How many Christmas cards have you had from suppliers and associates? And how many e-cards have you got so far? And this is just the start…
Personally I’d rather get an e-card from a business than an envelope through my door. I’m all for using electronic communication instead of chopping down trees to say Merry Christmas. Anything that reduces the impact on the environment is just great with me – it makes absolute sense.
I get a little bit uncomfortable though when I keep getting messages to say that a business has donated a goat, bought a water pump for a village or paid for school shoes for a third-world child in place of spending the money on Christmas cards. I guess in the big scheme of things, this is a better option, but if you really care – why not just do it all year round? Why wait for Christmas? If we support a good cause at Christmas, does that mean we can ignore the problem for the other 11 months of the year?
Call me a cynic, but I don’t remember which of my suppliers sent me a Christmas card last year and I’m pretty sure you don’t either. I certainly don’t remember which ones donated a goat in my name. So why do companies send cards? They’re not personal – they’re a poor substitute. I'm really not that bothered if my business contacts don't send me a Christmas card. To me, Christmas is about family and giving something back - Its not a marketing exercise.
As an alternative to donating a water pump/goat/shoes at Christmas, why not consider:
- Supporting the charity of your choice all year round
- Supporting them because you think its important – not so you can send out a press release about it (the exception to this is if you can create a benefit for the charity by doing so)
- Giving them time or services instead of just writing a cheque
- Donating a percentage of your products, services or profits to charity
- Don’t send any Christmas cards – not even an e-card.
- Send out a positive message on an electronic greeting at a different time of year – one that highlights an issue, raises the profile of a charity or fills a need in some other way
- Challenge your customers to join you in supporting a cause
- Spend the next 10 days coming up with 12 great ways you can give something back in 2008 – one for each month of the year
- Share your ideas so more people follow your lead.
Your customers are much more likely to value the personal touch:
Call as many customers as you can to wish them a Merry Christmas. It gives you a chance to catch up with what’s happening in their lives. As long as you keep it brief (or even leave a message if they are just too busy to talk) they will value the fact that you took the time. If you don’t get to speak to all of them, call the others in January to say Happy New Year.
Instead of following the pack, spend some time thinking about what your customers would really value, or how you could give something genuine back to them or the community at large. Do something different this Christmas.
Drop me a line to tell me what you’re doing in place of sending a Christmas card to your clients. Even better, share your ideas for 12 fabulous ways of giving back in 2008. I’d really love to hear about it – vandy@msainteractive.com
