Business Christmas Cards: Are You Keeping up with the Current Trends?

Sending Christmas cards during the holidays to clients and employees has always been considered a great marketing technique. Recently, however, the trend is changing in the type of cards and messages businesses choose to send.

(PRWEB) September 1, 2005 -- The holiday season is a great time for businesses to let their employees and clients know how much they are appreciated. It's an opportunity to touch base with clients and reinforce marketing and branding efforts. Also it's a chance to show appreciation to employees and staff. For many businesses, the holiday season may present a challenge as they attempt to send out a holiday greeting card to a variety of people with different cultural backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths. The multinational business environment, as well as the increasingly culturally diverse domestic business environment, creates a new challenge that did not exist just a few years ago.

The business world is fast becoming a place where political correctness and cultural tolerance of all races is advocated. This has moved some businesses to pick highly generic Christmas cards that greet people with a "Happy Holidays" instead of a "Merry Christmas." Not only have the written greetings changed, but the images on the cards have changed as well.

Personalized Holiday Cards printed with a company name, logo, special artwork or custom verse strengthen the bond to customers and reinforce special relationships which are based upon business and often friendship. More and more businesses are realizing that remembering and valuing others by taking the time to express appreciation at this important time of year helps any company succeed.

In an effort to value and respect the religious and cultural differences of both employees and clients, many businesses have recently chosen holiday cards which feature more inclusive and culturally neutral images, such as winter scenes, snowflakes, or even tropical holiday cards. Images and verses have focused on such themes such as human unity, the universal desire for peace and love, or the value of relationships. Some businesses have resolved this issue by opting for photo cards featuring their employees. Others have elected to send generic calendar cards – hoping that the calendars and company information will get posted on office walls for the whole year.

Over the past year, www.DesignCrafters.com has closely monitored the over 1200 different holiday cards offered on its website. Debby Sibert, the company president says, "We have observed a 30% rise in businesses that choose to order customized Christmas cards. Because Christmas cards are fast becoming more generic, businesses have compensated by opting to customize their cards. This has been done in the hopes that their holiday cards, though generic, will retain a personal touch. This customization has been done through the writing of their own personal custom messages, rather than the use of the standard, pre-printed verses."

This is reinforced by Jason Evans, General Manager for Birchcraft Studios, who has noted that, "Personalized Holiday Cards printed with a company name, logo, special artwork or custom verse strengthen the bond to customers and reinforce special relationships which are based upon business and often friendship. More and more businesses are realizing that remembering and valuing others by taking the time to express appreciation at this important time of year helps any company succeed."

Notwithstanding the current trend, there is still a small percentage of businesses that deliberately select Christmas cards with a strong "Christmas" emphasis. Many of these businesses also elect to customize their verses to convey a strong faith-based personal message.

Many businesses have chosen to include their company logos along with their customized verses. In the past, many companies chose only to use the company name as a signature. It appears that the projection of a positive company image justifies increased printing costs, as many companies are choosing to order their Christmas cards with a multi-colored logo. Many companies have concluded that the additional costs of personalized verses and colored company logos are warranted as they are amortized over the large number of mailings and other fixed costs.

The past year has given rise to the new face of the business holiday card. These new Christmas cards, although more generic than past years, still maintain a personal touch achieved through the use of customized verses and company logos. Companies have sought to use cards to not only extend holiday greetings, but to also demonstrate that they embrace the diversity represented in their markets, workforces, and communities. Any employee or client feels appreciated and cared for when they have received this type of card as it is obvious that more care and expense has gone into its creation. To view cards and messages representing this trend, visit www.DesignCrafters.com

About the Company:
Design Crafters, for the last eight years has been an online greeting card company specializing in Christmas cards and other holiday cards with that "special touch" For a free report on how greeting cards can enhance your business and relationships in general, as well as some dynamic customer service tips, go to www.DesignCrafters.com

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