Personal touches make a world of difference. It builds a different kind of rapport with clients when they get something handwritten from you, rather than a sterile, cold (and maybe generic) emails. It seems simple and it seems like it wouldn’t make that big of a difference, but believe me it does. Think about how you feel when you receive something personal via the Postal Service. Maybe it’s just me, but I love getting mail! I get emails every day all day – on my Blackberry, dings from Thunderbird, on my Gmail – I’m just inundated with constant email, as I’m sure you and your customers are too.  What we aren’t inundated with (anymore) is handwritten written notes & cards. Therefore they stand out more than emails do and that is where opportunity lies for you to make a strong impact and help build your business relationships.

One way to make a personal impact is by sending out Birthday and Holiday cards. You don’t have to catch every holiday and some of them you might have to be a little politically correct on (that’s up to you) but it makes a difference to catch a few of them and recognize them to your customers. I’d especially try to keep up with birthdays, if that is possible. You might even be able to include a special holiday or birthday promotion. I know I’ve received cards in mail for birthday promotion … usually its save 10% for your birthday or get your free birthday gift in store. This usually entices me to go to the store that sent me the promotion, even if I haven’t been there in awhile or wasn’t planning a trip there in the immediate future.

Okay, so holiday and birthday cards, that is a fairly easy handwritten note to send out. But you need more than just that. You need to be sending more. Here are a few ideas for handwritten cards you can send out:

• When you meet someone new: send them a personalized note, letting them know it was nice to meet them and thank them for their time. Drop a few business cards in there, so they will have your name and your card handy whenever the need arises.
• When you receive a referral: it is always a good thing when you pay thanks to someone who has sent you a referral. Sending a handwritten note can add that extra touch and truly show that you are appreciative of the referral they have passed you. This helps show that you go above-and-beyond; this will also give the person referring business to you additional confidence for future transactions, networking and referrals.
• When you haven’t talked to someone in awhile: maybe you have an old client or a former referral partner that you haven’t talked to, seen or worked with in some time … send them a note and invite them for coffee or lunch to catch up.
• When you want to check in and just say hi: it is okay to not have a underlying meaning or purpose to your personal touches. Sometimes you just want to say hello and you should.

I’ve heard different folks say you should send 2-5 cards a week, but I realize that can be a lot, depending on the size of your network and customer base & the extra/free time you have.  To start off, I’d set a goal of 1 handwritten note per week (can be networking partner, client, someone you recently met, etc.). You can build up your numbers later. Just starting writing and building your connections.