We used to send 250 odd and receive about the same say 20 years ago
we now send about 100 and have thusfar received 2 !
an e card in my view has no sincerity whatsoever along with those self righteous messages that say we have donated our christmas card budget to a charity (when you know full well they havent )
they wont have any negative effect but judging from the experience above its a thing of the past ...I am sad to say
depends on the business i think, i work for a small family owned business and we have accounts with suppliers for well over 30 years, majority of them drop us in a few bottles or a few crates of beers for the lads on the trade counter and send xmas cards and its if anything expected, this year however it has been noticed who hasn't sent anything at all, so for our business if we didnt recieve anything it has been noticed and a few of the reps have even been pulled on it, personally for me i dont really want a bottle of cheap red wine, but the owner thinks its a principle thing.
yes .. make them eye catching but with NO glitter .. they show that you're on the ball and value your contacts/clients/customers .. however .. a bottle of spirits and chocies for the gals/wives goes down even better .. only for the biggest spending clients though .. a calendar/diary for a select few is better than a card though more expensive of course
Can't talk on the business side, but on a personal level I can honestly say that I've found few things in life as liberating as deciding that I won't be sending xmas cards any more (except those to Roly and Pinocchio, of course).
Just about decided this year won't bother sending any. Me and the mrs have just been so busy that we haven't got round to it. But if it's a chore then you shouldn't bother. It's a wrench to stop but any the end of the day we just don't give a stuff any more.
I can only say as someone who once received a lot of Xmas cards from firms. I enjoyed receiving them. Primarily, I suppose, because they tended to be of a much higher quality than the ones my cheapskate friends and relatives sent! Also nice if all the contacts signed them individually. I guess at the end of the day, anything that gives a business an edge is worthwhile. So if two businesses were vying for a contract and there was nothing to choose between them on price/quality, then a punter might go with the one that sent a card. Perhaps a better option though is to send out something which might bring your name into a customer's brain 365 days a year. So, a quality calendar or mug or something similar might be a better option than, say, a bottle of booze which has been drunk and gone for recycling by Jan 2nd.
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However , I do notice who doesn't send me one!
In my opinion
we now send about 100 and have thusfar received 2 !
an e card in my view has no sincerity whatsoever along with those self righteous messages that say we have donated our christmas card budget to a charity (when you know full well they havent )
they wont have any negative effect but judging from the experience above its a thing of the past ...I am sad to say
I enjoyed receiving them. Primarily, I suppose, because they tended to be of a much higher quality than the ones my cheapskate friends and relatives sent!
Also nice if all the contacts signed them individually.
I guess at the end of the day, anything that gives a business an edge is worthwhile. So if two businesses were vying for a contract and there was nothing to choose between them on price/quality, then a punter might go with the one that sent a card.
Perhaps a better option though is to send out something which might bring your name into a customer's brain 365 days a year. So, a quality calendar or mug or something similar might be a better option than, say, a bottle of booze which has been drunk and gone for recycling by Jan 2nd.
I would estimate that every year I generate over £10k worth of extra income that wouldn't have happened if I'd not my myself in their thoughts.
Each to their own but for me Christmas Cards are the most financially rewarding marketing I do, and by comparison it costs, virtually, nothing.
A text message saying "have a merry Christmas and we'll catch up in the New Year" is way, way better.