Insurance agency marketing: Best practices for business holiday cards
You’re barely back in your office after the annual Thanksgiving stuff-fest, and it’s already time to get those business holiday cards ready to send. Before you do, we’ve got a few tips to make sending your insurance agency’s business holiday cards a little bit more efficient – and influential, we hope.
1. Start early. Hopefully by now you’ve ordered your cards and they’re in-hand. Before you begin addressing, double-check that everything on your printed card is spelled correctly, especially your company name, and that your phone number, email address and website are also correct. Oops, you forgot to include those? No worries, you can easily add them as you personally sign (yes, personally!) your cards. Alternatively, you can quickly order a stamp with those details on them, if you’re afraid your wrist and fingers won’t hold up to that much handwriting.
2. Be inclusive. Unless you know the religious and cultural background of everyone you’re sending to, consider sending neutral holiday cards instead (think winter scenes, evergreens, snowflakes, cute animals, etc.). Your aim is to send holiday cheer and good wishes – not inadvertently offend a client.
3. Make your list – and check it twice. Double-check addresses plus the spelling of personal names and company names. Use spell-check. Again, you don’t want to devalue a client accidentally by misspelling a name.
4. Add the assistant. If you’re a commercial lines producer, chances are you talk to the assistant as much as you do to your client. If so, be sure to send that person a business holiday card as well, thanking them for their help throughout the year.
Related: Your guide to business gift giving
5. Find a message that stands out. Look for unusual cards, envelopes that are unusually sized or uniquely colored so as not to just be one in a stack of many cards. Your message shouldn’t be another “Happy holidays” generic message. Think of ways you can personalize the greeting, such as holding an ugly sweater contest for your team, taking a group shot and including in the card.
6. Don’t try to sell. This is a time to express your appreciation and wish them holiday cheer – not try to cross-sell them.
7. Consider a holiday email instead. Two thoughts here: 1) you can explain that in lieu of sending cards this year, you’re donating double that amount to a local charity. Describe the charity and add their website link. 2) As their insurance agent, in an email you can provide them with easily clickable links to timely tips and no-no’s for the holidays, such as these tips:
NFPA’s Winter Holidays Safety Tips
NFPA’s Christmas Tree Safety
Don’t fall victim to a crime this holiday season (PropertyCasualty360.com)
Related: Insurance agency email tips during the holidays
8. Consider creating a holiday video with your smartphone, uploading to Vimeo or Youtube, and sending a link in your email. Keep it short; a little bit of cheesiness is OK.
9. Forego December holidays and send New Year’s cards. This is a good option if your clients are from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds; plus, your business holiday cards will arrive after the Christmas onslaught.
Oh – and can we take this opportunity to wish you, our producers, happy holidays?