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Let Your Customers Feel You

It's Christmas in July -- the time of year when a lot of businesses start planning their holiday card. Increasingly, and usually as a cost-saving effort, many firms opt to send e-cards. To me, this says they cared enough to do the minimum, even if it was costly. I'm going out on a limb here by saying that people don't like these. I don't know anyone who'd prefer to get an e-card over a real card for their birthday (see proof below).

Why E-cards Are Not a Good Idea

When they were new, e-cards were cool. But the bar today online is high. You're competing with hundreds of multi-media extravaganzas just a click away. For something to be compelling, it has to be either really really smart, really funny, or really interesting. And even then, even though your clip might be fun to watch, after a week of competing click-thru links to articles, photos and YouTube videos, will it stand out? Will it be memorable?

Hint: Do What No One Else Is Doing

A handwritten, personalized card stands to have greater impact than a $20,000 interactive video. Of course this takes time. But a sentence and a signature is a minimum expression to someone who may be helping to put your kids through college. No business should throw away the opportunity to literally touch its clients and prospects at a time when it will be well received.

Proof

To test the card preference theory, send me your birthdate and and I'll send you an e-card on your special day. Or if you prefer, a custom hand-made greeting card (which I must limit to one birthday per month). Touch me: dennis@goris.com

Copyright 2010, Bremmer & Goris Communications, Inc.