With the festive season around the corner it’s time to dust off the Christmas tree, roll out the tinsel and don your favourite tacky jumper.
The Christmas period is not just about trees and tinsel though, it’s also a great opportunity for you to better connect with your customers and clients, and build on those existing relationships.
Here are three easy ideas marketers and businesses can use to connect with customers this Christmas.
1. Send An Exciting Christmas Email
Christmas themed emails serve as a great touch point for you and your clients but the key is to make the message personal. We’ve all received a Christmas card with a generic picture of Santa and a standard Hallmark greeting – not very memorable, to say the least.
It’s important not to waste this opportunity. Your Christmas email should stand out and make the recipient truly appreciate what you’ve put together.
Using custom artwork, animation or even just photos of your team will help your card stand out. Consider publishing a Christmas-related article on your website (such as ‘Five Great Christmas Gift Ideas”, or “Business Trends This Christmas”) which you can include in your email to make it relevant and useful to your audience.
As in all your communication, show your clients that you value their choice in continuing to use your product or services. Tell them that you look forward to doing business with them next year and make them feel appreciated. This humanises your brand and shows that you genuinely care about the relationship you have with them.
An animated heading in your Christmas card, like this one from one of our past e-cards, is a great way to stand out.
2. Follow Up Your Email With A Physical Christmas Card (with a handwritten message!)
Although technology makes our lives easier, it also tends to make things seem impersonal.
Break through that barrier and send a handwritten physical card. Handwriting a sincere message on a custom card, with a photo of the team or a custom illustration, will be memorable and personal. To make it even more personal, make sure the message comes directly from the person your customer or client deals with most – their account manager, sales person, or store manager.
The 2014 Assemblo Christmas card featured a personalised handwritten message to all our clients, and a beautiful custom design.
3. Put A Special Treat In Their Stocking
If you’re not a modern day Charles Dickens and writing isn’t your thing, you can always take the gift approach.
Put together some small gift packs or hampers for your clients to show that you appreciate their business. But don’t just throw in any old junk you can get your hands on; make it fun.
Ditch the old USB sticks and mouse pads and go for something a bit cooler – consider including wine, chocolates, or a unique gift that demonstrates your relationship with the client. If you know what your client’s favourite brand of wine or chocolates is, be sure to give them that. It’ll show you pay attention to detail and have made the effort to give them a gift they’ll actually like.
It’s even better if your gift can demonstrate what your business does, either being a product you create or sell or, as in our case, showing off a bit of your design flair.
We always make sure our gifts are a bit cheeky, a bit personal and always fun
Time To Stand Out This Holiday Season
Use the holiday season as an opportunity to get a little creative and personal with your clients, and foster that relationship. We love the work we do for our clients, and we want them to know that.
If you haven’t got the time or expertise to create your Christmas promotions, why not contact us to find out how we can help you stand out this Christmas.