Month: July 2012

Birthday Cards in the Business Environment

While some people think it is cute, others think it is funny, I think it is … unfortunate.  What, you may ask, am I talking about?  I am talking about my birthday.  The one day that is special to each one of us, I have to share with, of all people, my husband.  We have the same birthday – not year, just birth date.  So, not only do I get “combined” gifts and “pooled” festivities but I also get shared birthday cards from family and friends!  Nothing is special to just me on my birthday … except when I go to work.

When I go into the office on my birthday, there waiting for me at my desk are birthday cards, addressed only to me (and not my husband), from my coworkers and managers.

This is when I feel special.  Business birthday cards are a great way to bring the occasion of a birthday into the workplace and nothing says “Happy Birthday” better than a card.  Giving birthday cards to employees, coworkers and even business associates is a great way to extend your birthday wishes to those people in the business environment.   It can help to build employee morale and create goodwill.  It can also be a great opportunity to congratulate an employee on a special accomplishment. Sending a birthday card to a business associate provides a way to express your birthday wishes and, at the same time, convey your appreciation to them for their business.  It can also provide a vehicle to offer an incentive such as a discount or premium to help celebrate their birthday.

Birthdays are special. It is a day in a person’s life that should be cherished and celebrated. When you are at work on your birthday, the use of a business birthday card can be a great way to accomplish this!

The Same Company Christmas Cards Go Unnoticed

I have purchased company Christmas cards for many years from The Gallery Collection and every year each person who receives them comments on how beautiful they are. I used to believe that having my name imprinted on the card was too impersonal, but then I realized instead of wasting my time writing my signature, I could write a personal message instead which then in turn makes them my personal custom Christmas cards.

Each year I use the previous year’s leftover cards to send to new names on my Christmas cards list, but last year I inadvertently sent the same design to a vendor two years in a row. However, she  still made the same nice comment about the card and totally forgot that I had given her the same card the previous year. Truly, she made such a fuss about how beautiful the card was both years, I think she didn’t want me to know that she knew it was the same card!

Corporate Christmas Cards and the Ideal Business Model

I would mention my name and business if I was not so paranoid about online identification disclosures. However, like any industry, my small courier business needs exposure, it needs to be “out there” for people to see and take us into account. What does that have to do with corporate Christmas cards? It’s simple…

My business is as big as me – a couple of family members and a handful of vehicles. So how do I keep afloat? I work hard; I adapt and provide a better service at the best price possible. My marketing budget is $0, so I market myself, my personal touch and offer a friendly carrier to hand your packages to, and I offer the same treatment to every person that I get in touch with. That’s how I’ve stayed profitable and in business through the current financial ordeal; mainly I’ve kept my customers loyal and they have recommended my business to others.

But what does that have to do with The Gallery Collection? Simple, in my company’s most profitable year, I decided to go all out and celebrate; 2008 was my best year of business in the nine years of my company’s existence, so I planned to show off with the best quality business Christmas cards I could find. I googled it and found The Gallery Collection. I was ready to make a big marketing investment (a couple hundred bucks) and taking into account the fact that my Latin family keeps growing, these Christmas cards would serve dual purpose as my personal and business Christmas cards for the holiday season. I’d show how successful I am by sending impeccable personalized Christmas cards to my family while giving my customers a beautiful card to remember me by.

Believe me, the cards were nice. I chose a beautiful design, personalized my greeting, and all for a very affordable price. However, genius me managed to make a typo on my online order, which I did not catch but thankfully a nice rep from The Gallery Collection did. When I got Linda’s call saving me hundreds of dollars, or at least many embarrassing moments, I saw that I had not invented a new business model – The Gallery Collection also believes that service can set their business apart.

I know I’m not the only courier my customers can call upon when the time comes, but they do. And The Gallery Collection is not the only corporate Christmas cards publisher, but I have not seen better looking cards and have definitely not received better service. So you know for certain who I’m turning to this year for my Christmas cards.

Christmas Cards Help Stretch My Happy Season

Christmas Cards herald, what was always to me, the happiest time of the year.  That first card to arrive by mail, usually the day after Thanksgiving, from the one early bird sender of my acquaintances, was often the first thing that really confirmed it – Christmas was officially coming!

You may say, and I’m sure you would be right, that stores are trotting out their Christmas sales and decorations earlier every year.  To me, that seems more nagging than festive.  Sometimes I can see a reason for it: for instance, if Hanukkah is early that year, early sales and Hanukkah decorations allow equal opportunity for all holiday shoppers.  Christmas, Kwanzaa, and the New Year, however, are celebrated on the same calendar dates every year, starting way late in December.

Why am I seeing Christmas decorations everywhere before we’ve even reached Halloween?  Am I the only one who thinks it looks tacky enough to see the dregs of last-minute Halloween costumes, candies and decorations, mixed in with the occasional and obligatory cardboard pilgrims with turkey-shaped candles?  Adding insult to injury are the hastily added mechanical Santas, trees, ornaments, stockings, and cotton “snow” that have apparently been gathering dust in storerooms all summer.

And, yes, I know that I have to think about ordering my custom-made, personalized Christmas cards well before Christmas, but that’s my personal choice, not something that’s forced on me everywhere I go.  And, isn’t it enough to hear Holiday music everywhere you go during the traditional four-week Advent between Thanksgiving and Christmas?  Why must we listen to it for eight weeks?!  (Composers take note: clearly, we need more Halloween and Thanksgiving songs.)

While I find that receiving Christmas cards over the course of a month helps to stretch out the joy of the holiday, I hate seeing the commercialism stretched to the point of warping.

