Thank Yous Matter a Great Deal

Each time a person places an order on CloudContacts, they receive an automated "thanks" with information on shipping their cards to us. Each evening I spend time sending personal thank you notes as well to make sure each customer knows I value their business and that service is the most important thing to me.

It's interesting - here in NYC, you rarely get a thank you when you pay for a meal or whatever. But when you do get the thank you, it changes the entire transaction. And it makes me want to do more business with that establishment. So thank you's mean a lot when they are said but can also help build long-term value.

I think that's a great gesture, Allen. It definitely shows that you respect the business you're receiving, and I agree that they build a follow-on value. Glad you stopped by.

Chris - great post, and thanks for sharing the video with David. It reminds me of a post by Seth Godin not too long ago where he talked about adding "friction" back into the process (he was talking about personalizing emails).

I think what @centernetworks is doing is fantastic. It's one thing to get a thank you when you are expecting it. But giving a personalized thank you when it isn't expected (like right after getting an automated email), is where the magic is.

It's hard work - but oh so worth it.

Totally agree, Chris. One of my joys is giving stationery and note cards as gifts: encourages the handwritten practice, I think.

BTW, just had to *chuckle* at the Google Ad with your post in my Google Reader: "Handwritten Thank You": Real people writing your thank yous: Free trial. Truly a must see. www.marketbyhand.com

Anything can be automated, I guess. Peace!

It's amazing what handwritten means today.

Hi Chris

Yes - It's always nice to receive a thank you.

Thank you for your sage advice which I always try to work into our own social mix somewhere.

Whilst you're on your travels in the forthcoming hectic period you mention, one tip I've found enormously useful is this:

When you meet someone in a shop, hotel, restaurant or function and if they're wearing 'obligatory' name badges - use their name when dealing with them - only if it's collecting the keys to your room in a hotel or paying at the supermarket checkout.

Something really magical happens when you use somebody's name - it becomes a much more 'friend - friend' affair rather than a 'worker - customer' relationship, which if we're honest we all tire from occasionally. Infinitely more fruitful and satisfying and much better for business in the long term.

Cheers Chris.
Jonathan.

So true, always has been, always will be.

When I signed up on Twitter in February this year it was suggested that I follow this handful of profiles, which I did and over the course of the next two days I checked out the profiles to get a feel of what Twitter was all about. On day three I read an article in The Times (London) about how Twitter was taking off in the UK and it quoted Chris Brogan. My intial thought, naively, was that CB being in the US wouldn't see the article. So I sent first tweet to Chris including a tiny url telling him about the article. Imagine how I felt when I receive my first reply/mention on Twitter - 'I'm in The Times! Thank you'

So important to me and made me feel good, just like David Garland.

Thank for your words of wisdom Chris - I recently stumbled upon your blog and now it's on my must read list. Please keep it up.

Jonathan, that is so true.

When someone is providing a service to you and you use their first name when speaking to that person. It is the most powerful single word in the World and makes the person hearing it feel wonderful.

After that, it is of course thank you!

Yeah, I completely agree with you. I always say thanks when replying comments. When you say thanks, it also probably means you have got a new loyal reader, I guess :).

Hi Chris,
I agree completely, and I think thank yous are very underused. It's also important to say thank you as a marketing gesture, as I wrote in my blog a few weeks ago: http://wp.me/paBca-7t Thank you reminds the giver that you value his or her contribution, whatever it may be.
Thank you for posting!
Deboarh

A short handwritten note has always been a nice way to truly show your appreciation to someone, and show them you took the time because you are sincere. With so much talk today about new media, your post is a nice reminder there is still a place for some of the old-school ways. The same thought crosses my mind as I coach my clients on using new media to market their businesses. Combine the old with the new.

Thank for your words of wisdom Chris - I recently stumbled upon your blog and now it's on my must read list. Please keep up the great work.

Thanks, Chris. I appreciate you putting this up. Thank you's are so vitally important. Handwritten, emails, in person...no matter the medium it is the thought that counts :)

Couldn't agree more. Saying thank you has to be second nature.

Sending cards and leaving notes is an even more personal/special way to say thanks. I'm guilty of not doing this nearly enough.

The one place I see this at work the most is in my marriage. Giving my wife cards with personal notes in them from me goes a long way. It's the thought and attention that matters.

http://twitter.com/franswaa

I'm a huge fan of handwritten notes and am always floored when one arrives (I even got one from an astronaut who was on my show). I try to send them out too, but my handwritten notes are usually on Crane paper with inkpen. They are that special to me.

Ten years ago (and subsequently), I suggested those in online commerce send a thank you note along with their shipments along with the packing slip. It makes me feel good to know that now that practice is now de riguer.

i would *way* prefer a Candy-Gram

I think it's a great deal very much.

Thank You's absolutely matter. People don't owe you anything. If they do ANYTHING for you, the right thing to do is acknowledge them and let them know you appreciate them and what they've done.

I seem to keep coming back to this phrase, but it's the little, simple things that mean the most. I'm always so touched when I get a handwritten note from someone; it really makes me sit up and take notice.

