A greeting card is a specific invitation to come into your store. They can be viewed as similar to postcards in the way you create and send them out, and postcards can fulfill the role of greeting cards. However, greeting cards almost always carry a certain kind of style that’s a little different from postcards.
The first thing is that greeting card printing is used for a much more specific purpose than most postcards are. You aren’t going to be focusing on things like sales or product releases as much if at all with greeting cards. These are most often used for people who have never been to your store.
Because of this the designs are going to be less about getting a sale and more about making your company look friendly and welcoming to people. You want them to feel comfortable about your store, and willing to give you a chance by coming in to see what you’re all about.
Now, I said that greeting card printing is used most often with customers who have never been to your store, but don’t let that make you think this is the only time you should use them.
Most companies use greeting cards with new customers, and if you’re store is just opening up or just moving to a new area I would suggest using it with your company as well.
But consider things like new programs or something like that. Let’s say you’re introducing a program for loyal customers that offers them additional savings. If they join up they can get special deals. Well, create a greeting card inviting them into this particular program. There are a variety of situations like this where greeting cards can come in handy even for people who have been doing business with you for years.
Companies send out greeting cards because they fulfill a role that few other advertisements are able to. The traditional greeting card is going to be more subdued than most advertising. The point isn’t to shout out your message to people, but to encourage them to give you a chance.
Greeting cards often let you speak more casually and openly with the customers. Your purpose isn’t a sale or product promotion but to encourage them to take a look at who you are.
Of course, this means that to get greeting cards to really work for you you’ll probably need to be sure that you have just the right kind of design. Keep your language simple and directly to the point. Give them something that shows you care about who they are and that you think you can provide them a better place to shop at than the stores they’re going to now.
The number one reason to use greeting cards is because it gives you a chance to deliver your message in a way you just can’t get with any other advertisement.