Seems like a decent use case for Postpilot’s handwritten notes. I wonder if those would be as effective? [0] https://www.postpilot.com/
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Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
151–160 of 208 posts
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#152Seems like a decent use case for Postpilot’s handwritten notes. I wonder if those would be as effective? [0] https://www.postpilot.com/
That was our thesis when we acquired Handwrite.io and merged the functionality into PostPilot.com
We've had a decent sample size thus far of DTC brands using the handwriting. Mostly for "VIP-thank-yous" or founder/influencer-driven brands.
But results are encouraging. Across our 000s of stores we are seeing 1) increase in end customer spend and 2) increase in frequency of purchase (retention) for stores that use the handwriting.
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#153Seems like a decent use case for Postpilot’s handwritten notes. I wonder if those would be as effective? [0] https://www.postpilot.com/
49 cents per piece for a non-first class postcard is quite a bit, and that doesn’t include handwriting. (They want 2.99 for a handwritten card and outer envelope) I’d be interested in learning more about just their handwriting tech and if they could parse it out from the rest of their printing and shipping process
Yeah we can.
Price/card goes down with higher plans. Enterprise approaches cost as we have printers in house.
The "tech" is a bunch of robots (not self-aware) in a room writing 24-7
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#154Well, if this is provable and significant, here's an idea for a YC startup -- handwritten than you notes as as service (HTYNAAS)! Perhaps a pen plotter can write them, and some AI net can give it the human touch.
If this piece of wisdom becomes well-known and every shop does it, then it won't be special anymore and customers will ignore those pieces of fluff.
Then again maybe shop owners will feel rude if they don't join the "common courtesy" of putting in thank you notes, and so your HTYNAAS might have a chance after all. You just need to guilt-trip them into buying it. I say this tongue-in-cheek, it'd be awful if we wasted money, time and paper because "thank you for shopping" notes became obligatory.
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#155Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, yes, but... take away from this something less grim. It's something a friend who was in marketing used to say to me all of the time: "good customer service is the best marketing, and it's often very nearly free." Chick-fil-a figured this out years ago. Their employees are required to be nice and kind, and they can get fired for having a crappy attitude. This sounds awful, Stepford-wifeish, but in reality it imp…
I don't have much evidence to support this claim, but as best I can tell Chick-fil-a has far superior food quality than Raising Cane's. Chick-fil-a holds their ingredients & preparation to the same high standard as they do their customer service, whereas Raising Cane's is much more hit-or-miss, a lot more like the McDonalds or Burger Kings out there. One thing you can look at is the nutrition label. Total calorie cou…
>Do you eat a lot of junk food generally in your diet?
No. Though I will admit that I've had access to Chick-fil-a since the 80s, so it's kind of blase to me now. Newness has a quality of its own, I guess.
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#156Earlier quoted context omitted.
TIL what a Veblen good is. "Apple products are classified as Veblen products, because most often users choose them, guided by the big name of the brand and believing that the possession of this technology will increase their status in society." https://lkrvk.com/the-veblen-effect-how-price-increases-affe...
This nonsensical trope is trotted out on HN all the time with no data to support it. Just the fact that Apple products are objectively not expensive enough to convey any information about status should be enough to prevent it from being posted. I employ people that earn $15 to $20 per hour with no benefits that use Apple products like iPhones, MacBook airs, and air pods.
This is because you are upper middle class. Among the working class and teenage population, it is a status symbol.
We have our own in the upper middle class and we are similarly exploited. Luxury cars + a honorable cause is one that comes to mind.
Marketing can target insecurities but it doesn't need to be insecurity based. I just find that most egregious. Advertising "new, better, faster,tech" seems like the opposite end of this.
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#157Seems like a decent use case for Postpilot’s handwritten notes. I wonder if those would be as effective? [0] https://www.postpilot.com/
I would bet it would have a pretty decent effects. I’m a digital marketer/growth guy and right now I think the least crowded inbox is the mailbox. But not standard postcards or mass mailers. An example: I worked for an apparel company selling custom apparel (shirts and hoodies mostly) to army Battalions/Companies/Platoons… We managed to grab 28% market share of an army base for $150.00 by sending a sales letter with…
200% this is how I learned marketing. Sales letters. Dan Kennedy, Chet Holmes, etc.
