Fractional CMO & Marketing Newsletter – December 2023

Copywriting Casualties and Awkward Acronyms

By Ginger Mace

In our last newsletter, we shared four questionable marketing moves. This month, we look at a few copywriting failures and acronyms that could’ve used some more thought.

Are any of these going to cause these organizations to fail? Of course not! However, we feel that it’s always important for all marketing initiatives to reflect well upon the company in question. Did you get a chuckle out of these? We did! In our next newsletter, we’ll look at some poor ad placement – trust us… you won’t want to miss it! Until then, check out this article from our September 2023 newsletter: Four Questionable Marketing Moves That Missed The Mark.

Should You Give Holiday Gifts to Your Customers? Maybe Just a Card?

1. Preferably not something that is ‘one-and-done’ (like candy branded with their logo, for example)
2. An item the customer will have in their workspace is always a good choice because they’ll see it daily (coffee mugs, mousepads, wireless phone chargers, keychains, or similar)
3. You know your customers best, so think about what they would find useful and actually use (if you sell fitness equipment, a reusable water bottle and/or branded gym towel might be good choices)

All or a Select Few?

For businesses with hundreds or thousands of customers, sending individual gifts isn’t practical from both a cost and feasibility perspective, but a holiday greeting emailed to all of them is both inexpensive (if you already have an account with an email marketing service) and can be done quickly with minimal resources needed. If you have a large customer base, you might want to also send a holiday gift to a select few. This group could include those who buy from you regularly or have been for a few years and/or customers who have contributed to the top 10% of sales dollar- or volume-wise. You may also want to consider vendors and suppliers in this holiday gift question, too, since they help contribute to the success of your business. No matter who the recipient is, a gift from your company is a great way to begin, nurture, continue, restart, or cement a relationship.

Stand out From the Competition

One of the reasons we advise our clients to avoid ‘one-and-done’ holiday gifts is that as soon as that disposable or consumable items is used or ingested, the wrapper – and your branding along with it – go in the trash, making their impact minimal. Having said that, a gift basket full of treats accompanied by a holiday card from your company, even though consumable, lasts much longer, more eyes will see it, and it draws attention. More useful, enjoyable, and/or long-lasting holiday gifts leave an indelible impression. In our digital age, many companies just email a holiday greeting, and while that’s better than nothing (and perfectly understandable if that’s all you can afford to do or your customer list is huge), you can stand out from the crowd by going the extra mile and putting some resources into recognizing the holiday season with an appropriately chosen and branded gift.

If Not Now, When?

It’s a good idea to recognize your relationship with customers (and we’ll include vendors and suppliers here also) at least once a year. The top-of-mind awareness this gesture creates can be invaluable. Again, we understand that doing so may not be realistic in every situation, but there may be ways other than just an email greeting. One idea is to send a small token within your company’s means during the month when they became a customer. Doing so breaks up the cost over 12 months instead of only during the holiday season, and ideally, the task becomes more manageable when done this way.

These are just a few of the considerations regarding holiday gifts and perhaps when a holiday card might suffice. Some of our clients have other factors to be mindful of, and at Fractional CMO & Marketing, we always review and talk them over so the best possible choice is made for a positive impact on their marketing, image, and future business.