I'm fascinated how companies feel the need to use the holidays as a cheap excuse to troll for business. It's so unsavory. Don't get me wrong, sending a holiday card at the end of the year is a great way for a company to reconnect a lapsed customer relationship or foster a new one. But if you don't really want to send holiday cheer, don't send the card...you could do more harm than good.
Everyone knows that sales is about relationships. And everyone knows that relationships can't be built in 5 minutes. Any experienced salesman knows that if he just walks in and starts "selling" ("show up and throw up" as Jack Daly, one of the best sales coaches out there, calls it), then the sales call will probably not end successfully. The same is true for holiday marketing.
Of all the fake holiday wishes I received this year, this one was my favorite. An internet marketing firm sent me an email with the subject: Happy New
Year from www.eyelogicmedia.com (see below). Not knowing who they are, I actually
did think that it was a nice sentiment and opened it. That's when I
realized that they don't care about me and my happy and healthy
New Year at all. There is not a single warm wish in the entire email.
There are however copious announcements about their new clients and all
their awards.
How disappointing.
They did exactly what Jack Daly rails
against - they had my attention and an opportunity to talk to me like they cared about me (or at least fake it). They could have taken a step to building a relationship with me (especially if their email was memorable). They could have sent me holiday cheer and easily created an opening to talk to me again about business in the New Year.
But they didn't.
As soon as I realized they weren't wishing me a Happy New Year (as they promised in the subject line), I disengaged. I deleted the email without reading a single word about how great they may be.
Sending a holiday card to existing, lapsed or potential customers shouldn't be seen an opportunity to make a sale or remind everyone how great you are. It should be used to send warm wishes and wish people good fortune in the New Year. That's it. If the message is genuine and if you are creative in how you deliver it, people will remember you. And if you really care to send holiday cheer to people, then odds are your holiday card will be one of the steps you'll take to lay a foundation for a long and fruitful business relationship.
And on that note, I wish all of you a very happy and health New Year (and don't forget to check out our online store - there are big savings on all our most popular items)...see what I mean.