So it's my birthday today (well, technically, I was born on the 29th so this year the 28th is as close as I can get) which means I'm getting all kinds of birthday greetings via email, text and social media. Interestingly, each year I notice that get more and more well wishes through these same channels from the businesses I frequent as well. Of course I know that the businesses haven't *actually* remembered my birthday (and let's be honest, my friends and family probably wouldn't remember either without Facebook), but the truth is that it still feels nice to watch them come in throughout the day - automation notwithstanding.
Setting up a simple birthday campaign that sends a personalized greeting your customers (or heck, even your employees - check out the how-to for that idea here: Sales & Marketing Alignment the Human Way - Part 2 of 3) is an easy way to add a lovely, non-sales centric touch to your ongoing communications strategy. If you haven't set one up yet, now is a great time to add the idea to your to-do list. Because really, why not?
Some things to consider before you begin:
- Data: How confident are you that the birth date you have on file is correct? The last thing you want to do is get their birthday date wrong, so make sure you start with sparkling clean data (check out Benefits of Quality Data for tips).
- Timing: Are your recipients in time zones that might make your greeting arrive too early or too late? Use the handy Time Zones Across Eloqua guide to make sure your message arrives when you want it to.
- Channel: While sending a greeting via email is a great option, nothing beats receiving a physical card in the mail (and yes, Eloqua has an app for that: Cloud2You Direct Mail Sparkplug). And consider social and SMS options as well if those make sense for your audience (check out our AppCloud for options that plug directly in to your Eloqua campaign).
- Content: A birthday greeting doesn't have to be content heavy. A simple text or graphic greeting is probably sufficient.
- Call To Action: Decide if you really want or need one. Your message should be about *their* birthday, not your sales cycle. Still, if it makes sense within the context of your business to offer a gift, a special discount or something similar in honor of their big day, feel free!
Many happy returns!