Who doesn’t like a good thank you note?
A few days ago I was up late flipping channels and came across Jimmy Fallon, a late night comedy host. He was going through a segment where he wrote thank you notes to obscure people about obscure things.
It got me to thinking about thank you notes.
I’ve written quite a few in my past, but have been a hit and miss over the past few years. However, a few years ago I was working for Teachers-Teachers.com doing a bit of sales/marketing and decided I needed to do something different.
My friend had just created a watercolor of some paper dolls and I asked if I could use her art for a small fee. I turned the art into a card and wrote a personal thank you note to a huge list of private school and a few public schools districts across the country. Each note was personalized with at least a couple of comments specific to that contact.
The response was quite amazing – at least for what I considered to be a basic thank you note.
I received phone calls thanking me for such a thoughtful note. Some posted their card in a public place or displayed it on their desk. Some said no one had ever done something like this for them in the workplace.
Some signed up for the service for the first time and others renewed earlier than they had intended.
Do you have customers that need thank you notes from you? Partners? Future clients? People who help you build your business?
It is worth taking a few extra minutes once in a while to write that personalized note. Also valuable, is having a few online accounts on hand to share that electronic card when you are short on time or want to quickly communicate with someone your appreciation.
Here are two that I use on a regular basis:
- Blue Mountain – http://www.bluemountain.com – a yearly fee under $25 for unlimited electronic cards to unlimited number of people.
- JibJab – http://www.jibjab.com-you’ve all see their little elves dancing around with your headshot. They offer a yearly fee and quite a few creative electronic card options.
A few hours of pen on paper and it is amazing how relationships are built, improved and sustained.
In an age where everything is electronic, the personal thank you note has even more power. Just be sure you don’t limit it to a “To:” and “From:” message. Add at least a comment or two with a thought. No one wants to feel like they were just another card in the stack of cards.
