This post is originally from 2012, however the elements included are still true in 2016.
Over the past few weeks you have been receiving presents and cards from friends and family as well as people you do business with on a regular basis. For the most part this is kept to the holidays as a way of saying thanks. However like the New Year’s resolution you set just a few of days ago why do we limit it to just this time of year. The end of the year and the start of the year marks a set time in our mind where we perform tasks like saying thanks. Let’s look at the resolution you created earlier this week. If the resolution was so important why didn’t you start it on any other day instead of waiting until the first of the year?
As I looked at the holiday greetings I received this holiday season, I have noticed the difference between a card received via “snail mail’ and one which was sent in an e-mail or even yet a link to a web page with a generic holiday greeting. This is one of the first years I have really have noticed the difference between getting a note in the mail and one electronically.
At the gallery which I own in Denver, this season I received one holiday card in the mail and countless others by e-mail. The one card which I received in the mail hung alone for a few weeks waiting for others to join it, but the only greetings were via e-mail and after a quick scan they were quickly deleted from my inbox. I can clearly tell you the name of this individual who sent the holiday card and if they inquire about having a show at the gallery in the future it may help them get added to the schedule. Should preference be given to someone who sends a physical card versus an electronic card? The process of communicating with a potential business partner is to make yourself memorable when doing so, and in this instance the physical card was memorable. Will this be the same in 2012? Most likely it will be, but I will find out in less than a year from now.
I know there is much discussion these days about being green and stewards for the environment when it comes to printed items. This is the reason why a lot of people have moved to the electronic or ‘e’ method of saying thanks at the holidays or at any time during the course of the year. Or is it for other reasons, including the savings in purchasing cards or even more so the speed in which the electronic cards can be sent quickly removing one additional task from our busy lives. Hopefully this is not the same way you are treated when doing business with this person.
The bottom line is customer service is king in today’s business place. Taking the time to write a thank you note is something which is appreciated by the person who received the card. Who knows, one of those business cards you include in a handwritten thank you note can make it to some they know resulting in a new customer for you this year. I am sure that alone will be worth the couple of minutes which is took to say thanks.
If you do want to have a resolution for 2012 2016, why not make it setting aside fifteen minutes each week and writing a handwritten thank you note.