The Value of a Thank You Note January 20, 2010
Posted by Jeff Nolan in Branding, Business Communication, Networking.Tags: Branding, business, Business Communication, business relationships, business technology, communication, thank you, value
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Business technology is evolving every day, so much in fact, that it is often times hard to keep up with it all. Communication is much quicker for business than it was even just yesterday, or the day before that. The simplicity of business communication and the speed at which idea transfer happens, transactions are made and learning evolves, adds a unique complexity to the value of it all. Yes, someone can get a hold of you immediately through email, or respond to your tweet about your philosophy on “social media for brand building and the companies that miss the boat” in an instant, but is there always value in that?
There is so much noise that we are caught up in on a day to day basis. We are bombarded by tens of thousands of brand messages each day. We receive hundreds of emails, phone calls, text messages and tweets, yet often times none of these offer genuine value or interest to you. Sometimes, old fashioned communication is a good thing, it relieves us from the everyday overload of instant communication. Old fashioned communication also has established the foundation for building strong business relationships, and that my friends, should not be taken lightly. Two things I know are true, people like to talk to a friendly voice on the phone and they like to receive personal mail.
There is often a lot of value lost in today’s business communication, because people no longer want to take the time sit down and write a thank you note or spend time checking to see how a friend is doing. I personally love to receive thank you notes, it gives me the feeling that someone took the time to care. Even if you have no particular reason to send a thank you note, find a reason to connect with your network as often as possible, it will benefit you in the long run.
After all, a thank you note has a guarantee that it will not get lost in the shuffle of modern day business communication, because frankly, the USPS isn’t up to speed and that’s not always a bad thing.
Take 5 minutes of your day today, tomorrow or the next day to send someone a thank you note, it is the best branding you can spend 44 cents on.
-Jeff Nolan
Great write up Jeff! Thank you notes are priceless, not to mention very classy!
Thanks for reading Jennifer, they truly are the forgotten piece of brand loyalty. Someone who receives a personal thank you remembers it, isn’t that what you want for your brand?
Good read. Thank yous are very important, and terrific way to connect on a real personal level. I wrote a similar piece here: http://bit.ly/6ti0Km , receiving 7 Thank Yous from Apple. Well done Jobs!
Frypan
Thank you notes – yes. But the occasional “hey, nice to connect with you the other day on the phone, here is my buz card..” – all the time. Easy way to build relationships.
I am guilty of just sending a quick email or tweet to thank someone – friend or client. Your article is a good reminder that I should dust off my personal thank you notes and actually use them again.
I might add, using one of those Pilot pens may get you far. If nothing else, they make the mundane task something special. Go buy a box of em.
So true – the value of a thank !
Thank you so much for posting this blog! It truly is a way to drastically stick out from the crowd and is inexpensive just as you stated! Great post!
-Adrian