Why New Year Greetings are Better than Christmas Cards

Savvy B2B companies stand out with differentiated communications

Did you notice a change in the assortment of “holiday” and “Christmas” greetings you received this year? No doubt you saw many more electronic greetings, as did I. How did these electronic greetings differentiate their sender? Did you see any stand-outs?

For me, there was only one e-greeting that stood out from the pack, and it wasn’t even a card sent specifically to me! It was, in fact, a card by Eloqua that had gone viral: http://holidays.eloqua.com/index.html.

Chances are your organization doesn’t have the budget for a production at the level of Eloqua’s. So how do you stand out in the sea of holiday greetings? Send a New Year communication instead!

Here are 3 reasons I believe New Year greetings are much more appropriate in the B2B setting:

Reason #1: It’s About Business Going Forward

Christmas and holiday greetings are considered year-end communications. In essence, they’re a company’s last-ditch effort to communicate with a customer before the year ends. Wouldn’t you much rather be perceived as forward looking? What better way to enforce a “thank you for your business, now let’s do more” message than to say it upon the New Year?                                          

Reason #2: Everyone Has a New Year

In today’s global marketplace your holiday message will reach people who celebrate the “holiday season” in a myriad of ways—or even not at all. But everyone has a New Year! Around the world the calendar year begins on January 1, which makes it a universal holiday that will leave your message little room for social error.                                           

Reason #3: Being Last Will Make You First

At the end of the year the chances that your message will reach the recipient are small. Even if your greeting is opened, it will be opened by someone who is preoccupied with all they have to do before they can dodge out the door for their year-end vacation. And by the time your customer returns from his/her vacation, your holiday greeting is long forgotten. On the other hand, business goes back to full swing the first business week of the New Year, meaning that your customer will more than likely be in the office and freshly focused. Wouldn’t you rather communicate with that person?

Bottom line: there is a virtual sea of competitors battling for your customers’ mindshare, so it’s imperative to stand out amongst the crowd. In my opinion there is no better way than to communicate a business-centric message at the opportune time; otherwise, you risk having your message fall by the wayside.

[Via http://staceyholleran.wordpress.com]