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Law Firm Holiday Cards: Why?
I continue to receive e-holiday cards fom friends at law firms and, frankly, they all kind of look the same. With some minor variations, they all tend to start with some Christmas/holiday image (a snowman; a quaint tree-lined street; a Nutcracker). Then, the animation (usually falling snowflakes) and the music (jingly Christmas music) begins. And ... scene!
I've been looking at these e-cards lately and wondering: what is their specific purpose? It clearly is not to impress with originality, as 99 percent of the e-cards stay right in the middle of the fairway with the holiday image/falling snow/jingly music. Is it to "check the box" that you've sent your contacts a card (to make sure they are not feeling ignored) without offending any of the recipients? Judging by the e-cards, I'm thinking this may be the real purpose.
A similar question is posed today at the Lawyerist blog, where Allison Shields asks, "If you are sending holiday cards to clients, colleagues and referral sources this year, what is your purpose for doing so?"
One of Shields' lawyer clients told her that his purpose for sending out 1,000 holiday cards was that he wanted to receive referrals. Shields writes that she advised the lawyer that while sending holiday cards is a nice way to stay in touch with clients and remind them of your "continued existence," it is highly unlikely that any referrals will result. She also cautions that a "pre-printed, automated-addressed holiday card" may even have the undesired effect of making the recipient feel they are simply part of a mass-mailing. I assume she'd feel the same way about an e-card emailed to a mailing list.
What is your purpose for sending out holiday cards -- electronic or paper? What do you hope to achieve from the effort, if anything?
Image by *Micky
Posted by Bruce Carton on December 21, 2010 at 12:12 PM | Permalink
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