Happy Holidays and a Prosperous New Year? I’m sure you have something better to say [that hasn’t been said].
It’s that time of the year to send an official holiday or end-of-year message to your clients, your stakeholders, the whole world! And I’m sure you are very thankful with them for being with you all along 2013. For this purpose you invite your whole team to brainstorm ideas on how to send a nice greeting, and this is what they come up with: a card in the mail with a picture of the staff, an email message with a Christmassy email banner at the top, or even a video on a landing page on your website. You consider the ideas very creative but have you thought about the goal of sending that message? And have you thought about your value proposition when coming up with all these communication efforts?
Rewind to the basics and think again. This is a great opportunity to connect with the people you love, your audience. So consider these dos and don'ts when greeting them at the end of this year:
DO
DON'T
It’s that time of the year to send an official holiday or end-of-year message to your clients, your stakeholders, the whole world! And I’m sure you are very thankful with them for being with you all along 2013. For this purpose you invite your whole team to brainstorm ideas on how to send a nice greeting, and this is what they come up with: a card in the mail with a picture of the staff, an email message with a Christmassy email banner at the top, or even a video on a landing page on your website. You consider the ideas very creative but have you thought about the goal of sending that message? And have you thought about your value proposition when coming up with all these communication efforts?
 |
| Do create a sincere message and focus on your value proposition. |
Rewind to the basics and think again. This is a great opportunity to connect with the people you love, your audience. So consider these dos and don'ts when greeting them at the end of this year:
DO
- Be yourself and be creative: this is the perfect opportunity to show your company’s human side and purpose. Connect with them with warm words and tie that into your mission
- Keep it short and simple: the amount of greetings received this time of the year is overwhelming and yours need to pop among the clutter.
- Give them a bit more than what they expect: it’s expected to receive a greeting card or even a box of chocolates but what it's not expected is something extra that is actually practical and can be put into good use, such as the “The Three Tips for a Prosperous New Year” or “The 10 Commandments to Meet your 2014 Goals”.
DON'T
- Loose track of your company’s motto: what’s in your holiday greeting for me and why should I care?
- Be a cookie cutter: your mom told you to always say thank you but how you say it is more important. There isn’t one way to say it. There are many. You might not even have to literally say it. So make it personal to your organization.
- Try to sell them something: this is not the time to get them to purchase from you, or to subscribe to your publication, or attend your event. Be sincere about what your audience means to you.