THE UNEXPECTED "THANK YOU"

 

A Personal Letter of Thanks Can Create Lasting Relationships. So Why Not Send Those Letters to the Most Important People in Business--Your Customers.

I bought my first new car when I was 21 years old. It was a

bright red convertible. Along with the joy of owning my

dream car came the responsibility of paying for it. I

remember how the feeling of "buyer's remorse" plagued me for

days after I drove the car off the dealer's lot. ("Buyer's

remorse" is what we feel after making an impulsive decision

-- until we can justify our decision with logical reasons.)

 

About a week later I got a personal letter from Ray, the

salesman who sold the car to me. He thanked me for the

business and congratulated me for making such a wise

decision. He then went on to list all the benefits I'd enjoy

as a result of my wise decision. Ray's letter didn't change

the car payments I faced for the next 3 years. However, it

did change the way I felt about them. I lost my buyer's

remorse almost immediately. Ray's letter also changed the

way I felt about him. I bought three more cars from Ray during

the next 10 years.

 

I used versions of Ray's "thank you" letter throughout my

business career. They helped preserve a considerable amount

of business. They also helped solidify many valuable

business relationships.

 

 

BENEFITS OF THE UNEXPECTED "THANK YOU"

 

How would you react if you received a personal "thank you"

from a company or person a few days after you spent money

with them? You'd feel good and probably want to do more

business with them sooner rather than later. Why not give

that same feeling to the most important people you know --

your customers.

 

Here are some benefits you gain when you send a personal

"thank you" to a customer or client who just gave you

business...

 

 

** You reduce or lower any buyer's remorse your customer or

client feels after their purchase.

 

** You develop a closer relationship with your customer.

 

** You gain free word-of-mouth advertising when your

customer tells everybody about your unexpected "thank

you" letter and how good they feel about doing business

with you.

 

** You have an opportunity to resell more (or other)

products or services. You can even promote this by

including a special price or discount offer in your

"thank you" letter.

 

** You enhance your image as a consumer-oriented business.

 

Your unexpected "thank you" doesn't have to be lengthy. You

don't have to write it individually for each customer or

client. You can use the same text for everybody with just a

few minor changes -- like inserting the customer's name.

 

You don't even have to take the time to type envelopes and mail

letters. You can send your "thank you" by fax or email. Just

be sure to personalize it as much as possible.

 

 

EXAMPLES

 

If you've ordered books on the internet from Amazon.com, you

received a good example of an unexpected "thank you" letter

by email. Their "thank you" email message even includes the

titles of other books you can order on the same subject.

 

I spoke with an MLM distributor several weeks ago who sends

what she called a "congratulatory letter" to all her new

distributors 2 days after they sign up. In it she repeats

the specific goals stated by the new distributor before

signing up and includes a brief description of how he or she

will now be able to achieve them.

 

Most buying decisions are made on impulse. Only after buying

do we look for logical reasons to justify our decision. You

can help your customers with this by including all the

benefits they'll gain from your product or service in an

unexpected "thank you" message. These benefits are what

initially compelled them to buy. Repeating these benefits

reassures them of the wisdom of their decision. It can even

reduce or eliminate cancellations or refunds.

 

©1999 by Bob Leduc

 

Bob Leduc retired from a 30-year career of recruiting sales

personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales

Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business

owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With

Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help

small businesses grow and prosper. For more information...

Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards".

Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time)

Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133

 

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