A lot is changing in America, and the right to freedom of religion is under scrutiny almost everywhere you turn today. Schools are not allowed to pray in school, mention God or the Bible, or offer a moment of silence for prayer during any emergency. There are arguments in the general population that "God" should be removed from the "Pledge of Allegiance", from the dollar bill, and removed from other historical documents. The new question is whether a commercial Christmas card is a violation or interference with someone else's religion. If so, does the professional Christmas greeting from businesses have to become a simple "best wishes" and a watered down version of winter greetings to please most of the crowd, at least part of the time? Opinions for and against this matter are strongly felt and supported on both sides. So the question remains whether a business should send out Christmas cards and risk looking inappropriate on one side or the other.
Let's face it; it is not safe to offend customers because they will find another retail store to fulfill their needs and your business will suffer a loss. However, where does a retail office draw the line is supporting their personal belief structures and supporting company concepts while still being true to their personal values. This is an important question that continues to grow in its controversial status, like many different ideas; opinions and arguments are growing around this issue.
For business owners, sometimes the best angle is to play it safe
Not only are Christmas cards a tradition, but by sending a business Christmas card, you let your clients and/or customers know that they are important to you. And this is important for the development of a relationship.
– However, since the goal is to deepen the relationship, you don't want to jeopardize that relationship by offending the recipient of your business card. Here are the pros and cons of choosing and sending business Christmas cards to help you avoid awkward Christmas card entanglements.
– Send only high quality business Christmas cards. Quality shows, and the quality of the Christmas card reflects on the sender. Sending cheap Christmas cards will make you look cheap.
– You should only send handmade Christmas cards if you are an artist. As for others, sending handmade business cards with Christmas cards just makes us look awkward or too cheap to buy Christmas cards.
– Be aware of your clients' religious beliefs. Not everyone celebrates Christmas. If you know a client or customer has a different religious belief, choose and send a holiday card that matches their beliefs.
For many business owners, the idea of playing it safe with their customers is a much better idea than taking unnecessary risks in revealing personal values. While it's not always easy to ignore personal values, it's often best to remember that personal and work life may not be in 100% alignment, although ideally, if they can be, they aren't always possible. For business owners who want to send Christmas cards but aren't comfortable sending religious Christmas greetings to every customer, there are now delicately worded holiday cards that serve the same function as a Christmas card, but all refer to a religion from greetings.
This is quite possibly the best solution for a business owner who wants to please as many individual customers as possible without offending anyone. It's not always easy to make the right choice, but in a situation like whether to send business cards for Christmas, it's generally a better idea to send a holiday greeting than to recognize one religion over another.
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