Three Ways Thank-You Cards Can Increase Business

Thank-you cards are excellent ways to express sentiments, but did you know they can also increase business? In fact, sending thank-you cards to your customers is one of the best ways to establish and maintain relationships, build customer loyalty and ultimately boost sales. Here are three creative ways you can use thank-you cards to bolster profits.

Thank-you cards as gifts

Your current customers are the foundation of your success, so it's prudent to thank them for their business by sending thank-you cards as gifts. You can include a gift certificate to a hot restaurant, a voucher for a free product or service, or some other gift that is altruistic in nature. You could send a coupon incentive, but in most cases you're better off thanking your customers with something that they do not have to buy something else to get. If you can make your free gift relevant to your business, by all means do so.

Thank-you cards as coupons

If you host seminars, conferences, trade shows or other events then follow up by sending thank-you cards to attendees. Include a coupon for a discounted product or service, a free trial or even a free product to encourage purchases. Remember that repetition is one of the keys to direct-mail marketing success, so your thank-you card might be the first in a series of mailings. If you do not make a direct sale off of the first thank-you card, but have a direct response mechanism, you can fine-tune the quality of your mailing list over time.

Thank-you cards as appointment cards

Another creative way to use thank-you cards to boost business is to turn them into appointment cards. Simply make one panel a clip-off postcard with fields your recipients can fill out and drop in the mail to set up a free consultation or other type of appointment. You can send these thank-you cards at any time to current customers and new prospects, especially following events such as trade shows, seminars and conferences. You can further increase your odds of winning business with thank-you cards by printing them on high-quality paper stocks, such as super-thick 16-point gloss cover or 13-point  recycled matte cover, and adding elegant, professional touches such as foil stamps, machine folding and printing them in extra large sizes. Such methods improve the appearance and attention-getting properties of your thank-you cards, and therefore influence customer purchase decisions by lending trust and credibility to your business. Customer appreciation is one of the best ways to build and maintain lasting, profitable relationships. Few efforts have as much influence to that end as sending unsolicited thank-you cards to your customers and potential customers. Make your customers feel special, and they'll want to buy from you time and time again.