It's the personal touch that counts. We use greeting cards to show our appreciation for our loved ones. And when we find a nice or funny card in a shop, we're often on our way to the postbox to share our happiness shortly afterwards. With an appealing selection and presentation of greeting cards in the stationery shop, customers will soon reach for a card and pen because there are plenty of occasions to send one all year round.
There are many days in the year that call for a greeting card. Christmas, birthdays or anniversaries, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter are all reasons to send a greeting card. But there are many more occasions for sending cards that stationery shops or creative markets can turn into promotional days. The 1 September is World Letter Writing Day. Advocates of the handwritten word celebrate this day by writing letters to their friends and family. Then there is World Card Making Day on 5 October 2019, the day when you make your own greeting cards. Every first Saturday in October, this day reminds us that homemade cards and gifts that come from the heart are the best. Other days we celebrate include Handwriting Day on 23 January, Send a Card to a Friend Day on 7 February or Card Reading Day on 21 February. On 11 July, Cheer Up the Lonely Day invites you to share your personal happiness with those who are lonely.
As digital messages are becoming increasingly prevalent these days, everyone is happy to find a personal, handwritten or homemade greeting card in their letterbox. A nice saying or some kind words bring even more joy. Many people find it difficult to find the right words. Retailers can help them overcome this awkwardness with greeting cards containing pre-printed messages or books about card writing. These may be guides such as Jodi Ann Bickley's "Briefe schreiben: Freude schenken" (Writing letters: bringing joy) or novels such as Ángeles Doñate's "Der schönste Grund, Briefe zu schreiben“ (The best reason to write letters).
Retailers can also draw attention to themselves with a favourite greeting card vote, either independently or along with the "Die goldene Grußkarte" (the golden greeting card) competition. The jury assesses the submitted greeting cards from Germany, Austria and Switzerland based on criteria such as design, overall aesthetic impression, idea and general quality. The competition is organised by the working group of publishers of greeting cards (Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Verleger von Glückwunschkarten). A customer vote can also be held in the shop. The greeting cards of the 2019 competition can be ordered for the shop from the beginning of January 2020. For retailers, the annual competition is a good opportunity to review their product range and inspire their customers with excellent greeting cards.
![[Translate to English:] selber gebastelte Grußkarte](/fileadmin/_processed_/d/a/csm_20190807_Grusskarte_selber_machen_7e24580bd8.jpg "[Translate to English:] selber gebastelte Grußkarte")
In addition to selling greeting cards, it is also lucrative for stationary suppliers to offer materials for making greeting cards. Demonstrations or workshops awaken customers' desire to create and inspire the imagination. Monika Wiegand, owner of Papier pur in Speyer, has been doing this since the beginning of 2018 with great success. Under the motto of "Creative world of cards" card designer Isabella Acker has been showcasing her latest techniques, special papers and good ideas for personal greeting and invitation cards every week in a workshop held between 11am and 2pm on Fridays. At the same time, a permanent workshop on a specific topic builds up a core competence that increases the base of potential customers. And once the workshop participants catch this enthusiasm, one of the handmade thank-you cards might even end up in a letterbox.
Tease commitment out of your customers because people who take part in promotions or vote in competitions will be more interested in the results than people who don't. This in turn increases the chances of another visit.
