Be genuine when sending ‘Thank You’ notes

They’re two very ordinary words — thank you — but they have enormous power.

Used often and appropriately, they can enhance the lives of your clients and staff, increase your profits, build customer loyalty and improve the quality and quantity of your referrals. Thank-yous can position your business ahead of your competitors and provide a buffer against losing clients over minor differences in price, service or opinion. In addition, showing genuine appreciation probably will bring you more joy than any other business activity you’ll ever engage in!

Genuine is the key. I’m not talking about bribing someone to give you a referral. Nor am I talking about one of these impersonal, automatic rewards programs that have become so common in certain industries (airline, hotel, credit cards) they’re no longer a differentiator. Such referral and reward programs might work well for you, but loyalty doesn’t come from a program.

Loyalty comes when people feel valued and appreciated. Psychologist and philosopher William James asserted “the deepest principle of human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” We all want to belong, to feel worthy and to be seen as competent.

Recognizing that fundamental need and deliberately building thank-you processes into our businesses not only makes work more fun but has the side benefit of generating more leads and sales for us.

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