Sending personalized thank you cards is a dying art. However, the feelings that come when you know you're appreciated remain the same. By using thank you cards for business, you can show appreciation for clients and employees, earning loyalty from both.
There are some thank you cards basics you should follow when writing a business thank you card. Unlike writing a thank you note for a gift, a business thank you card must be professional but have a personalized, appreciative tone to it at the same time. Before writing business thank you notes, consider the following:
1. There are more options than just sales thank you cards. While it's vital to thank clients who raise your sales numbers, it's also important to thank clients who recommend your business, even if the recommendation doesn't lead to a sale. Recognizing the efforts of others to help grow your business means they'll continue to promote your business to their friends and clients.
2. Business thank you cards should mention what you're appreciative of and why. This is especially important when thanking employees.
3. Corporate thank you cards help build morale and improve employee performance. You can thank individuals or teams.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Write formal business thank you cards
Formal business thank you cards are good for a high-end client or a superior. Formal business thank you cards look and sound more professional than just a verbal thank you or a thank you written on a sticky note.
I recommend: Hammond Greetings and Promotions sells traditional, textured and executive business thank you notes. Shop through
CardsDirect for formal business thank you cards that work for all business occasions.
Look for informal business thank you postcards
Not every business transaction has to end with a formal thank you card. Sending employees informal thank you cards, as well as frequent clients, lets you say thank you without making it seem like a big production. These also work well when bulk mailing cards to many clients at once.
I recommend: Get fun or formal business thank you postcards from
Executive Greeting Cards. Work with
Lighthouse Colorprint and customize your own business postcards.
Use business thank you card templates
Templates let you design your own custom thank you card for clients and employees. While this might not be the most practical solution for bulk mailing thank you cards, it's the best option when a client or employee deserves something more than a boxed greeting. A template lets you personalize the card to the situation.
I recommend: Blue Squirrel offers a program, ClickBook 10, that lets you customize and print everything from thank you cards to documents. The
Microsoft Corporation has a variety of custom, downloadable thank you card templates.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- You can use thank you cards as a part of employee morale by making them unexpected. If you send a thank you card every time an employee does something well, they'll become expected and unimpressive. But if you save them for when employees or teams do exceptional jobs, and they have a positive stigma attached to them, it will build morale and, hopefully, initiative.