It’s one thing to want to express heartfelt tidings. It’s quite another to step on toes. Keep these essentials in mind when planning your season’s greetings.

• Invest in the best. Make sure the quality of your cards or promotional items reflects the quality of the relationship you have with your customer.

• Update the data. Better not left to the last minute, but your contacts and addresses need to be accurate. What’s worse than getting a holiday card forwarded 10 days after the new year? Not getting one at all.

• Affix your John Hancock. Your handwritten signature is an essential ingredient on every card you send. Best if you take time to pen a short personal message, too.

• Handwrite the address. Don’t have time? Hire a temp to do it for you, or ask a charity for their help and make a donation to their cause.

• Mail to the home address. For small business owners on your list, include the spouses name and mail it to their home. For corporate mailings, the work address is fine and adding the spouse is not included unless you have a personal relationship with both.

• Get proper. Use appropriate titles when addressing the envelope.

• Be Sensitive to heritage.  If you don’t know what your recipient observes, don’t guess or assume. Choose something neutral like Happy Holiday or Season’s Greetings. If you do know, you can incorporate appropriate Christmas, Hanukah, or Kwanzaa wishes in your message.

• Avoid the rush. There’s nothing better than planning ahead to keep you from a holiday scramble. Have your envelopes addressed and stamped by Thanksgiving and take your time over the next couple of weeks to write your personal messages. Be sure to mail them in time to arrive on time.