So, what is the most important day of your life?
Think about it.
What day, out of the 365 days in a year, do you feel the most appreciated, the most loved, the most cared about or the most remembered?
Looking at it another way, which day out of the year do you most feel like you SHOULD be appreciated, loved, cared about or remembered?
It’s Your Birthday!
Of course it’s your birthday. The day that you celebrate your own birth into this world.
It’s the one day of the year that is most special because on that day, people celebrate YOU.
And it’s the very day that people EXPECT to be recognized by others.
Sadly, too many of us often forget to recognize people on their birthdays.
For one reason or another, we don’t write people’s birth dates down or we simply don’t have a system for remembering the birthdays of important people in our lives.
This Spells Opportunity For You!
Why?
Because if you’re one of the very few people who are recognizing people’s birthdays, then YOU are the one they remember and appreciate.
So if there was one day of the year that you should reach out and touch another person, it should be on their birthdays.
There’s a great quote by Keith Ferrazzi, who wrote the book, “Never Eat Alone,” which says…
“My personal favorite pinging occasion remains birthdays, the neglected stepchild of life’s celebrated moments. … It is your day, and it has been since you were a kid. And even when you’re seventy years old, deep down inside, despite all your protestations, a little recognition of that seventy-year-old-life feels good even if you don’t get a big red wagon anymore. Don’t kid yourself — EVERYONE CARES ABOUT HIS OR HER BIRTHDAY.”
As Keith mentioned, one of the best opportunities to build upon the relationships you have with people is to celebrate their birthdays by sending them birthday cards.
You can call it a birthday card marketing program (even though it sounds a bit impersonal).
5 Tips For Celebrating People’s Birthdays
Here’s some tips on starting your birthday card marketing program.
Tip #1 - Always try to gather the birth dates of your customers, clients and patients. Ask for people’s birth date in your shopping cart.
If you have an offline business, just ask your customers for their birthday and let them know that you like to send birthday cards.
Tip #2 – If you don’t have your current customer’s birth dates you can find that information through online people search sites such as Intelius.com.
Tip #3 – Use a system to remind you 14 days before the person’s upcoming birthday. That will give you time to create the card, send it out and have it received.
Tip #4 – Use photos in your birthday cards. People love photos. It also makes your cards more personal. The more authentic and “real” the photo, the better.
Tip #5 – Try to use your own handwriting and your own personal signature in your birthday cards. Again, it will make it more personal.
Tip #6 – NEVER mix your birthday cards with business. By that I mean, don’t include a sales pitch in your cards. And for heavens sakes, don’t include your business card in your birthday card. Tacky!
Tip #7 – To make it even more special, you could record a personal video to wish them a happy birthday. You can also create a general happy birthday video to reuse in all your cards.
When you upload it to YouTube.com all you need to do take the YouTube video URL and put it in the card or create a QR code and paste that into the card.
Want to See Some Super Cool Birthday Cards?
These cards were all sent to me on my birthday from various friends.
They are NOT your every day normal birthday cards. These cards are AMAZING!
I’ve never thrown them away!
They were all created using this system. http://www.ILovetoSendOutCards.com.
If you want to make a real impression with your customers, clients and patients, start celebrating their birthdays.
When you do, they’ll fall in love with you and talk about you and your business to all their friends and family members.
Have a great day!
P.S. Click here if you like to discover the “90 Day Dazzle Referral System” that will literally blow away your new clients and customers and compel them to pick up the phone and begin referring your products and services to everyone they know.
About David Frey
David Frey is the Founder, MarketingBlogger.com. He is also the author of the best selling book, "The Small Business Marketing Bible" and many other marketing courses. To find out more about this author, visit www.WhoIsDavidFrey.com.
I wish they had send out cards in the UK. I asked SOC HQ and got a nil return.
I reckon I could bring it to the UK as the first and make a real deal out of it!
Sean
Sean McPheat recently posted..The Two Dirtiest Four Letter Words In A Sales Organisation: “Role” and “Play”
Twitter: David_Frey
says:
Sean, It’s coming…and when it does, I’ll fly over there personally and help you launch it. Stay tuned.
Hi david, thanks for such valuable and priceless information you shared on your website. I also checked out the SOC and I can’t wait for it to come to Nigeria or maybe I’ll take Sean’s initiative and bring it down here.
To me, the most important day of my life is not my birthday, it’s the day when I was born. It’s a whole lot different.
Your post is bang on target! I remember how important I feel when someone wishes me; and how off i feel when I have wished people on their birthdays but they never bother remembering yours. This is so true. SOC cards are sure to impress.
Hi David .Thanks for sharing such salutary information . I completely agree that everyone cares about his or her birthday and reaching out customers on their birthday this way can indeed make a remarkable difference .Engrossing idea ,
Hey David
That is a really valuable information that you have shared. Everyone wants to be recognized on their special day. I celebrated my birthday 4 days back and yes, it does feel special when people wish you. I use Google calendar, and it sends me a reminder on phone about birthday’s and I make it a point to wish people. The tips you have shared are great and will surely try to follow these in future.
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Hey David
Birthday is indeed the day when everyone wants to feel special and recognized. I celebrated my Birthday 4 days back and it really fees good people wishing you, specially some unexpected calls. I use Google calendar that sends me reminder for birthdays and I make a point to wish people. The tips you have shared are great, will make it a point to use them in future.
Richa recently posted..WB Download
Everyone looks forward to birthdays, be it your own or your loved ones. This is one special day in a year when we can be thankful for the year that was, I truly appreciate it when people go out of their way to greet and bestow their well-wishes upon me. Thanks for sharing, the birthday cards you received are all amazing!
Don’t we just all love being birthdays? I wish all of us would make a conscious effort to extend our greetings after all this only happens once a year. Great post.
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