The Power Of A Handwritten Note

[BentNibs]

Hello! I decided to do a little experiment with my work after noticing most of the packages i received from online orders came with some form of a pre-canned thank you note. Here are the (loose) results.

 

Back story: I own a chain of gaming stores (think Magic the Gathering, video games..you name it. Anything gaming under the sun). We ship a very large volume of packages daily. Some games require a good amount to go along with it. Once someone buys the 60-100ish (out of a pool of over ~35k cards so it can be hard to buy local) cards they need for a deck they need dice, deck box, play mat..etc so it generates a lot of separate orders.

 

I gave everyone of my staff that deals with shipping a fountain pen and let them choose from several inks. I gave the instructions that every package they ship whether its a 0.10 card or a 2,000 card they will write a customized thank you. It had to be at minimum 2 sentences and it had to be creative. Everyone and i mean everyone complained about the time it would take and what a waste it was citing that most people just toss the extra notes to the side when ordering. I stood my ground and told everyone to have some fun with it.

 

We typically include a plastic card that has our info on it and can be used in a few of the card games as well and it cost ~0.12 each. So i have pretty good data of turn over rates with that configuration so that is what i am comparing to.

 

We will use the example of a female employee, we will call her Christie. Christie chose a pink ink and wrote messages like "thanks for buying this dude, now my boss will allow me to work another day! Buy some more!" and other half sarcastic funny phrases.

 

Another employee wrote things like "this (insert item) was blessed by a goblin warlock! May you always win!".

They all signed it Thanks/Thank you. Some even made up funny job titles in their signature block "Head Goblin Lackey".

 

I never have taken myself or my business too serious. I sell games. Games are fun. Pretentious is not the key.

 

I did not expect the results. The return sales rate took a large jump. People included comments in their orders like "So Christie can work another day", "Free the head goblin lackey". Some actually responded by sending in emails to customer support saying thank you for the personalized note.

 

So...you guessed it. We are going to keep this policy in place. The time/cost of sending personalized handwritten notes is small compared to the repeat sales gained from it.

 

TLDR: Don't send printed thank you notes. Send personalized handwritten notes.

 

I found this interesting and really didn't expect the results to be as profound as they were. Especially considering the demo of my customers are usually younger-middle aged i didn't think they would appreciate a hand written letter as much.

 

For the paper junkies, we use Tomoe river.

Edited January 15, 2018 by BentNibs

[Scylax]

Awesome! I just love this, and I don't think it's that surprising really, but some of the creativity it's bringing out in your staff may be a brilliant unexpected bonus

[BentNibs]

Awesome! I just love this, and I don't think it's that surprising really, but some of the creativity it's bringing out in your staff may be a brilliant unexpected bonus

They are actually enjoying it to some extent now. I don't police what they write. Just tell them remember it could be a 5yo or a 90yo buying it for their grandchild. Be respectful and have fun. Some are drawing quick little pictures etc. Some change their ink color out a few times a day etc. I think part of it is the psychology of taking ownership of it. When you send someone a package that has a pre-canned pre-printed thank you the buyer doesn't know who packaged it. You are hiding behind that pre-canned statement. Now that they write their own thank you and sign it they know the buyer knows who packaged it so they are putting more care into how the package looks (aligning labels etc). So thats a bonus too.

[AAAndrew]

Excellent! Great idea, and I am pleased, but not really surprised, by the result. We are so used to the impersonal, the template, the computer-generated, that we forget even when real humans were involved, like packing a box for shipping. this note both reminds the customer, but also the packer that there is a human on the other end of the transaction.

 

Thanks so much for sharing! (and game on!)

[Runnin_Ute]

Very cool. The fact that the staff has bought in comes through in the notes they do too, I imagine.
The reason it happens, is it is personal and different than what "everyone else does". Does it take a few more minutes a day to pack and ship the same number of packages? Maybe. But the end result is worth it. And not just in increased sales from your current customer base. They will tell their friends and your customer base will grow as well.

Keep up the good work!!

Edited January 16, 2018 by Runnin_Ute

[Glenn Atkins]

Goulet Pens does something similar.

 

Glenn

[IndigoBOB]

Love it!

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi BentNibs, et al,

 

My customers are other industrial businesses, (and even in that gritty milieu); it's an effective technique.

 

Under my expert tutelage, I recommend what inks to use... ones that will best match their corporate colors... and one of the secretary's, Dolores, (who has a beautiful hand), writes them out.

 

Like you, the effort has been favorably noticed.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

[BentNibs]

Hi BentNibs, et al,

 

My customers are other industrial businesses, (and even in that gritty milieu); it's an effective technique.

 

Under my expert tutelage, I recommend what inks to use... ones that will best match their corporate colors... and one of the secretary's, Dolores, (who has a beautiful hand), writes them out.

 

Like you, the effort has been favorably noticed.

 

Be well.

 

 

- Anthony

Thank you for your advice! I did think about that but ultimately i wanted the person to shine through with their personal ink choice. The company shines through via every other facet in the interaction the final face is the person that packs it up for them and makes the follow up call. Don't believe me? Let one of your employees empty a few hairs in the box or package something in a way that the person implicates the business and the packer. The ink choice says so much about the person too. Most of the female employees are gravitating towards what would be considered girly colors while the guys are going after odd colors.

 

The funniest thing in my eyes is the fact that we spent a kings ransom having the plastic cards we usually include in the box made and they have become desirable to the extent people buy them from us. We risked getting sued and annoyed legal over them for weeks...But yet we still get a more favorable response with good ole pen to paper.

