Normally I wouldn’t expect a pizza joint to make me sit back and say, “Hmmmm, this is a great idea to connect with customers and improve business.” It is, after all, just a pizza joint, albeit one with a damn good pizza.
But the other day I received a thank you card. A hand-written thank you card no less, from Mafia Mike’s Pizza on Cooper Road in Gilbert.
It’s not the free order of amazing cheesy breadsticks that makes me go “Hmmmm” (though as I noted in my review on Yelp, they are rather tasty). It’s the fact someone took the time to hand-write a note, hand-address it, and put it in the mail. You know, the real U.S. Postal mail.
Of course the hand-written note is nothing new. It is not like this is some new-fangled marketing technique that is going to take the business world by storm.
Why does it work? It is personal, it reaches out and connects. It says “thank you for your business” and “we appreciate you” in a way few other methods can touch.
That’s pretty smart business.
When is the last time you wrote a thank you card?
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Hey Jay,
I write notes all the time, at least 3 a day. Really makes a difference to the recipient and it reminds me how much I appreciate them. Thanks for the post. I wish more people would write them.
Joe Sheehan
It’s been far too long since I’ve written a thank you note (aside from thanking for the opportunity of a listing presentation but that’s really self-interested). I have received a few and they are *wonderful*!
I’m with Kathleen – been too long since I’ve written one. That must be an amazing pizza joint. All I have to say is “They Get it.”
Great post.
In my twenties, I travelled with the sales trainer Tom Hopkins. He was a big proponent of thank you notes and I’ve witnessed their effectiveness for many years now. I taught my children to use them and they too have been stunned how impactive they can be. Best use is to send the card *the same day* as the meeting, phone call, etc. For local purposes, the recipient will usually get the note the very next day – a pleasant surprise, and one that speaks volumes about the sender. It’s still a beautiful instrument for human connection and something very few of your competitors will ever do.
That’s absolutely great! I, personally, write a note at least once a week. Thanks for sharing.
That is pretty cool for a pizza shop to do. I mean they sell $15 pizza pies and a lot of them to stay in business. I can’t imagine them sending personal thank you to each customer. But, maybe you are like the Ralph Drable (http://comics.com/Drabble/2008-11-30/) where the donut shop has him on speed dial to let him know a warm batch just came out of the oven.
My pizza shop gives away magnetic calendars and I send one of mine to his home address. I do not expect him to ever list or buy real estate with me since his wife has a license – but, stranger things have happened to me. Besides, I think I was the only patron to bring in a coupon from the Acme grocery store – he printed them on the back of the receipt – for a discount on my pizza.
Did I ever tell you – “I’m cheap.”
Great customer service that is for sure.
Five a day, five days a week … I’m a new convert but the response has been amazing.
Writing personal notes of thanks are a powerful way to reach out to those who we serve or are served by. I make it a point to do it in reverse. If I get great service or discover a good product I like to send a note to let someone know. I try to make it specific by praising a sales person or server by name to make sure they get congratulated by their boss.
The hand written note is not new, but in this world of tweets and other impersonal modes of communication, it is becoming the most appreciated form of communication. Why? Because everyone has the same 24 hours in a day and by writing out a note you take your most valuable commodity and use it or spend it on someone else.
Writing a message sounds so simple but in a technological age it feels like words are nothing more than taping keys to create words. Thanks for taking it back to basics.
The hand written note is an art that has been almost lost in our fast paced society. My wife writes 90% of the notes from our family…So, if you receive a note written by me you are very special—or my wife forced me to write it
I completely agree. I have bought myself a nice stack of branded note cards. It’s a challenge to continually write people, but I think it’s well worth it. It’s a rare thing these days.
It’s not just the note, its who it came from. A pizza joint stepping outside the box – innovative in a basic kind of way.
This is what the Buffini programs really push. It is definitely worth the few minutes it takes.
Hi there. I loved the post about the lost art of the handwritten thank you note. Take a moment to visit my blog to see how I have successfully integrated thank you notes and personalized greeting cards into my real estate business to build relationships and a referral based business…Low tech-high touch contacts rule!
What a simple good idea. I just emailed my co-workers here at Brewer Caldwell . I hope they agree and give it a shot. I really think something like this makes an impression on a client that they remember. I’m gonna go to Mafia Mikes just because of this article and the note above.
This marketing approach is very under-utilized. A handwritten note is so personalized that is makes people take notice and actually read it. In this fast paced internet age, it’s nice to see people taking the time for something like this. The results for their business should be great.