When people you work with experience pain, grief or unfortunate circumstances, you can show them you sympathize with their sadness by sending condolence cards. It is important that you let the bereaved know you care. Sending a condolence greeting card from your company will help foster your relationship. Some business sympathy cards basics will help you decide the right kind of card for you and the situation.

The occasion behind the need to send bereavement cards is very personal. Your choice of the right card is most important for the bereaved. The message on the card should be genuine. Take what you know of the person and your understanding of the situation to choose a card that will really touch the heart of the receiver. Choices for you to consider are:

1. Personalized sympathy cards

2. Manufactured condolence cards

3. Online sympathy cards

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Show the receiver you care with a one of a kind sympathy card

Amid the pile of cards received, the ones that will be saved and remembered will be the unique ones. Handmade cards are available that will relay a comforting message and will stand out from the mountain of store-bought cards. The message on the card is often more important than the card itself. If you can, opt to hand-write something. Special memories and words of encouragement are very uplifting. If words escape you, even 'I'm sorry' touches hearts.

I recommend: Handmade cards by RobinTX gives you a selection of one-of-a-kind handmade cards that will surely stand out. You can input a message for handmade cards by RobinTX to place in the card or leave the inside blank to handwrite your own message. If you are not sure what to write in the card, Grace Designs gives you a few ideas. They also suggest a few things you should not write.

Find a manufactured condolence card that speaks your heart

When you don't know what to say, leave it to the professionals. Many cards are readily available that already say the perfect thing. The most difficult part is sorting through all of them to find the right one. To enhance the message, be sure to match the card with the person's interests.

I recommend: Hallmark is one of the most recognizable brands for greeting cards. Purchase their condolence cards online and Hallmark will even mail the card for you. Send a card from Cards for Causes if the intended has a heart for helping others. Cards for Causes gives 20% of your sale amount to the charity of your choice, so you can further personalize the card by having the money donated to a cause the person is passionate about or that is fitting for the situation.

Send sympathy cards online if the situation allows

For a more casual situation or if you need to send your condolences quickly, send sympathy cards online. While sending cards online is becoming more acceptable, sending an actual greeting card is still preferable. Feel free to send your condolences in an email if you received notification of the bereavement via email from that person.

I recommend: 2000Greetings.com is a free online greeting card service with a nice selection of cards. They allow you to schedule when cards will be delivered up to a year in advance. Send one now and schedule another for the same time next year to let the receiver know you are thinking of them. Self-Healing Expressions offers very simple cards with a selection of meaningful phrases to customize the text. You can even choose to have music added to the card.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Texting or instant messaging a condolence card are not recommended as proper etiquette for showing your sympathy.

As a manager of an office, one thing you might want to have on hand is a supply of business sympathy cards and other paper communications for every occasion. As a communicator and bridge between individuals in your company, you may find there are times you can benefit from havingcondol ence cards on hand for those in unfortunate situations.

You can find good supplies of condolence or bereavement cards online to keep in your desk. Business managers send condolence cards in times like these:

1. A worker loses a close family member or friend and a condolence card helps ease the pain of loss and shows that you are a concerned employer.

2. A worker suffers an injury related to the workplace, where someone may file a worker's comp claim, and where the company is somehow involved.

3. A worker becomes ill and takes extended leave, becoming distant from the day to day operations of the business.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get condolence cards specifically for lost family

You can find cards that tailor their design for offering your sympathy wishes to someone whose beloved family member has passed on. These cards are immediately recognizable as a helping hand in a grieving situation.

I recommend: Get sophisticated condolence and sympathy card designs from Cards Direct LLC. The Gallery Collection by Prudent Publishing Company also offers a range of premium designs and periodic sale offers for business clients.

Get sympathy cards specifically related to injury or illness

Other sympathy greeting cards have injury as the theme, and offer specialized support for someone who is going through a hospital stay, or suffering the hardships of physical rehabilitation while dealing with medical insurance and care costs. Buy sympathy cards online that reflect your best wishes to an injured or ill colleague.

I recommend: Find get well cards and even get them mailed for you at Cards Remembered.com. Find more get well card designs at Greeting Card Universe online.

Get blank cards and add your own condolence card message

To some, a blank card is a real inconvenience, but to others, who excel at penning heartfelt messages, it's an opportunity. If this is you, get a stock supply of appropriate card designs and add your own message when you are sending one out to a co-worker.

I recommend: Inspiritgifts.com sells several sympathy card types that are blank inside to accommodate your personal note. Find more blank sympathy cards starting at Day Timers, Inc.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Look out for deceptively inappropriate cards. A card won't achieve your purpose if it's somehow marred by an inappropriate overstatement or style. Use good judgment when buying business sympathy cards to avoid gaffes that hurt you rather than help.

Condolence cards are an important investment for your business. Ultimately, they are a relationship builder. Add business sympathy cards to the "incidentals" category in your budget. They will be something you should invest in when unfortunate events occur in the lives of those you work with.

During times of bereavement in people’s lives, the last thing they are thinking about is what something costs. Reality is that to run your business wisely, even during sad times, money matters. Even the pricing and costs of business sympathy cards need to be considered.

