One common way in which businesses like to reward customer loyalty is to give them ‘a gift’ for the Christmas period. In the past, this often came in the form of a free gift, discounts on certain products or even Christmas themed-events. Since the arrival of the internet, the traditional Christmas gift to customers has remained the same – a series of discounts, a code for 10% off or competitions.

While rewarding your customers over the Christmas period is essential in that it shows a real personal touch, these rewards can come at a great expense for your business – reduced profit margins through sales and giveaways, plus the costs involved in putting on events and holding competitions. This is particularly relevant to small businesses that rely on the Christmas period to survive. However, there is an inexpensive and easy way to thank your customers and wish them a Merry Christmas – Christmas e-cards.

Most people are familiar with what an e-card is; an electronic greetings card delivered directly to someone’s email inbox on a scheduled date. Thousands of people have already replaced sending traditional physical cards with e-cards, including many businesses. These businesses range from tiny local shops to giant multinational corporations.

E-cards are a great way to send your customers Christmas greetings without compromising your profits. E-cards are relatively inexpensive – there are even free designs online, but most businesses will want to opt for the best quality e-cards so there will be some cost involved although the chances are it will be much less than other Christmas marketing schemes. This cost covers the design and the sending out of emails – most designers will bundle in more than enough address allowances to cover your needs. For especially large orders, you may also be able to negotiate with e-card providers.

But what are the benefits of sending corporate Christmas e-cards? For starters, you are sending your customers a personalised greeting, which is much more personal than some other Christmas marketing strategies. You can customise your e-cards with pictures, videos and text and can even customise according to your email list! Sending out personalised e-cards says to your customer than your business cares about them and values their

loyalty – while at the same time saving your business some money.

E-cards can also be incorporated into any email marketing campaigns you may have running. For example, if you have no-one in the office over the Christmas period but still want to get an email out, you can schedule your e-card to be delivered on a certain date. This is especially useful if the email is going out on the week of Christmas, when most of your customers will be spending time with their families and won’t have time to read a full email.

Some businesses actually have a mailing list for physical Christmas cards already – by switching to e-cards, you save on postage costs and the price of buying however many physical cards it is you need. This is also relevant for sending employees’ Christmas cards. While a physical card is still to be encouraged in smaller businesses, if you have a large number of employees it just isn’t viable to give them all a Christmas card. E-cards address this problem!

E-cards are also a great option if your business prides itself on its green credentials. As you aren’t using any paper and not utilising a method of delivery that will require the use of vehicles, sending an e-card is environmentally-friendly and shows that you are dedicated to saving the environment – you can mention this on your e-card too if you wish!

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Extravision, specialists in Corporate Christmas ecards

Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Extravision (http://www.extravision.com), specialists in Corporate Christmas ecards

Author Bio: Ben Greenwood is writing on behalf of Extravision, specialists in Corporate Christmas ecards

Category: Marketing
Keywords: corporate christmas ecards, email marketing