The 7 surprising benefits of a 'Thank You Card'

"It is a basic desire of all humans to feel appreciated and yet some give out appreciation as if it were coming straight out of their bank account"

 

 

1.  It makes you more likeable.    It's easy and natural to like anyone who appreciates who we are and what we did. 

 

2.  Thank You Card...is a great marketing tool.    What is the purpose of marketing tools?  To make your client feel positive about you and your company?   A hand written thank you can do that and it costs pennies.

 

3.  It's the classy thing to do.   We are busy and so is our competition.   It's easy to take our employees, clients and peers for granted.   That's what most do...except of course the classy people.   They say thanks sincerely and often.  Want to stand out from the mob...say thank you!

 

4.  Others notice.   Those lucky enough to get great thank you cards often show them off to others.   You create great impressions of yourself by being showing gratitude.

 

5.  Thank you cards have a lasting effect.   I recently saw a thank you card I gave to a friend on his fridge a full year after I originally gave it to him.   A verbal thank you would have been long forgotten. 

 

6.  Big advantage for small business.  Big businesses might send out those generic thank you cards but they rarely hand write a message!  And an ounce of personalization is worth a pound of professionalism. 

 

7.  Prepare to persuade.   So you want to make the big sale?   Research says for most major sales you may have to make 6-7 contacts before you can expect a successful outcome.   To do that you need to leave each contact with your client with a good feeling about you.   Thank them for their time so they will be receptive to another visit.

 

Who to give thank you cards to?

 

* clients

* employees 

* vendors

* friends and family

* peers

* new contacts

* anyone who does you a kindness

 

What to thank them for?

 

*  the businesss

*  their time

*  friendship or loyalty

*  a referral

*  a compliment or testimonial

*  their work (quality, efficiency and effort)

 

Make it special?

 

* hand write a message inside because it makes it more personal

* if your hand writing is not good...print but make it neat or it diminishes the effect

* make the message personal not generic

* take care in picking out your card and don't cheap out (that shows)

* humor goes a long way to warming up the recipient but isn't always necessary and      sometimes is not appropriate...you decide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pssst....thank you for taking the time to read this, it is much appreciated!