Greeting cards are powerful but they’re also very personal. For that reason, for the most cost effective use of greeting cards in your marketing program and for the overall greatest effectiveness, it’s best to send cards only to people you know.
Confusing greeting card marketing with mass mailing misses the point and the power of greeting cards and can also be extremely expensive. Mass mailings are by definition sent to large numbers of people – the recipients may be grouped by address, interest, location or some other demographic, but mass mailings aren’t personal. Mass mailings can be effective but they’re really not about relationship building. Greeting cards are used in their highest purpose when sent to people with whom you already have a relationship.
If you don’t already buy into the concept of relationship marketing, if you’re not convinced that most of your business comes from existing clients, friends, family, people you meet or network with, and other referral sources, first off I’d suggest you check that very carefully, either by analyzing your own business or finding out what others in your field think. But if you truly don’t think relationships matter more than anything else in growing and maintaining your business, greeting cards likely won’t help. Imagine, for example, if the Department of Transportation in a state with toll roads decided to send personalized greeting cards to everyone who went through a toll – that would be silly. If you can count your clients (or potential clientele) in the 100’s or 1,000’s then greeting card marketing by sending cards to people you know can replace direct mailing and possibly some of your other advertising and marketing campaigns with a more time, cost, and results effective technique.
Don’t let a low number of existing clients be a stumbling block here. If you’re just starting out and have few (or no) clients, you can send cards to vendors, colleagues (yes, even competitors – you might be surprised how powerful that can be in getting business), strong prospects, and good referral sources.
The point is that when you send a card you send a powerful, personal message – it’s most effective when received by someone you already know.