Edited January 16, 2018 by BentNibs

[Bisquitlips]

I have received a few handwritten notes in with some pens I acquired in the last year or so and they inspired me to begin doing the same thing.

 

With any pens or actually any pen related items I sell I send a little handwritten note of appreciation in the package. I purchased some lovely note envelopes on Ebay from China for just a few dollars and I have to say I absolutely love writing that note to the buyer. They may not appreciate it, but to me it gives my sold item a polished finish.

 

To me, there is nothing like receiving a handwritten thank you note. And I have to say it is just as enjoyable including one in my packages to buyers.

 

This art is not dead!

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12PCS-set-Retro-Mini-Paper-Envelopes-f-Postcard-Christmas-Birthday-Card-Letter/151685008150?hash=item2351218b16:g:sjEAAOSwstxVWUoN

 

Envelopes.... Any card stock will do for the note.

Edited January 16, 2018 by Bisquitlips

[SoulSamurai]

I enjoyed this thread, it's nice to hear that a personal touch is still valued.

 

By the way, do you carry Warmachine?

[mitto]

interesting read. Being an author myself I have been receiving Complementary Copies of books with personal notes from authors - not known to me previously in most cases - and I adore such books. These make me feel as if I have a special bond with those authors.

Edited January 16, 2018 by mitto

[Fermata]

And speaking of handwritten notes.

 

It is a concern that Catherine can spell assassins correctly but not failed.

[ParkerDuofold]

Hi Parkette,

 

I'd be less concerned about the spelling and more concerned about getting "black rose" greetings from my little kid.

 

 

- Anthony

 

 

ETA:

Edited January 16, 2018 by ParkerDuofold

[requiescat]

This is so great. Even very short personalized, handwritten notes like those from Goulet Pens or some eBay and Etsy sellers really make me think more positively of the transaction. (Some of the Japanese sellers I've dealt with raise this to an art--little samples of washi tape, small bookmark type things, etc.) Thank you for telling us about this, BentNibs, and may your game store prosper! (I don't play as often as I used to, but I have been a gamer most of my life.)

[CraigR]

Excellent testimony for the value of a hand written note or card. We humans still like a personal touch from another human. The opportunities to creatively use our pens, inks, and papers are endless.

[ISW_Kaputnik]

Mixed feeling on this.

 

I like the results. And I like the idea of giving your employees fountain pens for work related purpose.

 

As a lifelong employee rather than business owner, I find "fun boss ideas" like this increasingly irritating as I get older. If you don't understand why, it's probably impossible to explain. On the other hand, when these fun boss ideas actually work, there's no point in arguing.

 

As a potential customer, well, I'm not really a potential customer for video games. When a seller for the things I do buy includes a personalized thank you note in the package, I'm not aware of being affected in any way, positive or negative. YMMV

[AAAndrew]

I'm with you on many of the "fun boss ideas" I've experienced over the years. This one, as they go, was a relatively easy and light-weight one. It gave the employees a lot of flexibility to adapt it to their particular style and quirks (within reason). It didn't add a huge extra burden (just thinking about some "fun boss ideas" around gathering and reporting metrics I've had the misfortune to be a part of), and after it became clear that it had a positive impact on sales, which is good for everyone in the company, it should motivate the employees to see it as of value. The worst "fun boss ideas" are the ones that require effort for no discernible value.

 

And not even really good ideas can please everyone. It's about trends and averages that determine benefit, not absolutes. Like some people really like the candy put into some vendors' packages, while it doesn't do anything for me since I don't eat it. As you say, YMMV.

 

Andrew

[inkstainedruth]

Goulet Pens does something similar.

 

Glenn

 

Yup. I kept the one invoice from them with a drawing of Batman that Drew made. Just for the artwork.... Of course, the fact that they're also saying what the ink is is just free advertising....

@ Parkette -- that note is *hilarious*....

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[BentNibs]

Mixed feeling on this.

 

I like the results. And I like the idea of giving your employees fountain pens for work related purpose.

 

As a lifelong employee rather than business owner, I find "fun boss ideas" like this increasingly irritating as I get older. If you don't understand why, it's probably impossible to explain. On the other hand, when these fun boss ideas actually work, there's no point in arguing.

 

As a potential customer, well, I'm not really a potential customer for video games. When a seller for the things I do buy includes a personalized thank you note in the package, I'm not aware of being affected in any way, positive or negative. YMMV

 

Understood. I am not your stereotypical boss that is out of touch with reality when it comes to my employees. I am a grade-A work-aholic. On top of owning stores (which i started on my own, no inheritance or other means) i was active duty for almost 13 years. I get exactly where you are coming from. I myself have participated in many "Fun runs" and got voluntold more times than i can count. I think a good leader among other things is one that knows when they are pushing their own weaknesses on others. I have to be going 24-7. If i am not stressed with my plate full constantly i am not content. That same approach to life when pushed on others is a no go.

 

Point is, i don't push meaningless tasks on anyone. I know they say no one cares about your money as much as you do and no one is going to be as good of a steward as you are of it but i have an extreme hands off approach. I let them create buy in. I let them take ownership of the processes that will lead to success or failure and i stand behind them when they run over the former. So its all checks and balances. They dont get sour with me because they know for every 1 thing i push i let them author or own several things of their own. Creating work just to create work is a rabbit hole that burns everyone involved out.

Edited January 16, 2018 by BentNibs