You might feel like you’re walking a tightrope with your company’s finances at the moment. Trading conditions are tough. The aftermath of the banking crisis is still being felt, while austerity measures and eurozone uncertainly are also making their impact felt.

However, while cutting down your spending as a whole may be crucial in order to make ends meet, there are certain things you cannot afford to neglect and maintaining effective customer relationships is one of them. If you don’t stay on the right side of your customers, you could lose out on repeat custom and your reputation could suffer. This is where corporate ecards come in handy. They are cheaper than traditional greetings cards and yet can be just as effective, or indeed even more so.

Feeling the pinch

One thing’s for sure. If you’re finances are stretched, you’re not alone. Many enterprises up and down the land are struggling and figures released by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) highlight this fact.

The organisation’s latest quarterly survey of confidence among UK small business revealed that during the second quarter of this year, four in ten firms that applied for credit were refused. Not being able to access money in this way can cause major cash flow problems.

More stats

Meanwhile, a net balance of 3.9 per cent of respondents announced layoffs, making this three-month period the tenth consecutive one of job cutbacks.

Also, confidence had fallen from 2.2 points in the first quarter to 1.3 points in the second.

Missed opportunities

Commenting on the figures, FSB national chairman John Walker said: “If small firms cannot access credit it constrains their investment plans. We know from past research that many small businesses missed growth opportunities because they couldn’t access the money they needed.”

He added: “This ongoing credit squeeze is becoming critical. Government is relying on small business growth to drag the UK out of recession. The will of small businesses to grow is there but the money to enable them to do so is not.”

No need to break the bank on your greetings

Despite the financial pressures your company faces, you should still be able to make the most of superb greetings cards. Here at eCO2 Greetings we specialise in providing corporate holiday e cards and so on and you don’t need to spend a lot to take advantage of them.

Our e cards are fantastic value for money in their own right, but their real merit shines through when you compare them with traditional versions. As well as adding up the cost of paper cards and postage, it’s also important to bear in mind that sending cards in this way takes precious time. You have to coordinate the project and managers have to sign the items. All this wasted time could no doubt be better spent on other tasks.

It doesn’t end there

Meanwhile, it’s not only in terms of price that we stand out. Our corporate Christmas e cards and so on are also more eco-friendly and they can be sent at the last minute. In addition, they can contain far more information than paper versions without losing their sincerity.