I will start this post by saying that this is not a jab at technology nor is it a rant on how business is being conducted today. Promise! Over the last 5 years the way business is being conducted has changed significantly, placing a strain on business relationships. Technology has made business accelerate at warp speed… resulting in many of us being strapped for time, overwhelmed and at wit’s end on how to meet expectations. We now have less time available for face-to-face meetings with clients and our vendor/partners. As emails have become the preferred way of business communications, phone calls are a thing of the past! I’m sure you’ll agree that calling anyone that actually picks up the phone, let alone a prospective client is like winning the lottery!
However, regardless of how the day-to-day business is being managed, ultimately relationships and the building of them is the key to any successful business. Through the years we at 3H, have noticed that quality time spent with clients is at a premium; it has increasingly become more difficult to get our clients and potential clients out for lunch, coffee or even a drink after work. That left us with the challenge of how to nurture and cultivate our relationships with our clients and even some potential clients.
Our approach was really a simply one, and one that was very natural – at least for me. You see I love birthdays. Actually, I love celebrating birthdays (I must admit I love celebrating my birthday most of all!). So every year for the last few years, an annual mandate for the 3H creative and design team is to develop, create and design a birthday card theme that would be carried throughout the year. These cards never go unnoticed. In fact, many who are on the receiving end of our birthday cards are quite touched by the thoughtfulness and are surprised that we remembered them on their birthday.
The irony doesn’t escape me either! A birthday card sent by mail is really a very traditional and low tech approach in business relationship building…. but I must say, it has garnered strong relationships for us. It has been the perfect blend of marketing, design and sales! The cards are all created and designed by the 3H creative team, allowing us to showcase our design and conceptual services. Our cards, of course, are very branded – all are purple and titanium. This not only builds the recognition of the 3H brand… it also illustrates to clients that we are effective brand builders.
Some of the concepts we’ve tackled were: Colorology, Destiny Number, Name Letter Profile, Birth Date numerology. Last year the 3H birthday card featured the Celtic Leaf Profile. The cards we send out are all created and designed by the 3H creative team. Each card is personalized. You can see these on our Pinterest Birthday Board. Feel free to download them and read about your Celtic Leaf Profile. It’s really quite accurate!
I’ll like to end this post by another heartfelt, low-tech message: Happy Holidays to one and all!