Should you buy holiday cards for customers? And if so, how many should you buy?

As we head into the holiday season, one of the most burning questions out of the mouths of direct sellers is “Who do I send cards to?”

Should You Buy Holiday Cards for Customers?

It’s a great question and it’s not as complicated as you might think.

As direct sellers, a large part of our businesses are steeped in relationships! It's not uncommon for business and emotions to get intertwined and make us feel like we need to buy cards for all our customers.

However, that might not be budget-friendly, especially if you're still relatively new to your business.

So here are some tips to help you decide whether or not you should buy holiday cards for customers, how many cards to buy, when to start buying, and when to get them sent out.

You are business owner. Start with the budget

The first step in determining who will get cards is setting your budget. For custom printed cards, there is the printing cost. Even if you are just picking up extra boxed cards at Walmart or Target (or the Dollar Store, hey, no judgement!), there is a cost. Plus, there’s postage, $.49 per card, assuming it’s not oversized or a non-standard shape.

Then, build your list to your budget

Once you’ve determined how many cards you will send out, it’s time to build the list. I like to create three separate lists to create my final mailing list.

First, I list all of my customers from the past year, in order based on the amount of money they spent with me. This is the largest list.

Second, I list all of my hostesses, based on the impact their parties had to my bottom line. A hostess who had one party that resulted in three additional bookings or really great sales will rank higher than a hostess who had multiple small parties.

The third list is my catchall list. This includes all the people who helped my business in the previous year, but perhaps wouldn’t make the cut on the other two lists. You know the friend who is super active in your group (and helps your engagement) or shares all of your blog posts? Even if she’s not financially able to support your business, she’s a huge asset.

Build your master list by starting with the third list. This will likely be the smallest of the three lists. Then add your top hostesses and finish by adding as many customers as you can accommodate.

Make it memorable

As small business owners, there are a lot, A LOT, of things we just have to do, so we can check it off the list. Friends, sending holiday cards is not one of them!

If you are going to go to the expense of sending holiday cards out, make them memorable and use them as an opportunity to connect with your customer and strengthen the relationship. Take the time to include a personal note in each and every card. It takes three sentences:

1. Thank them for their business
2. Remind them how they did business with you
3. Tell them you look forward to serving them in the coming year

Dear Sarah:
Thank you so much for your purchase this year. I hope you are still loving your earrings/leggings/coffee/candle/mascara/whatever. I look forward to serving you in 2018.
XO, Brenda

Worried that writing so many notes out like that will make your hand fall off?

It might — if you wait until the last Sunday night before the last mailing day you have to get the cards to at the post office.

But, if you start now and spent 15 minutes (or less) signing five cards a night, you’d be done in three weeks! And all your limbs would still be in tact.

Sending out holiday cards are a great way to further the relationship with your customers. And we’re all about relationship marketing!

#EmpowerSocial