a time attorneys take stock of their caseload and trial calendar. This is the best time to be on their mind. Spring beginnings, Fall thanks are also great times to send a card.
Preprinted December Holiday Cards
Ordering printed cards starts in October to meet the deadlines for best early-order discounts. You've probably already received catalogues from CardsDirect and The Gallery Collection--the largest players in the printed greeting card market (and the most boring.) Greeing Card Printing powerhouses also offer a more expensive option to order at the last minute (aka late November to Mid- December.) Many folks opt for November; after all, they need time to slog through signing boxes and boxes of printed cards, at the very time of year when you have the least available hours. Trust me, every big law firm is setting aside non-billable time for their attorneys to do so. Assuming you're not a lawyer, but perhaps greeting lawyers, you might be scanning those catalogues for anything you can live with, however paltry your enthusiasm for the designs. Should you? Maybe not.
GREETING CARD RULES
RULE 1 Whenever you choose to send a card, don't send something that's easy to toss.
RULE 2 Consider your own in-box (real and digital). How many cards do you get? What do you keep and what do you toss? Don't send an e-card.
When I receive something in my mail box it's a little exciting. (Email is exhausting all year round.) Things that come in snail mail are either junk or presents. Your handwritten envelope makes it a present.
RULE 3 Be different than everyone else. I guarantee, a few standout cards, written by hand, to your best clients or your target clients, will make a greater difference than hundreds of something common and impersonal.
Here are some proven ideas for getting more cases
Novel and Necessary
(1) A design consistent with the nature of your practice, including the card’s message, graphics and colors.
(2) A handwritten note inside is essential!
I am not talking about a signature alone.
A message written meaningfully, especially when the recipient is known to you already is worth a thousand preprinted cards and an envelope.
For example, if you are sending to an attorney you know, reference the case you worked on. “I hope it’s been a good year for you. The Jones case was so interesting—I’m glad we got a chance to work together. Here’s to a busy 2023."
(3) Unexpected Design: 3D Cards / Pop up / laser cut.
Sink your budget into cards that reveal something delightful and beautiful.
As soon as the card is opened, you make an impression.
If 3D isn’t in your budget, choose an image that is completely unlike everything else you see...avoid trite.
If a greeting card company offers it then you know it's ubiquitous.
At Christmas, avoid holiday trees, Santa, Joy to the World, pictures of Earth, and tread on snow lightly (pun intended).
(4) Paper, color and texture alternatives
Visit your local paper store, or Etsy.com (handmade items.) Even Amazon has unique cards...I am not endorsing anyone. But look around for something you'd like on your mantle.
领英推荐
By picking an image unlike anyone else, by exclusion you stand out.
(5)?Send at Thanksgiving or Spring.??No one expects a card then, and they are more likely to open and appreciate the sentiment.
(6) Optional:?Skip cards altogether and put the money in a different marketing direction.
Attorneys do read this article from time to time and I have different advice for them vs. a med-legal Expert Witness:
Attorneys may actually benefit from a larger mailing.
I was reminded of that by an estate planning attorney who had a personal relationship with many of her elderly clients and never missed sending holiday cards at Christmas and Hanukkah. She received many in return with a personal message from her client, cementing the relationship from both directions. December was a better choice for her because her older clientele looked for her card at that time of year.
A different client base might call for a different approach.
Keep your design unique whoever you are!
Cautionary Tale:
One year I oversaw a mailing of 300 cards by a doctor. She spent at least 15 hours in order to sign each. A one- or two-line personal note (necessary--see above!) added 5 minutes to a card, to think about her relationship with the recipient and make it meaningful. The 300 cards resulted in 2 new cases, and a few calls just to say hi.
Her time probably paid for the trouble, but the hassle factor might change the "time=money=return on investment" calculation. Maybe 300 was overkill?
You send a card and get no acknowledgment
There’s value in reminding clients of your existence.
“Rekindling recognition” can be assessed in the short term. Take note if you get a call from the recipient soon after you send the card.
What if there's no acknowledgment in the short term? What do you do if the call comes in many months later? Is there a way to know if the holiday card made a difference and if you should include them on next year's list?
Yes. Keep track.??
Here's what I do. I keep a list of recipients. I use Outlook Contacts and make a note when I sent the card. I make another note if the potential client responded in some way--and the date. You can do this on a spreadsheet or a yellow pad. Just keep track, so next year is easier.
I can look that up the moment I get a call--even if it's 8 months later.
Think again about your clients and the cards they send—what is the impact on you?
However, you choose to put a value on the time invested in sending cards, factor in a little combat pay for hand cramps, getting behind on other work, and general boredom.
I consult to my clients about these questions this time of year and my advice is always the same: if you’re not going to do it right, don’t do it at all. Use another way to make a personal connection with potential and past clients: a personal note on a pretty card without a message, or just send an email handshake.