Now… if you really want to get my goat, we can discuss the sad, dirty, sagging, bedraggled outdoor Christmas decorations that are such an eyesore long after the holidays have passed…

Sending Business Birthday Cards Is Still the Right Thing

Who would think that something so small with a few words of expression could light up someone’s day? Receiving business Birthday cards from your employer says a lot, especially in today’s economy. We all read or hear about the struggles of everyday life, whether it is in business or your personal life.  In the era of “cutbacks” it’s nice to know that my employer shows thoughtfulness to his employees by recognizing our birthdays.

It was made even more special when my boss walked up to me while I was working to personally hand me the card with his birthday wishes.  I felt appreciated for the work I put for the company.

Not only was it a nice gesture, but the card itself was beautiful!  It was a tropical beach scene (just where I wanted to be) but yet it had just enough sparkle on it that it made me smile and I will never forget that day as I still have the card. Three years later and still working at the same company even though my boss has retired, the tradition is still carried on by receiving our annual birthday cards.  I still look forward to it every year.

I have great birthdays!

Business Christmas Cards for an Entrepreneur

When I was laid off a few years ago, I decided to start my own business (I’d always thought about it, so I figured it was finally time to go for it).   At first, business was slow but steady, but my clients were great.  I was so happy to have survived the first 18 months of business ownership that I decided to send out personalized business Christmas cards thanking everyone for their loyalty.  They were so well received that I’ve continued the tradition every year since (and Gallery Collection never disappoints with its beautiful selection of designs).  I’ve also begun stocking up on assorted birthday cards so there’s always one handy when a client’s birthday approaches.

When I first started out I was fortunate to be able to quickly develop a very loyal client base.  Fast forward several years and my company is still doing well.  I know that I’m only able to do what I love because my clients continue to put their faith in me through repeat business and referrals.  Every year I get so many compliments and expressions of appreciation for the birthday and Christmas cards I’ve sent.  It reminds me that going the extra mile for my clients is as important as providing excellent service.  More importantly though, I know that my small gesture makes my clients feel good so I will continue to send Christmas cards (and birthday cards) to them every year.

Get Well Cards Turned my Frown Upside Down

Ever have one of those weeks? You know the ones that I’m talking about – where everything that can go wrong does. It’s almost like being in quicksand. The more you try to do, the further down you go. I had one of those weeks recently and it turned out that  get well cards was all it took to get me turned around. I know that sounds sappy, but it’s true.

I had a really big presentation at the corporate office in Cincinnati that Monday so there was enough pressure on me already. Then it hits me, my dog of 12 years became very sick. His name was Randy. I say “was” because my little pooch passed away a couple days after the presentation. It turns out he had an issue with his kidneys and they started to shut down.

The Cincinnati presentation did not go as I had planned, with most of my ideas getting shut down. I get home to find Randy very sick. My sister was taking care of him, but there was nothing she could have done. The vet said there was only a matter of days left before I had to make that decision nobody wants to make. So there it was the end of our great run. Randy had gotten me through a lot of hard times – girlfriends leaving, friends flake out – but a loving dog never leaves your side.

I took off Thursday when Randy passed on; I guess it was my day to reflect. It’s hard to lose a part of your family. So the next day you do what everyone else does…get up and go to work, living your life like you’re “supposed” to do. As usual, I got off the train and took that 10-minute walk.

That 10-minute stroll was one of the saddest walks of my life. Then I arrived at my cubicle and saw get well cards from everyone at work. Never could a piece of paper have meant more to me. To know that everyone around me cared enough to think about the loss of Randy made it all the more special. There’s something about people caring that just brings hope to you. So yes, a card can turn your frown upside down.

Employee Birthday Cards For The Whole Office

Every year my company celebrates my birthday by giving me some great employee birthday cards. I’ve been receiving these cards since around 1995; they are from Gallery Collection and are superb. It seems wherever I’m working they all seem to get these birthday cards from the same company.

Employee birthday cards have made such an impression on me and my co-workers that I started sending cards to my business customers also. I just started a small dot com business and I’m still working on the website, but people know me from local advertising. So when I get new customers they start an account and fill in an info form with their name, address, phone etc. When I complete repair work on their computer, I get to know these customers more. They are so happy with the job I do, especially saving them tons of money by not having to buy a new computer, we usually become friendly.

So the next time their birthday comes around, guess what, they receive one of my Gallery Collection business birthday cards with a special greeting saying what a valuable customer they are to me and I wish them many more birthdays in the future. This has such an impact on my customers they soon tell friends and family. Then I would get a phone call or email saying “I’m a friend of Debbie and she spoke well of your service” and they need me to repair their computer. This is such a great way to build a customer base. I continually follow up with them through greeting cards.

Company Holiday Cards Are Good Reminders

Recently I received very classy company holiday cards from a group I had done business with about 3 years ago.  When it arrived I thought it was from my cousin who owns her own business and it is doing very well.  It was a beautiful envelope with a gold foil lining and a frilly edge.  The return address was in gold foil and it really was impressive.  At that point when I saw the company who sent it I was surprised.  While they did a great job for me a few years back, I had forgotten about them.  I thought about it and as it just so happened I realized I could utilize their expertise on an upcoming job I was involved with.  I contacted them and we set up a meeting to discuss doing business together again.

I am so happy that this group decided to do company Christmas cards to all their past customers and business associates. If they had not contacted me I would have had to put out this job for bid. I now can deal directly with a company I have first hand knowledge does a really good job. What a time saver those holiday cards were for me, and more business for them!