Writing thank you notes is a lost art. Thank YOU for the reminder. I like to start the "smile experience" right on the envelope with a special stamp. They all cost the same so why not choose stamps that are fun or nostalgic or cause related? Hate going to the Post Office? Order online at www.usps.com.

Hi Chris...I want to say thank you to YOU. I've only been reading your blog for the last few months but I love how you weave in the personal and business elements together. In Gaelic, the literal translation of thank you is "may you have good" often linked with "may you have a thousand goods" and that is what I wish for you. Anne

I think David's thank you was out of the blue. Imagine someone letting you know either way if you got the story or not... Most employers don't even do that and thanking them for their time too. I would be ecstatic too!

I have been sending out Thank You's after every informational interview I have done. I am not sure how this is working because I haven't heard back but I hope I left some kind of mark.

It is always good to get a thank you. I tried getting a friend a job once and she didn't even acknowledge me at all... no thank you not even an email saying she got an interview. Needless to say I was not happy.

Jamie-

Absolutely out of the blue. I figured everyone working hard on whatever it may be deserves a thank you.

I'm a huge fan of handwritten notes too...especially since they are so rare in this digital day and age.

I work in the retail management. I know first-hand that developing a customer base that feels comfortable is crucial in retaining their business. If you can offer them a pleasant experience and they feel important, then they will continue to give you their business.

Great post. We always need to be reminded of the power of a thank you. I find it always makes a difference and even perks people up when they least expect it, i.e. a cashier at a store. I would also place calling people by name up there with thank yous. For example, I always read the nametags of people and refer to them by name, if it is on the phone I write their name down so I will remember it during the conversation. Even though life is crazy for most of us, we all appreciate it when we are treated courteously and should do the same. Thank you for the reminder, Chris.

Great post, Chris! I feel strongly about the power of connection through personal notes (thank you, thinking of you, congratulations, sympathy, thought this would interest you, thought you should know this person, etc...) that I've just started a group on Facebook called Revive the art of personal note-writing! The implications for business use are just as powerful as they are for personal use, and the practice of personal note-writing resonates perfectly with the community and relationship-building revolution opened up by social media technologies. Fascinating the way old and new weave together in wonderful ways...

It's funny, but one thing my wife and I notice every Halloween is how few of the kids in our neighborhood say "thank you" for handing out goodies. So, too, in the "adult" world. We've become conditioned to do nothing when someone does something nice for us, maybe because we figure they've done it with an ulterior motive. But sometimes a nice thing is just a nice thing, nothing more and nothing less.

Wow. Read my mind. I was thinking tonight actually "how to thank Chris Brogan" as I sit here and nod and nod and hmm mmm while paging through and reading Trust Agents. If I thanked you literally every time I apply one of your suggestions, recommendations, tech tips or blogging practice suggestions, whoa nilly, you'd hear a bunch from me.
I recall mid summer thankin ya for posting your 'best of' and links to a ton of how tos
this continues to help me shape my goals and build my web presence. Time and again I'm reminded by you to just BE...be ourselves, be what we're good at, be real. You are defining that for all of us to BE on the web. B/c of you, my hunches have been validated that the web is really about day to day interactions just as we would (hopefully) at any in person gathering.
Here's to an awesome several months of promoting the most real guide for how to BE on the web...Trust Agents. You deserve every nod, hug, handshake, letter of thanks you ever get and then some. :)

I like what you said.

Thanks for this post. It really is powerful. The problem is that most people forget to say thanks because once the moments passed we forget. I do that alot. So for my shameless plug ,(but its free :)), Im a developer on a project called meritbuilder. Its a way to build your brand but at its heart its being able to capture those thanks and also tell others thanks through email, twitter or the meritbuilder site. We run a veterans campaign http://www.meritbuilder.com/veterans and some of the notes that others have left are really inspiring. Check us out. We just launched beta. Thanks. http://www.meritbuilder.com/

I'm learning the importance of saying Thanks.

For now, I'm using the Comment Email Responder plugin to not only reply to my reader's comments on my site, but to also send them an email with the reply.

Making a personal connection is so important!

Great post. Thank You Chris!

Thank You emails/calls/cards can go an incredibly long way and they take only moments to do. The fact that they are so simple maybe the reason they are so easily overlooked. In my opinion, most people assume there is a direct correlation between the time/effort of a task and the benefits (i.e. the more time spent working on something the better/greater the benefits will be). This is definitely true in certain situations, but a thank you card is a great example of the exact opposite. It’s a simple, easy, and quick way to stand out and be absolutely remarkable.

Today, handwritten notes are few and far between. That scarcity magnifies the value and power of handwritten notes. Most people won't rave about a “thank you email” to their friends and colleagues... but a “thank you card” may do the trick.

Also, the time in which the thank you is delivered makes a big difference. Time is critical, especially since we prioritize our activities based on importance. Hence, time equals importance. Sending a thank you as soon as you get the call/order/recommendation/etc increases the impact dramatically.

I have no idea how I missed this when it was posted. I am equal parts appreciative of the mention and embarrassed it has taken me this long to acknowledge it. Thank you Chris. Yes, a creative and heartfelt expression of gratitude always goes a long way. Your reply by mail was delightful. Time to buy some more stamps. Always need more stamps.