1. Low cost bereavement cards for the budget minded

2. Retail sympathy greeting cards for flexibility

3. Specialty condolence cards when the message is all that matters

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find free sympathy cards online

Free online cards do not cost anything more than your time to find one and send it. There are many times, however, when an email card is not concrete enough to convey your true sympathy of the situation. Free is not a money saver if it doesn't accomplish the intended task of sharing in grief with the bereaved.

I recommend: Grinning Planet helps you find cards fast by placing online card websites in categories. Go to the sympathy category and discover a listing of free ecard sites. Hewlett-Packard provides a selection of cards online that you can print on your own printer. Printable cards can be quite cost-effective if you already have appropriate paper and envelopes stocked.

Keep your options open with retail sympathy cards

You can certainly wait until you need a card and then find one to purchase. A card and postage can cost you somewhere between $1.00 and $4.00. Stocking up on cards is an option that might cost more up front, but costs less per card in the long run. You can often reduce your cost to under $2.00 per card. You should consider how many sympathy cards you will reasonably use. If you rarely send one, the cost may not be worth a box of cards sitting in the closet gathering dust.

I recommend: Save time by finding the cards you want to send through an online greeting card service. The service will print on the cards if desired and mail them to you or even mail them for you. Visit TopTenREVIEWS to see a comprehensive chart of sympathy card providers you can choose from. Prices are listed. If you would like to keep a box of cards on hand to use whenever the need arises, The Gallery Collection has a beautiful choice.

Send a special message with a specialty condolence card

Specialty sympathy card providers offer a vast selection of cards for those looking for something different. Cards can be handmade, over-sized, hand painted, play music, contain photographs or even hold 3-D objects. There are times when a special person requires more than an ordinary sympathy card. Extraordinary cards call for higher than ordinary prices. Because there are so many different options for specialty cards, and each type demands a different price range, you can expect to pay between $2.00 and $5.00 per card. Only the very extravagant will cost more.

I recommend: For a special card, look into getting a musical card from Sound Expressions that conveys your sympathy with words and music. Cards from recycled paper and other earth-friendly options are becoming more of interest lately, including cards like these from Green Field Paper that can be planted and grow flowers.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Consider buying a sympathy card made from recycled paper which helps save some of our trees and slows the filling of our landfills with reusable items.

An appropriate supply of business sympathy and bereavement cards is beneficial for a company, so when it’s necessary to send condolences to employees, colleagues or friends, you have cards right at-hand. Condolence cards express care and thoughtfulness to the employee or person who has suffered misfortune or loss. There are distinct choices in condolence and bereavement cards. Bereavement cards can be personalized, electronic or traditional. Sympathy acknowledgment cards are also important for the employer or employee who has received cards and memorial gifts of condolence from co-workers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Condolence, sympathy

Condolence is an expression of sympathy and compassion to an individual who has suffered loss, misfortune or grief, typically following the death of someone close to them. Sympathy is to share in the sorrowful feelings of another who is experiencing anguish or bereavement.

I recommend: WriteExpress presents helpful information on writing sympathy notes for circumstances such as divorce, injury in an accident or other personal losses. Journey of Hearts.org helps you to have empathy and understand what a business associate or employee who is grieving and suffering from loss may be feeling.

Sympathy etiquette

Sympathy etiquette is the proper social decorum or correct manners for expressing condolences or sympathy to another individual or group, and even more so when the expression of sympathy is from your business.

I recommend: Biz Greeting Cards offers sympathy card etiquette advice for businesses. There is also a link to tips for writing a sympathy card at the bottom of the page. How To Write A Sympathy Card addresses general sympathy card etiquette. Also provided are examples of sympathy cards and additional pointers on flower etiquette.

Sympathy e-cards

Sympathy e-cards are Internet cards sent by electronic mail. Online cards are chosen by browsing the cards offered on the website, typing in your personal message and sending it to the recipient. Online sympathy cards are a good choice when you cannot obtain an actual greeting card and need to send your condolences quickly.

I recommend: London Bytes compares the pros and cons of sending e-cards. The Funeral Directory gives sympathy card etiquette advice, including tips for online e-cards.

Personalized business sympathy cards

Personalized business sympathy cards are condolence cards that are tailored for use by a specific business. The business name and logo may be printed on the sympathy card. Personalized cards might also be personally signed by the company owner or other management official.

I recommend: The Free Library gives advice on the use of personalized greeting and sympathy cards for businesses. Squidoo gives the top ten reasons for sending out business greeting cards along with advice on setting up a personalized greeting card program.

Memorial gifts

Memorial gifts are bequests given to memorialize or commemorate a deceased person's life. They include, but are not limited to benches, markers, stones, statues and even birdbaths.

I recommend: My Deepest Sympathy answers frequently asked questions regarding sympathy gift etiquette. Classic Memorials gives suggestions for appropriate memorial and remembrance gifts.

Sympathy acknowledgments

Sympathy acknowledgments are cards or other gestures of thanks and recognition for expressions and gifts of condolence and sympathy.

I recommend: The Golden Rule explains the etiquette of sympathy acknowledgments. Passages and phrasings of acknowledgments and suggestions for various recipients are provided. Dempsey & Carroll give a description of sympathy acknowledgment notes and advice on how to write them.