Do Clients Deserve Thank You Notes?

Thank you notes have always been a communications tool in the professional services industry. Many people routinely have done this throughout their careers, but not many firms have made it part of their culture.  In our digital age, this form of client communication has become an endangered species. However, it is still an opportunity to make a great impression, especially when you realize how rarely your clients receive a handwritten note.  A well written thank you is so rare in the Twitter and social media era that the sender stand heads and tails above his competition. Rarer still is a handwritten note from a principal, partner or owner. When the sender is a busy professional, handwritten notes are so remarkable that they easily earn respect and admiration.

The boomers in firms understand how to write a thank you note, but the other generations working with you might not.  Therefore, I will spend some time illustrating how to write one.

First, we must consider consistency and making this tool part of the corporate culture. A few years ago, I consulted with an engineering firm that used this tool for the one large trade show they attended each year.  The president required all staff attending to write thank you notes to everyone they had contact with during the show.  He even asked for copies of all notes that had been written.  However, this was the only time of the year that staff was compelled to write thank you letters. Obviously, there are other times when thank you notes are in order. Consistency is the key to making this part of the corporate culture.

Like any good thing, overuse can wear out its usefulness.  Therefore, be consistent but not overbearing or your notes will not have the intended  impact.

"Overcoming Communication Barriers to Improve Service" is a training program I developed for professionals in the parking industry a few years ago.  Since then, several other firms have asked me to present it to their firms as well.  One area of relevance for this message is the topic of "Noise."

How many tweets, emails, advertising messages, phone calls and other communications do your clients receive each day.  How does your marketing message filter through the noise?  When you are consistent with all of your messaging, you stay on top of the client's mind.  When you take the time to prepare handwritten notes, you evaporate the noise.

The first rule in writing a handwritten thank you note is correct spelling.  Remember, this is not Twitter or a text. Don’t abbreviate words or leave out punctuation marks. Take your time.  Write the message on a blank piece of paper first.  This way you are sure the words make sense and you won’t be thinking about the next sentence while you misspell a word in the first sentence.  Grammatical mistakes and misspelled words will not build confidence but instead cause clients to have negative feelings.  Please don’t use that as an excuse not to write.

The second rule is to print professional correspondence cards with your firm name and logo. A large “Thank You” or “Thinking of You” can be printed on the cover. 

Why is a “thank you” even necessary? In our busy culture, the thank you seems to have garnered second class status.  Managers often forget to thank staff for the work they do. Many firms host holiday events to thank clients for retaining them in the prior year but have no plan for thanking them during the rest of the year. The holiday event becomes an expected tradition. Perhaps some firms believe the good work they do is the only "thank you" a client is looking for.  That might be a good line in a staff pep talk, but it doesn’t go to the heart of client retention.  Every firm is looking for lifetime clients.  Your good work might be a thank you for receiving the current project but it doesn’t guarantee your firm the next project. The bottom line: our clients are people who like to be recognized.

You might have a relative like my grandmother.  On birthdays, she would always tell everyone she didn’t want a party and gifts were not necessary.  Yet, when the party happened and gifts were given, her eyes lit up and a few tears could be seen trickling down her cheeks.

That is the biggest bonus of a handwritten thank you note.  Clients don’t expect it.  Clients would never ask for it.  Yet, when they receive one, they hold the sender in awe because they have done something few others do. 

Although I have concentrated on the “Thank You” note, personal notes can be written for a variety of reasons.  Here are a few examples:

• Congratulations over a promotion, company milestone, anniversary, birthday, marriage, or other important event.
• Notice of the person being mentioned in the newspaper or trade magazine.
• A stated desire to stay in touch after meeting someone at a networking event.
• A brief reminder of your tremendous experience working with him.
• Appreciation for the introduction he/she made for you
• A compliment about a child (sports, graduation, national honor society, etc.)
• A bereavement note to a client who lost a loved one.

Want to really differentiate yourself from the competition today? Write a meaningful, handwritten thank you note. It is easy to begin.  Push your keyboard away, turn off  the tablet and IPhone,  and write one or two sentences—by hand.  The reaction of your client will be priceless.