The Power of a Thank You

One of the bonuses that comes with the Infoguru Manual is an article about the power of thank-you notes. One customer, Duncan Shaw, recently sent me an email relating how this article had impacted his business.

It was so good I decided to turn it into this week's More Clients:

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In recent years I have observed an increasing reliance on autoresponders, aweber tools and other means for small business owners and marketers to try to leverage their time. This is all well and fine, but this "insert peg in hole" culture has fostered an impersonal and homogenous experience for both clients and prospective clients.

And then we wonder why our professional service businesses are treated like price-driven commodities? Hmm.

Even with vendors I work with only occasionally, I can smell a template email response a mile away, and it makes me think: What, I'm not important enough that you couldn't find 20 seconds to send me a personal email reply?

Anyway, with this in context, the article about Andrea's thank-you note writing practice hit a nerve (in a good way) and it made me think: Who does this today? Hardly anyone, of course. I can count on one hand the number of times I've received a short, thoughtful, hand-written note from someone--but I can also remember who they were and what their business is, to this day.

And people forget about the life-time value of a client's business, not just their first year or two's worth of invoices, so what does this say about that?  

About two months ago I started sending 2-3 short notes daily to vendors, clients, contractors, colleagues, anyone I came into contact with, however minor the occasion. It's important to "smile as you write", as your article suggests, otherwise it will seem like some contrived, dashed off attempt at connecting while trying to do 20 other things at the same time.  

But the exercise has had two effects for me and my company so far:

1) In a very unexpected way, it has made me feel better about myself and my business as a service provider, which bleeds through into the energy I exude all day long.

To anyone who doesn't think it makes a difference in how you walk, talk, and carry yourself and your expressions, I would say try this for yourself and see. I also find myself following through with clients more thoroughly and attentively, and having better focus and productivity.

I think it has something to do with taking a few minutes to *slow down* and give someone your undivided attention. We all crave feeling listened to and acknowledged.

2) On a more tangible level, I have had two important corporate referrals and increased amounts of business from regular clients to whom I've dropped notes in the mail (one of them nearly double).

I have also received expressions of true, bona fide human appreciation from both clients and vendors we work with, whom really will go the extra mile now. Little human touches in the impersonal "we care, but not that much" ocean has an exponential effect on people's desire to know, like, trust, and do business with you.

It simply cements your relationships and builds trust and goodwill.

I want to be clear that while I have become a believer in sending hand-written notes, the object is NOT to simply garner new business or manipulate vendors into putting forth additional efforts; if that's someone's thinking, it will be very apparent and backfire.

The object should be just in doing it itself without expectation of reward or recognition, and let things take care of themselves.

Hope this is of some interest/help; I'm grateful for your work and mission. Having been through the Dan Kennedy's and Jeff Paul's of the world of marketing in earlier years (who know their stuff insofar as making money, certainly), your services and information products ARE unique and invaluable.

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Thank you Duncan. I appreciate it. This is such a great example of how little things can make a big difference. - RM

You can see Duncan's web site at: www.dtstrans.com - DTS Language Services, Inc.

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The More Clients Bottom Line: Taking the extra step to make sincere contact with your customers gives multiple rewards. Write a note today expressing your appreciation. As Duncan said, you'll also feel better about yourself in the process!

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How are you making more personal connections with your clients? Please share on the Blog.

Comments

[Diemiinigug]

Some people pray for more than they are willing to work for.

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[Michael L.]

I couldn't agree more with Duncan. As a professional I use a system called www.hoardclients.com that allows me to send out thank you notes in my own handwriting with a click of a mouse. LOOKS AS REAL AS MY ACTUAL HANDWRITING! Check it out.

[Barbara Langham]

Thank you Robert and Duncan for your musings on thank you notes. You do Emily Post proud. Thanking people in any kind of written communication is rarer and rarer. I'm not as good about it as Duncan, but I keep a box of thank you notes in my desk drawer (as well as a stack of various cards) so they are handy when wanted and thus mouch more likely to go out.
And thanks Kathy and Judy for the sendcards lead. Seems a good resource to have.
In addition, we send congratulations notes to people who win awards or receive promotions. We make no pitch in the note, as it must be a genuine congratulations. If this is a contact we see as potential business, we will find other ways to get before them after a month or six weeks has passed. Send an article of interest, look out for them at meetings, etc. Even if there is no business involved, it helps keep us positively in the minds of our business community. We had a law firm partner call us as a result of a congratulations note particularly because we had not made any pitch in the note. We had 2 years worth of PR support for litigation across several states.
I personally also send an online birthday card to everyone who has shared their birthday with me through PLAXCO or other means. PLAXCO sends me reminder e-mails and others who are members of this contact management system and have used it to keep their information up to date in my database) have the opportunity to put their birthdays into their contact data that comes back to my computer. I've found this a guick positive tool for sending a good wish while reminding the person, I'm here and thinking of them. I always write my own personal note instead of using the script. I've gotten a lot of positive response from these cards, even though they are online. I usually send 5 or 6 a week.
I also send get well notes this way from my Incredimail software when I know someone is sick. It's still better to buy and send the cards. Sometimes I do both. Again, the message is not canned, I write a personal note.
Oh yes, if you haven't seen her cards yet, take a look at Jacquie Lawson's online cards at jacquielawson.com. They are beautiful animations with exquisite detail and cover a variety of occasions. There is a small fee, something less than $10 per year.
So greetings, thank you for sharing, congratulations for your thoughtfullness and do have a splendid birthday celebration when your day comes along -- and celebrate each and every day as if it was your birthday simply because of the joy of being alive.

