Business and Corporate Christmas Cards

Have you ever pondered just how important staff is to any business? I don’t mean just your staff, because I’m assuming you value and appreciate their contribution to you business.

Nope, I’m talking about the all-important staff members of your customers, clients, and vendors.

Speaking as a former staff support person, I cannot emphasize enough the value of your taking the time to show your appreciation to them. If you’ve never worked as support staff yourself, you may be unaware of the control, often subtle, they have as gatekeepers to their businesses.

I’m not saying they’d deny you access to their boss (although that’s not outside the realm of possibilities). But they might not go that little extra way to make it easier for you, either.

I have worked for folks who listened and to some who didn’t. The ones who listen far outnumber the ones who didn’t. If I expressed an opionion about how someone, customer or vendor, treated me, more often than not it made a difference in how the boss regarded the other business.

So the point here is to recognize that staff is incredibly important in you business context. You truly need to recognize that they are nearly as important to your relationships with clients and vendors as are the bosses. This is just a reminder that you need to include some sort of acknowledgement to support personnel.

This isn’t to say that you need to include those support folks on your A list of card recipients, but it wouldn’t hurt to examine including them in the greeting on the card, or even a less expensive card directed to them.

The bottom line here is that you should not ignore support personnel when you are making your decision and figuring your budget. Understanding the good will of your client’s employees can give you a big leg up next year in your access to the decision makers in your client’s firms.