The tradition of sending corporate Christmas cards to employees is alive and well. If you're reading this article, you may be wondering why you should opt for sending Christmas cards out during this holiday season. After all, you're probably saying to yourself, your employees are happy. You provide the best working conditions possible, fair salaries and wages, and even throw in promotions every now and again, and holiday parties for Christmas and New Year's. But the fact of the matter is, you may not be providing everything your employees would like to have in their ideal job. Are promotions done on a fair and consistent basis? Do you offer generous health benefits that also extend coverage to the family members and children of an employee? What about 401K, savings and retirement plans? And those holiday parties -- are they something to write home about, or more of a potluck affair with the occasional door prize?
The fact of the matter is, you may not be doing everything your employees would like you to do. Most likely money is the reason why you can't boost salaries, increase the frequency of promotions, cover family members with the company health insurance plan, and match 401K and savings contributions for each of your employees. But this doesn't mean that you'll always be on the "outs" with your employees. You can do little things to try and make up for the bigger things. Learn and remember the first names of all of your employees is a must. Greeting all of your employees personally is a great start. Arrange schedules to accommodate those employees with families and children. Rotate weekends off fairly amongst all of your employees. Put a little more effort into organizing elaborate holiday parties that really are something to write home about. And finally, celebrate the holiday season each year with the use of corporate Christmas cards.
So, what are corporate Christmas cards? Corporate Christmas cards are holiday cards that employers send out to recognize and celebrate the holiday with. They are typically sent to employees and their families, but many employers and large businesses will also send corporate Christmas cards to clients, fellow associates, other businesses, and even charities and local organizations. This is because corporate Christmas cards accomplish two things: commemorate the Christmas season, and subtly advertise a company and its willingness to recognize the joy of the holiday season.
Companies have found that they can show appreciation for and enhance business relationships with little token gestures. Gift baskets are acceptable, but because they are rather elaborate and often costly, especially if you need to get in touch with many different people. Corporate Christmas cards can work out just as well as gift baskets, especially if you do things right.
So compiling a list of how many people will be receiving your corporate Christmas cards is a very good idea. In addition to using this time to send out cards, you can also confirm addresses and contacts, and maybe even send along a special, exclusive coupon or offer.
Once you have your list set up, make sure to double check names and addresses. You'll want to confirm the correct spelling of first and last names, the right mailing address, and any other pertinent information, such as PO boxes, apartment numbers, suite numbers and the like. The time is worth being spent now, rather than later when you have erroneous corporate Christmas cards that need to be fixed or replaced.
Now it's time to think about the traditions and routines that the recipients of your corporate Christmas cards partake in. Remember, Christmas is very religious, but not everyone who celebrates it is. Also, many people celebrate holidays that fall around Christmas, without celebrating Christmas itself. These holidays include Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. If you do need to consider the needs of those who do not celebrate Christmas, then you can opt to send corporate Christmas cards that are religion neutral, and focus more on the holiday season, rather than Christmas itself, or any religious aspect of it.
The third step in sending out corporate Christmas cards is to be careful with your quality and selection of them. When you choose high quality corporate Christmas cards, you are sending the message that your company is doing very well. Special features that you can include on high quality corporate Christmas cards include embossing, foils, stamps and borders, and even intricate die cuts. All of these features look expensive without being expensive. Combine these styles with fancy ink and foil imprints, and heavy, creamy envelopes, and you've accomplished the look of fancy, high quality corporate Christmas cards.
Next up: personalization. Many companies make the mistake of ordering generic corporate Christmas cards that show no sign of passing across the company president's desk, let alone being acknowledged in any way. These cards are almost meaningless, because it shows your employees that very little thought or effort was put into them. So let's talk about ways to personalize your corporate Christmas cards. We can start off with custom imprinting. With custom imprinting, you are imprinting unique logos, images and even text and words onto the corporate Christmas cards themselves. Your company logo is a good start, but don't hesitate to include your own signature, or a photo of an office mascot, if you have one. Another nice idea is to include a photo of the company headquarters, or better yet, of all of your employees together. This requires planning ahead, in order to get a nice, coordinated group photo of your team, but with a bit of scheduling and initiative it can definitely be accomplished.
