Think back to the last thank you note that you got after a purchase… was it a surprise?

The last one I got was a humdinger. The salesperson remembered details about the next trip I mentioned in conversation, and wished me a safe trip and reminded me about his favorite restaurant in the city I was going to… as well as sincerely thanking me for my business. I felt great about doing business with that firm and I'll go back.

Thank you cards are a business multiplier that I'm sure that you've heard about and probably ignored. Most companies do ignore it and that's a big mistake.

In the battle for a small slice of your customers mind share, why not take advantage of this little step, that is easy to implement and highly differentiates you from your competition? When was the last time you received a hand written, personalized thank you card from a business that you purchased from? It was memorable, wasn't it?

Thank you cards are only effective if your business provides good value products and services. Le'ts just assume that your business does that. Thank you's cement the sale, they differentiate you from all the competitors for your customers mind share and they anchor and amplify the good feeling of having done business with you in your customers mind.

To be effective, the best thank you cards are hand written, have a heart felt thank you and include a sincere expression of well wishes that is reflective of your customers life. For instance if you learned that they were going on a trip or that their child was going off to university, you wish the best with those experiences. 

If there is any other way that you can be helpful to them, this is the place to offer that information. Great practitioners of this art will go to great length to be helpful in the thank you card. It is worth extra effort in the long run.

Thank you cards are also a great place to include a customer survey. You can use a check box system along with space for customer comments. Use a preaddressed and stamped self mailer on the opposite side.

Stand out from the crowd by using personalized, hand addressed and hand written thank you cards. You'll be amazed at the results.