When was the last time your business sent handwritten notes? If you’re like most businesses nowadays, it has probably been a while.
As more people buy and research products online, businesses continue to put more of their time and money into digital marketing. This isn’t a bad idea—to sell more, you have to meet customers where they are.
But in the race to take their marketing online, businesses are forgetting what a powerful marketing method handwritten notes can be.
You might be thinking, What? How are handwritten notes an effective marketing tool in today’s digital marketplace?
They’re effective because, in the tidal wave of online communication, personalized notes stand out.
Think about the last handwritten letter or card you received in the mail. Did you toss it out immediately with the rest of your direct mail ads? Probably not. You likely opened it, read the message, and smiled.
But don’t take our word for it. The research shows that email has an average 22.7% open rate while the open rate for handwritten letters is 99%. That’s a huge increase!
Handwritten notes convey an individualized sense of appreciation that can’t be replaced with templated emails and mass social media marketing.
Use Handwritten Notes to Engage Current Clients
Mailing notes to current clients is a great way to make them feel seen and appreciated.
You can send handwritten birthday cards if you have their birthday date on file. Even a simple “Thank you for being our customer” goes a long way in communicating appreciation.
When a client receives a handwritten note, they know you took the time to write it out and mail it. And if your business is small enough, consider crafting personalized notes that touch on something specific about the customer.
Handwritten Notes Encourage Feedback
Because clients are much more likely to open a handwritten letter from your business (as opposed to a mass email), notes are a great way to get meaningful feedback.
If you want more data on customer satisfaction, consider sending a thank-you note to a client after they’ve received your product or service. After thanking them for their business, ask them to take a quick survey and give them the URL.
To go this route, make sure you use a simple URL. No one wants to type out a string of 100-plus characters into their browser. If the link to your survey is complicated, use a branded redirect URL with a plugin like Pretty Links or a tool like Rebrandly.
Use Handwritten Notes to Get More Clients
You can also use handwritten notes to seal the deal with potential clients.
After a discovery call or a sales call, send a thank-you note as a simple, personalized gesture of your appreciation for their time.
In that note, you can reiterate the benefits of your products or services. Just make sure to keep the language focused on the client—not how wonderful you are.
You can end the note with a personalized comment and a reminder that you’ll follow up with them to hear their thoughts on a certain date.
Factoring the Cost of Handwritten Notes: Is It Worth It?
You may be wondering about the cost of postage, notecards, and envelopes, not to mention the cost of time. It’s true that mailing handwritten notes has costs that sending an email doesn’t.
On the one hand, there are services that send notes “handwritten” by robots, which can save you time, but they typically cost $1.75 to $2.50 per letter. Plus, they don’t have the same personal feel as a note written by you or someone on your sales team. You can tell the letters are robotically written when you look at them.
If you know handwritten letters are the right marketing move for your team, the trick is buying templates to streamline the process.
Return address stamps and custom signature stamps are a great way to save an extra bit of time writing those handwritten notes without losing the personal touch. In the long run, the time you save adds up.
Purchase your own custom stamps today to streamline the process for your handwritten notes!