A great article with stats from my friend, Terry...
The Marketing Power of Appreciation
Recently I was going through my business mail and found what looked like a greeting card. Curiosity peaked as I opened the envelope. It wasn't my birthday, anniversary or any special day that I could think of. Imagine my surprise when a lovely card emerged from the envelope. I was incredulous as I read it. It was given to me by a close friend congratulating me on my hiring the perfect intern from a local university! My friend also sent my intern a card congratulating her on accepting the position. That acknowledgement felt so good!!! It really set the tone for the entire internship. The wonderful feeling of that moment returned again and again when my intern and I spoke about that simple act of kindness.
That card got me thinking. It’s important to me that others experience the same feelings of appreciation I did from my friend’s warm acknowledgement. It just felt so good!
Writing thank you notes after interviews, meetings, networking events, and sales calls creates feelings of appreciation. It says a lot about the sender's professionalism. How would you feel getting a card from a restaurant, hotel, doctor’s office, lawyer's office or retail store saying, “Thank you. We appreciate your business?” Would you return? Most people would. At least you would certainly remember them and be more open to accepting their next call. What a great marketing and customer service idea! But you say, “I don’t have time to write out cards. That’s nonsense touchy-feely stuff.” You may want to rethink that notion.
If you are job hunting, pay attention to the following power a simple thank you card has. In a survey done in 2005 by www.CareerBuilder.com, it was found that:
- Nearly 15 percent of hiring managers would reject a job candidate who neglected to send a thank-you letter after the interview
- 32 percent said they would still consider the thankless prospect, but that their opinion of him or her would diminish
- Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of managers prefer a handwritten thank-you note.
- 21 percent seek a typed hard copy
- 19 percent accept an emailed thank you that is followed up with a snail-mailed letter
Ironically, statistics show that 90% of job candidates don’t send thank you letters or cards after interviews. Ouch!
Now there is no excuse for anyone not to send a note. I found a system that will remind you about upcoming birthdays and enable you to send an unexpected card everyday to people you care about. Imagine following up with customers or interviewers in less than 60 seconds! Do you think that would make a difference in your business or job search? You bet it would!
As an executive and stress management coach I’m all about improving productivity and energy, saving time, feeling good and having fun. This new card system maintains your contacts and increases your sales and marketing teams’ professionalism by helping them say thanks in a printed, quality card sent easily and quickly from any computer. How easy is that! No more going to the store to search for the perfect card, buying stamps and driving to the post office. Sending a quality, customized “thanks for the referral” card, “thanks for the meeting” card, or “congratulations” card, or your choice of any of the beautiful 2000 cards in this system, requires only a simple click of a computer button. The next step is to sit back with the satisfaction of knowing that your client or prospect will soon receive a beautiful quality card delivered via US Mail.
I love the power of technology and how it can help any business deliver superior customer service and share feelings of appreciation with others EASILY!!!!.
By now I’m sure you are wondering what is the name of this system that will make acknowledging others fun, stress free and most rewarding. Go to www.SmileInitiative.com and try it out yourself!
Positively,
Terry Wildemann, CPCC, CEC, CPBA
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