At the beginning of this year I watched a video by April Bowles-Olin of Blacksburg Belle about lessons she’d learned during the previous year. One of the lessons she shared was about being prepared WAY ahead of time. She was referring to the fact that she wanted to send Christmas cards to her previous customers, but she didn’t write it down so she forgot all about it until it was too late.
I was so new to the whole creative business scene that I would have never thought of or even considered sending customers Christmas cards, but I made a decision right then & there that I would learn from April’s lesson & not let it become my own. So I grabbed my planner & wrote “make/order customer Christmas cards” down in September.
That was about 11 months ago! September came & went, but because I had planned ahead I’m now prepared to send out my cute little cards to all of my past customers.
Now some of you may be thinking, “Whoa! That’s gonna be way too expensive. Not worth it!”
Well let me say, it’s definitely not cheap, but I’m not going for cheap. I’m going for value. I want my customers to know I appreciate their business & I value them more than an email Christmas card. Yes, that’s better than nothing, but I’m trying to evoke a feeling here.
You know what it’s like when you get a letter or a gift from someone in the mail & you had no clue it was coming. It makes your feel special, important, & remembered. That’s what I want my customers to feel when they get my card!
They’re going to open up their mailbox, pull out their mail, start sorting through it. Then they’re going to find my envelope with my name on it & my holiday stamp, they’ll curiously open it up to find my mini envelope with a hand-stamped “Merry Christmas” on the front, then they’ll open up that little envelope to find my handmade Christmas card with a personalized, handwritten note from me to them on the inside!
What are you doing this year to make your past customers feel special, important, valued, remembered? Let me know in the comments below!
Now, if you’re wondering where I got these cute, vintage inspired mini Christmas cards then go check out Bella Rose Craft on Etsy. Dawn is super friendly, easy to work with, has great prices, & makes very nice cards!
And if you’d like to get one of my cute little Christmas cards yourself, head on over to my shop, Baby Swank, pick out something fantastic for yourself or a loved one & use coupon code “FS2011” for free US shipping on orders over $35.00!
This is such an awesome idea! It’s definitely going on my “to do” list for next year.
Such a great idea, I’m adding it to my to do list for sure
Great idea! I also decided to send out Christmas cards to my previous clients this year! I know it will be an annual thing.
What a fabulous idea ! I’m definitely putting this into action . Thank you for sharing , Meagan !
What a fantastic idea! Last year I included little felt heart ornaments in all of my holiday orders, and my customers really seemed to love it.
I definitely can’t take all the credit, but I’m so glad that others are using it. I know it would mean a lot to me & it would help build my loyalty to the business. Plus I’m super grateful to my customers & this is one way I can show it.
@faith – I love your ornament idea. That’s very creative & I’m sure all your customers were thrilled with your thoughtful freebie!
I always add in a little gift with each order, but I’ve been tossing about the idea of something that a customer could easily make… some felty little parts and pieces that, when put together, make a little something special. Sort of an interactive gift. Yes….. I think I will! Thanks for the little push : )
Janet, FeltOnTheFly
What an awesome idea! Thanks for sharing this, Meagan! I’m sure your customers will totally love your cards!
What a nice touch!! What a great idea! I only opened my Etsy shop 2 months ago, so my customer list is still pretty small, but I think this is something I am going to implement this year. So far I have been including little felt and fabric bookmarks with my orders. They have a fabric tag sewn on the the bag that includes my web address. I figures there’s a higher chance of my customers keeping that than a business card. So it’s a win-win situation.