As a business owner, you’re always striving to WOW your customers. Most people who know me, and know how I operate my business, realize I’m all about good old-fashioned service. I don’t just think being courteous to others and expressing appreciation is a good idea, I EXPECT IT from everyone on my team. One thing we do is SEND THANK YOU CARDS EVERY WEEK.

 

Before I talk about thank you cards and how simple and effective they can be, let me share a bit more about myself and my background that has led me to this “good old fashioned” service focus . . .

 

When I was barely walking, my parents purchased the Western Auto store in the town I grew up in. They worked hard and the business was a huge part of our lives. I remember how important the customers were to my parents. They didn’t just sell things to them, they got to know them. They helped them. They went above and beyond in so many ways. It never seemed like business/customer relationships. My parents truly enjoyed their customers and cared for them. Dinner table conversations were never complete without the topic of business. And, the Golden Rule (“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”) seemed to be the guiding principle of our family business. Sure, it’s not always that simple. But very often, it can be. And, over the years the business expanded and flourished while that customer focus always remained.  Now, back to “good old-fashioned” thank you notes . . .

 

To stand out from your competition you need to do what other businesses aren’t doing. Whether your competition is a locally owned business, a chain, a big box store, an online business or a combination of all of those, they’re probably not sending thank you notes to their customers. If they are, they’re probably not doing it consistently or adding a personal touch.

 

Here’s what we do at my business . . . once a week one of my team members goes through the prior week’s sales and reprints the receipts for everyone who spent more than a designated amount. This is a pretty simple thing to do using our point of sale system. She then writes the customers’ names and addresses on thank you postcards and places them in small folders based on who made the sales. Each team member has a folder with his/her name on it. Before my team sees them, I look at each and every one of them and add my signature or a note if I connected with the customer the previous week or if I just want to be part of thanking them. Every team member then goes through and signs the thank you cards and we mail them. Sometimes more than one person signs them if more than one person assisted the customer. Sometimes we add personal notes such as “I hope you’re enjoying your new trimmer” or “it was great having you in class.” We then mail them! 

 

We use postcards that have the same message on the address side but have a different “Thank You” graphic on the front. Here’s a picture of our thank you cards:

 

            

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Could we export the customers’ names and addresses from the point of sale system and print them on labels, directly on the postcards or on envelopes?  Sure. Do we want to? NO!

 

Could we simply use our point of sale system to email them a thank you message?  Sure. Do we want to?  Again, NO!

 

Why take the time to hand address each one? Because our customers are important to us. Really important to us. We want to convey that with hand-written notes. Sure, the main message on the postcard is pre-printed. But, the addresses, the signatures, the personal notes take time and our customers take notice.

 

We have actually had customers STOP BY just to THANK US for the THANK YOU CARDS. I’ve been stopped when out in public and thanked for the thank you cards. And, I’m sure the customers leave the thank you cards on their desks, tables or counters so other people can see them which helps promote our brand. And, I’m even more sure that customers tell other people about the nice thank you cards they receive. Again, promoting our brand.

 

So, just to emphasize why you should send thank you cards:

 

 

It doesn’t matter how you send the thank you card, it just matters that you do it! It may be a note inside of an order you shipped. It may be a generic folding thank you card with your business card included. It may be a postcard like the ones we use.  

 

The most important things are:

 

 

Get started now!  Wow your customers with thank you cards. And, enjoy the reactions you receive from your customers!