Just like in comedy, timing is everything in marketing.
About an hour after I had chatted with Andrea Nierenberg about the value of handwritten correspondence in differentiating one’s self from the B2B competition, I received a handwritten note from the director of membership at WGBH, Boston’s PBS station.
The handwritten envelope got my attention, as did the stationery, a notecard with a picture of the “Downton Abbey” cast. (The hubby and I are big Downton fans, because even though we are Americans, we are civilized.)
Inside was a handwritten note, thanking us for our previous support and encouraging us to renew our membership. A business reply envelope was included, as was a buckslip (with a dedicated URL, should I wish to give online instead).
The hubby and I studied the note for several minutes—he was convinced that it was computer generated, I wasn’t, so we held it under a light and compared the penmanship. It looks real, and if it isn’t, it’s darn fine work.
It’s a nice bit of personal relationship building correspondence, and I think even the Dowager Countess herself would approve. After all, I can’t see her indulging in something as common as email. And I won’t even begin to discuss the riff raff one might encounter should they venture into social media.
Network
