Post Card Printing

Holiday Postcard Printing in Canada. Before You Print.

You guessed it: successful postcard printing does start with successful postcard designing. A business postcard is a unique species in the promotional printing world because it neither brings new business like flyers, nor describes your products like brochures. And yet every year a typical small business in Canada will get a few dozen postcards from suppliers and customers alike. Why do they send them?

It’s simple: a postcard is meant to strengthen an already existing business relationship rather than create a new one. And for many of us this can be equally- if not more- important.

In a way a postcard is the archenemy of a flyer. A holiday card from your fitness club in Toronto is meant to secure your membership against all the flyers you receive from other clubs.

It often hurts more to loose an account than to have never found it. In many cases an account does not bring profits until the 2nd or 3rd year with same supplier. During this time more and more is being invested into it in the form of support, time, promotional materials, overhead, travel, etc. To loose the account once it has started producing profits is any owner’s nightmare.

If one little postcard is to stand in the face of  your competitor’s aggressive attempts to take away your client this fact has to be carefully considered when designing your card:

1)    Be personal.

A holiday card is your opportunity to become friends with the client. Make sure your card shows this. Mottos, catch phrases, phone numbers, and promotional offers have no room on a postcard. A holiday postcard is your once-a-year chance to remind the customer that his business is more than business to you. It should contain only holiday greetings and words of appreciation, nothing else.

2)    Be warm.

“Seasons Greeting” shows the client that you have not invested any time into preparing your card. You have probably called your printing company and ordered whatever cards they offered. This is not what you would like to show your client in order to build a long lasting relationship. You want to show you care. Devise your own unique text.

3)    Be funny – text.

Yes, funny. This will show your clients that behind that faceless 1-800 customer service number there are real people.  Your client will feel as part of a group and not just as a customer with an assigned number. For instance “Your Toronto shooting club wishes you shots on target in the year to come!” Or “Your Vancouver electrical contractors wish you POWER in the new year!” Or “Your Calgary printing suppliers wish you a colorful year!”

4)    Be funny – image.

Nothing is forgotten as quickly as a postcard with balloons and a cake on it. Invest effort into printing your own picture on your cards. This picture should be relevant to your business. This could be all your employees holding a giant “Happy Holidays” sign at your office party. Or a car mechanic drawing “Happy Holidays” on a dusty windshield. Or a doctor in a funny hat. Or your dressed up CEO moving dusty boxes in the warehouse.

Remember that a holiday card is designed to retain and improve your relationship with your clients. You want them to remember you. You want them to stay with you. You want them to identify you. You want them to prefer you. In order to achieve all this your postcard has to be as memorable as possible.

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