Genuine sincerity in expressing our appreciation was imperative. The customer paid our salaries and made it possible for bonuses. They allowed us to have a job that helps put food on the table for our families. However, the importance of saying “thank you” as part of a customer retention strategy is mostly an afterthought. We spend a lot of time coming up with marketing strategies to build our businesses, when the power of a sincere, relevant “thank you” could have solved many a retention strategy.

Studies are being done on the effect that saying “thank you” has on the sender and receiver. They are being linked to helping one live a healthier, happier, smarter, more resilient and less-stressful life. Thank you cards are also a fabulous marketing technique that businesses should be using today. Not only do they break through advertising clutter, they deliver a high impact message at an exceptionally low cost. The power of saying thank you is vastly underestimated.
Why Send A Thank You Card?

First of all, when was the last time you received a thank you card? How did it make you feel? Most people can tell you elaborate stories that surrounded a thank you card they received some time in their life. Sending thank you cards have an impact that very few other marketing techniques can achieve:
1. Expresses A Common Courtesy

Customers really appreciate someone for taking the time to write a thank you card. It expresses your appreciation to those that may help you succeed in the business world. Nothing expresses this appreciation better than a handwritten card. Only 4% of the mail we receive today is personalized. The rest is laser-printed, mass-produced, and largely unread. Research shows that people pay the most immediate attention to handwritten correspondence.
2. Differentiates Yourself In The Marketplace

From a marketing perspective, the fact that so few people take the time to write thank you cards, equates to a golden opportunity for you to differentiate yourself and your business. Thank you cards help you to stand out among other businesses in your industry. They create good-will between you and your customer and they will tell others about what you did for them.
3. Creates Top-Of-Mind-Awareness (TOMA)

Branding is a hot topic today for businesses who want to get and keep customers. Thank you cards can become an advertising vehicle that keeps you top of mind. While other marketing propaganda head directly into the trash, thank you cards stay around for a while. People love getting cards and most people keep thank you cards a lot longer than other mail. You find thank you cards on desks, mounted to bulletin boards, placed on shelves. You and your business get looked at by many more people than the one to whom the card was sent. How often do your other advertising efforts have such a long-lived effect on your target audience?
4. Creates Business Referrals

If your business is top of mind with customers and prospects, it’s more likely your name will be passed on when someone asks them for a business recommendation. A simple thank you card helps you differentiate yourself from other competitors and stay top of mind – perfect ingredients for creating business referrals.
Take Action, Send A Thank You Today!

Only you have the power to make a difference in someone’s life today through using common courtesy that will differentiate yourself in the marketplace and create top-of-mind-awareness and business referrals. Take action today to send a thank you card to a business associate, customer, friend, or referral. You may be amazed at the impact it will have not only on them but on yourself.

Use the headline to share the most exciting benefit of your product.
The Message:

Be sure to include product specifics that will be meaningful to the recipient. Avoid vague generalities.
Include a BIG promise – what your product or service can do for the recipient.

Include a clear offer.
Followed by a specific call to action. Tell the recipient exactly what to do next to get the offer.
“YOU” is a very powerful word in direct marketing. Don’t be afraid to use it.
Lastly, sell the RIGHT thing. Design your message to sell the reader on more information on your product or service rather than trying to close the deal.
The List:

Choosing the right list is critical to your campaign’s success. If you’re using a customer list, make sure the address information is current.
If you’re renting a list be sure to use a reputable list company. Find out where they get names contained in their database. How often is the data updated? What percentage of the list do they guarantee to be deliverable?
When to Mail:

Research shows that direct mail delivered on Saturday and Mondays will get a lower response. Mail delivered on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (in that order) will net the higher response rates.
Tracking:

Don’t forget to use a promotion code. This will give you a way to track the results of your campaign! It’s important to be able to determine if the campaign was a success. The only way to do that is to track the results.
Have a company website? Create a landing page on the website such as http://www.1to1postcards.com/mypromotion. Include this URL on your postcard. The page can be simple information page pertaining to your campaign with links to the rest of your site. The key is using basic tracking software, this will give you another inexpensive way to track the results of your campaign!