5 Reasons Why Sending Thanksgiving Cards to Customers and Employees Is Essential
It’s always good business to thank your customers and employees—it creates a connection, making them feel good and inspiring a sense of loyalty. Luckily, the perfect holiday to demonstrate your appreciation also happens to kick off the holiday season: Thanksgiving.
Sending an unexpected happy Thanksgiving message to employees (and customers!) infused with your words of appreciation is sure to surprise and delight them.
Zig ZiglarYou never know when a moment and a few sincere words can have an impact on a life.
During these challenging times, it’s especially important to express your gratitude for everything your staff does and for customers who continue to support your company. A simple, yet extremely effective format is sending Thanksgiving cards—it’s a holiday all about being thankful and happens before the heavy volumes of holiday mail.
Here are 5 reasons why businesses just like yours have added Thanksgiving cards and messages into their holiday marketing strategy.
5 Reasons for Businesses to Send Thanksgiving Messages to Employees and Customers
1. You enter the family zone.
Hallmark greeting cards are something that grandmas, aunts and uncles and dear, close friends send. There’s something about discovering that familiar greeting card-sized envelope in your stack of mail. It’s likely to be the first thing you open over any other mail, and you’ll probably linger over the message, noting the sender and relating it to very personal relationships.
75% of card recipients report feeling more connected to a business that sends Hallmark cards.
A Thanksgiving note to employees and customers serves as a vehicle to tell them how thankful you are for them, and it’s those personalized, authentic messages that will really make this card memorable.
However, if writing isn’t your thing, it can be hard to find the right words to include. Not only does Hallmark help with pre-written messages for the inside, but our writers put together tips for what to say in handwritten portion (which you can also do during your order and have it printed with our handwriting fonts): What to Write in a Thanksgiving Card to Customers and What to Write in a Thanksgiving Card to Employees.
And, don’t forget, with Hallmark’s easy-to-use personalization, you can even add a message in another language. For example, after you find out how to say happy Thanksgiving in Spanish, you could use it in cards for Spanish-speaking employees or customers.
2. Thanksgiving cards generate repeat business.
Messages with personality resonate with the reader, creating stronger connections and deeper brand loyalty—even through difficult times. Taking the time to send a meaningful Thanksgiving card builds lasting relationships and continued business. When you show loyalty to your customers, you are more likely to get loyalty back.
Robert G. Thompson, AuthorRealize that employees and the customers both have to be engaged, at the same time, to move your business forward for sustainable success.
By sending a Thanksgiving message to employees, you’ll be able to express your appreciation for their hard work. This can be especially meaningful to essential staff and frontline workers. Unlike a corporate holiday card, which may be more expected, sending employee appreciation cards at a holiday with a theme of thankfulness is the perfect way to remind them that you see how much they do every day.
When you acknowledge the hard work your employees do, you’re more likely to boost morale and stir up a desire to work even harder as well as increase their passion for your business.
3. You beat the holiday rush with Thanksgiving greeting cards.
Be the first in your customers’ mailboxes this holiday season by sending out Thanksgiving cards. When most businesses focus on sending holiday cards mid-December, an authentic “thanks for your business” or “thanks for your partnership” Hallmark card is a great way to get your message out before your competitors do.
64% of people say greeting cards make them feel special (vs. 15% for emails and 5% for texts).
Everyone remembers a Hallmark Thanksgiving card. That’s why this format and timing works so well for such industries as financial advisors, health systems, veterinarians, real estate and insurance agencies.
4. Surprise your recipients with gratitude—and you make your business unforgettable.
Which feels like a better experience:
– Getting an email blast promoting a sale or discount. – Receiving a Hallmark Thanksgiving card from a company you do business with.
It’s obvious. Getting a genuine card in the mail just feels better.
Engage 91% of your audience with a Hallmark card versus 1% you reach with email.
Beyond thanking your current customers and staff, it’s an excellent way to create a memorable moment with potential clients. The simple Thanksgiving greeting could motivate someone to give your business a try.
5. Make it a year-long habit—the results will be worth it.
Spoken and emailed thank-yous are great ways to communicate, but also have a lower perceived value than a greeting card. Should you stop doing these? Absolutely not, but when an organization takes the time to sit down and write a note of thanks, it is highly valued by both customers and employees in a way that email isn’t.
And even better, sending a real message of thanks can increase marketing ROI, boost direct mail response rates and improve customer and employee satisfaction.
Since gratitude and appreciation cards work so well, don’t limit yourself to just a Thanksgiving message to employees and customers, use opportunities throughout the year to demonstrate gratitude. Birthdays, anniversaries, official and unique holidays (such as Employee Appreciation Day, but also Valentine’s Day) all offer reasons to send or give a card to your coworkers or customers. And with each card, there’s an opportunity to express your appreciation for them!
Is it time you shift your holiday messaging strategy to one that delivers authentic gratitude? Connect with us today to learn more about a Hallmark Business Connections Thanksgiving card campaign for your business.