Written by: Matt Heinz
It’s a lost art, but can quickly become your secret weapon. Few people take the time to send hand-written notes anymore, but they can have amazing power. Perhaps more than ever before, they stand out and make you look really good. And if used effectively – in the right contexts and timed well – they can help you win and influence more business as well.
Here are a few examples to get you started. Why not use the last few weeks of the year to start a new habit?
By the way, if you don’t feel like you have time to write them yourself, try MailLift . It works brilliantly.
Executive thank you notes: Encourage your management team to write quick, hand-written notes to customers and top prospects. It can be a simple “thank you for your business” or “thanks for attending our event.” Just a couple lines, a couple times a week, can go a long way. Gift promo codes: Thank loyal customers with a surprise coupon and a hand-written coupon code. I’ve actually tested coupon codes delivered via a machine-printed letter and a hand-written letter. The huge increase in conversion rate made taking the time to write notes worth it (especially if you outsource that effort to an intern or admin or MailLift ). Customer service follow ups: Put a stack of note cards and envelopes next to the desk of your high-touch customer service reps. Encourage them to write a short thank you note to customers after a good call, including their business card or a branded sticker or something fun. Event attendee follow ups: Divvy up the cards between those who attended the show or staffed the book, and have people knock them out on the flight home. Have an admin or intern coordinate getting them stamped and mailed. Job candidates: It’s a good practice for candidates to send thank you notes to prospective employers. But what about sending a thank you note to candidates you’re wooing and recruiting? It says something about the culture you have, and just might help sway your preferred candidates to come on board.
Of course, sending a hand-written note is more time consuming than firing off an email or social media message. How do you lower that barrier and increase your likelihood of making it a regular habit?
Have note cards and envelopes ready and nearby: If it’s as easy are reaching into a drawer, you’re far more likely to write something than digging through a closet or wondering what you should wrote on. Simple cards with your logo in a corner should suffice, but even generic non-branded cards are fine. Have postage: Stick a pack of forever stamps next to those note cards. Create a daily reminder: I use my daily do list , but you can use whatever system keeps you organized (calendars, task lists, etc.). Tip of the iceberg, these ideas are. What else can you think of? How could you start leveraging hand-written notes to drive your business objectives?
