Australians love charity connected Christmas cards.
I know because of the number of requests I see in0store and through social media. Some customers make card purchase decisions based on the charities being supported.
People want to support charities they know and trust.
While the ideal situation is that suppliers negotiate with charities and promote their support on products in-store, we, at the store level, can engage with charities ourselves and thereby pitch charity support where a supplier has not taken up the opportunity.
I think this is especially important at Christmas where so many boxed card packs have a charity message.
If your boxed cards do not have a city connection, consider partnering with a local charity. For a modest donation they may allow you to include a sticker on each product – promoting their work and your support for them. This is the key element in driving sales.
It does not always have to fall to your supplier to leverage a charity connection. Indeed, supporting a local charity can work particularly well. This can help you be on the front foot with other charities and community groups that ask for money or products as a donation. You can point to your current engagement and suggest they make a submission for next year.
It can be frustrating the number of requests for support. I see it from a retailer and from a supplier perspective., Almost daily there is a request for money or some other form of support, often without a commercial benefit.
The challenge is that if businesses are not profitable they are unable to support these requests. hence the importance of a commercial benefit. This is where supporting a local group or charity could work for a local business in that their members and supporters could be leveraged to support the business.
If you do have boxed Christmas cards offering national charity support, actively promote this in-store and on Facebook. relying on the note on the product to do it is not enough. Be active, talk about the charities supported, their work and your pride in being able to support them.
It is vital you make the most of any charity connection as early in a season as possible.
You need to support a local charity if you stock Hallmark like I do and they no longer supply charity cards. Largest card company in the country can’t afford to be a little generous with their profits.
Mark maybe ask Hallmark for the back story to their decision as it could be different to your assumptions.
Whilst supportive of charity cards I am more than a little sceptical of the actual amounts being donated by the card companies. Are the public being conned?