Some things to consider when ordering your corporate Christmas cards: trust and reliability. You may be tempted to try out new companies and websites that offer special deals or features as a way to lure you to their business, but how well do you know these companies? Do you know anyone who has had a successful and pleasant transaction with them? While it's tempting to fall for new deals, offers and exclusive breaks, you need to think of your time and money. What a hassle it would be to have several hundred corporate Christmas cards tied up because the company you ordered them from made a mistake, didn't print off enough, didn't ship them out to you as quickly as promised, or simply hasn't communicated with you at all! Choose a reputable, legitimate company to order your corporate Christmas cards from. But if you are absolutely certain you want to try a new company, order everything an additional month early, to give an extra cushion of time for any mistakes or problems that need rectifying because your corporate Christmas cards are ready to go.
Another thing to think about is the cost. Choose the best corporate Christmas card your budget allows for, but don't go over your budget. Also, don't scrimp on quality to have more quantity. Shop around. Ask for specials or discounts. Don't be afraid to ask, as the worst answer you can receive is no.
If your goal is to find high quality corporate Christmas cards to send to employees, clients, associates and others, don't think that because you can't afford embossing and foils that you're out of luck. Look to alternate designs that give off the impression of luxury and lavishness. One idea is to choose layered styles for corporate Christmas cards. Layers are simple enough: multiple sheets of paper of varying colors, textures and transparencies layered together. They're also affordable! Also, remember that ordering in bulk often gives you the opportunity to save money.
Finally, don't be afraid to ask if personalizing your corporate Christmas cards costs extra. If it does, then weigh your options: pay extra to save yourself time and inconvenience, or save the money and allot time to write messages in every single corporate Christmas card you ordered.
And don't forget to ask about envelopes! Sometimes they cost extra, but other times they're included in the fee of however many corporate Christmas cards you're ordering.
Now let's talk about timing. As you know, timing is crucial. Timing matters. Timing is everything. When you are ordering your corporate Christmas cards, be sure to order well enough in advance so that the cards can be in the mail and on their way to their intended recipients at least six to eight weeks before Christmas, or before the launch of the holiday season (right around Thanksgiving).
Honestly, you should aim to have your corporate Christmas cards ordered by July or August. This ensures plenty of time for customization and printing, and a generous amount of time for those cards to be mailed to you. Once you have your corporate Christmas cards in hand, you'll then need to look over them and make sure that everything is correct. You'll then need to add your signature to the corporate Christmas cards. If you only have a few dozen cards to sign, this isn't a big deal. But if you have hundreds, this could be a rather time consuming and hand exhausting task. You can opt for stamping your signature on the cards, or breaking up the number of cards to be signed by hand in manageable groups, and do a group a day, for as long as it takes to get them signed (but again, leave plenty of time available to take care of this, so you can have your corporate Christmas cards out in the mail!).
If your goal is to have your corporate Christmas cards out to employees in time for Christmas, you will want to mail them no later than the first week of December. But even that is pushing it, since the hustle and bustle that post offices all over the world will be facing can influence how quickly or long it takes for your corporate Christmas cards to arrive at their destination. Your best bet is to mail out your corporate Christmas cards the week of Thanksgiving. Believe it or not, those extra few days can mean the difference between your corporate Christmas cards arriving during the first week of December, or not arriving until the week of Christmas!
You may be asking why the timing of the arrival of your corporate Christmas cards matters. Well, it matters if you want your cards to stand out from the crowd! The early arrivals are the ones that are noticed first, while the stragglers are simply tossed in with the rest of the Christmas cards, while the recipients are busy with last minute shopping, food planning and house organization and cleaning! By the way, make sure to mail those corporate Christmas cards via first class mail! This ensures a timely delivery via the fastest route possible.
Once it's all said and done, breathe a sigh of relief. You're probably exhausted, your hand may hurt from signing your name so many times, and your supply of stamps and return address labels may be depleted, but those are things that a bottle of advil, a heat pack and a run to the nearest office supply store can quickly remedy. Think of the bigger picture: you took an easy and affordable step to strengthening and renewing your relationships with your employees and associates, all while enjoying the festiveness of the holiday season. Your corporate Christmas cards are on their way, and will soon be in the homes of your employees and associates!
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