[Kathy Paauw]

Duncan hit the nail on the head about sending personal handwritten notes. As a productivity consultant and a business & personal coach, I constantly hear two things from my clients: (1) I WANT to stay in touch in a more personal way to build relationships with those I care about -- family, friends, prospects, clients, referral partners. (2) I WISH I had more time to do what I know I need to do to build on those important relationships.

It seems that everyone is short on time, so intention and action don't always meet.

About a year ago I started using a remarkable technology that enables me to log into an account with SendOutCards and select a personal greeting card from 7000+ in stock, or create my own custom card in about a minute. (This is especially fun if I have a photo of my client or prospect -- they LOVE seeing themselves on the front of a card!) Then I type my personal heart-felt message into the card and click SEND. SendOutCards does the rest. They print it USING MY OWN HANDWRITING FONT & SIGNATURE, address the envelope for me, place a real stamp on it, and deliver it to the post office, all for about a dollar.

This is one of the best productivity and relationship-building tools I have ever found. It only takes me a minute to get a card out now. I get cards back in the mail thanking me for my cards!

I really related to what Duncan said about how sending cards makes HIM feel. I'm not sure who benefits more -- me or the recipient. When we take the time to express appreciation, something significant happens. Ever since I started sending cards regularly, both my personal and professional relationships have been positively impacted. If anyone is interested in trying it for free, visit www.sendoutcards.com/6289.

[Samantha Hartley]

How am I making more personal connections with my clients? Well, I've just started an email newsletter, which I think will help. I always feel a one-on-one connection with the people whose newsletters I read, even though they may have thousands of people on their lists.

I also do a lot of thank you notes. In a innetworking workshop I teach, I refer to both handwritten notes and the mere act of following up with someone as differentiators because *nobody* does it. Oddly, you can share this powerful tip with as many people as you like, and your doing it will still be unique, because ... well, you get the idea.

Another thing I've done since leaving my large networking group is arrange small networking lunches with clients, vendors and others (like non-profits) that I feel would benefit from meeting each other. These are stress-free and enjoyable, but serious enough to lead to profitable connections for several involved. It lets my contacts know I'm thinking about them, and it keeps me on everyone's radar screen.

[Judy Murdoch]

Using Send Out Cards.

I've always sent handwritten thank you notes because (1). There's something special about getting a handwritten note in your mail box and (2). I think it's so important to express appreciation to people who have made a postive difference...however small.

Since June I've been using Send Out Cards to send Thank You Notes. What I love about Send Out Cards is that it's as easy as creating an ecard but the recipient receives a real stamped card in their mail box. It allows for far more immediacy because I don't have to fumble around looking for stamps, buying the right card, etc.

Although the cards are not hand addressed it's still a wonderful way to get in touch in a meaningful way and to make people feel special and appreciated.

If you don't send cards because it's simply too much hassle to deal with cards, stamps, messy handwriting, etc, this is pretty darn good solution.

Judy

[Rich Brooks]

First off, nothing I say should be taken as a dismissal of Duncan's opinion; I wholeheartedly agree that a hand written note can cut through the clutter. Who among us doesn't look with incredulity when we receive an envelope with a handwritten address...especially at work!

At my previous company I wrote handwritten notes after each initial meeting I had with a prospect, and often I saw those thank you notes tacked to bulletin boards for years after. It left as big an impression on me as it obviously did for the recipient.

However, autoresponders play an important role in online communication. They let the site visitor know that an action he/she has taken has been noticed. That their completed form didn't disappear into the ether. As site owners we just need to make sure we follow up with these prospects and clients with a human-generated note afterwards.

I also believe that when using AWeber, Constant Contact or any other autoresponder/email service provider, the very first thing you need to do is delete the generic text the company provides and write your own.

This is what we call "hidden text," as you often don't see it on your Web site, but your prospects do. If your company has a personality, whether it's humorous, straight-laced, laid back, professional, etc., these "hidden text" messages are where you can differentiate yourself from your competition.

That being said, Duncan nailed it as far as finding an old school way of connecting with his customers. Now I just have to go practice my penmanship.