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Posting by: Debra Andrews
Date: December 23, 2009
Well, we’ve been seeing them trickle in since around Thanksgiving. Snowy scenes, stockings, warm wishes, thanks, reflections on the year and hopes for the following one. Some secular, some specific to a creed, religion, etc. Names are printed mostly, sometimes signed, and occasionally there is a picture taken just for this. What are these December darlings? The company holiday cards.
What is the Message Your Family Business is Conveying?
As the economy slowing continues its upward crawl, a sign of the times for many businesses is a decline in giving or receiving holiday cards, not wishing to spend significant funds (in some cases a good card with foil-lined envelope, custom printing and postage can cost dollars per recipient). Yet other businesses use this time of year (in many cases tied into the ending of a fiscal year) to show a sign of strength, solidarity, gratitude, and a marking of time for companies that plan on making it another year.
For a family business, it’s sometimes more likely the idea of a family holiday would spill over from the family’s personal message into the company’s business message. Often the family is speaking to the card recipients, often clients who’ve financially supported the business, to thank them for being part of their year, and to tell them about their personal family as well. There is something warm about a card with the names of a family on it, showing generations within the spirit and feeding into the sense of New Year renewal.
How are non-Family Employees included in Seasonal Greetings?
Yes, seeing the first generation family business owner in a Santa suit with family members wearing the company logo can be heart-warming and a marketing “do,” especially with “future employee” great-grandchildren gathered at Santa’s feet. But for many family businesses, the employees are a mix of family and non-family members. Does your greeting reflect that part of your business family, or does your card look more like your personal family is sending out their wishes to friends and family of the business?
A non-family business company owner may send out holiday messages either with a tone of thanks and well-wishes to his/her extended business family, then to clients, vendors and others associated with the business; or the owner may send a card or other greeting on behalf of the rest of the company, to all the external contacts. So when it’s a family business, make sure you are including your extended family of employees, either by including them as part of the group of well-wishers intended by the greeting itself, or as recipients of your thanks and gratitude in the card in contributing to your success.
Happy Holidays from the Greater Washington DC Family Business Alliance
Our family of partners, having now spent our first full year together posing questions, dissecting challenges, searching for ideas and hopefully providing some insight to family businesses in the Greater Washington DC area and beyond, is grateful for the service and support we’ve received from each other, and from the family business community at large. Our wish for our readers is continued recovery, growth, and personal and professional success as you define it into the New Year.
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