Here's another interesting stat: Joe Girard is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Greatest Salesman." Ave car salesmen would sell ~5 cars/month and Joe sold 6-7/day.
He attributed his success to one tactic: handwritten notes to customers https://www.handwrite.io/case-studies/joe-girard-worlds-grea...
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#158Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, yes, but... take away from this something less grim. It's something a friend who was in marketing used to say to me all of the time: "good customer service is the best marketing, and it's often very nearly free." Chick-fil-a figured this out years ago. Their employees are required to be nice and kind, and they can get fired for having a crappy attitude. This sounds awful, Stepford-wifeish, but in reality it imp…
Sending out a “hand” written thank you letter long after a transaction is completed and real time customer service at the time of transaction are not comparable actions of customer service.
Well, it certainly depends. I'm not expecting McDonald's to send me a thank-you note. I was talking in generalities, not specifics.
I frequent a local store that sells boutique art supplies. Natural paints and that sort of thing. They are very customer-focused, and while hand-written thank-yous aren't something they do, if they started doing them I wouldn't be surprised. They know and appreciate their customers, and were particularly good during COVID, as the owners had health issues that made them concerned. They survived, partially due to their customer service, which included direct messaging as required to make sure people were able to shop and get their purchases easily and safely.
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#159Earlier quoted context omitted.
This nonsensical trope is trotted out on HN all the time with no data to support it. Just the fact that Apple products are objectively not expensive enough to convey any information about status should be enough to prevent it from being posted. I employ people that earn $15 to $20 per hour with no benefits that use Apple products like iPhones, MacBook airs, and air pods.
This is because you are upper middle class. Among the working class and teenage population, it is a status symbol. We have our own in the upper middle class and we are similarly exploited. Luxury cars + a honorable cause is one that comes to mind. Marketing can target insecurities but it doesn't need to be insecurity based. I just find that most egregious. Advertising "new, better, faster,tech" seems like the opposit…
The claim I am responding to is very strong:
> "Apple products are classified as Veblen products, because most often users choose them, guided by the big name of the brand and believing that the possession of this technology will increase their status in society."
As if people might not be choosing Apple products like iPhones because of their proven track record of lasting much longer and being more desirable for the qualities of the product in and of themselves.
When people buy a Patek Phillipe watch, that might have the claim of being bought with the intent to signal status. A Patek Philippe watch tells time no better than any $15 watch.
But the implication that Apple products are mainly bought due to vanity needs to be supported by data. They have a reputation of being more durable, lasting longer, having more consistent user interfaces, better battery life, real life support from Apple employees in Apple stores, integrated software, primarily non ad supported business model, less known for malware, etc.
If I were poorer, it would be kind of insulting to think I would not value any of that and I am paying $200 to $500 for an Apple product than the cheapest alternative product simply to signal status.
Edit: as an illustration, Toyotas usually cost more than some other brands, but I do not see anyone claiming people are buying Toyotas in order to status signal. Or a Leatherman tool versus a Harborfreight tool.
I understand that at the very poor end, not buying the cheapest anything could signal status, but that is very different than buying something to signal status, which is what Veblen goods are about.
Re: Handwritten thank you notes increase sales
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
This nonsensical trope is trotted out on HN all the time with no data to support it. Just the fact that Apple products are objectively not expensive enough to convey any information about status should be enough to prevent it from being posted. I employ people that earn $15 to $20 per hour with no benefits that use Apple products like iPhones, MacBook airs, and air pods.
This is because you are upper middle class. Among the working class and teenage population, it is a status symbol. We have our own in the upper middle class and we are similarly exploited. Luxury cars + a honorable cause is one that comes to mind. Marketing can target insecurities but it doesn't need to be insecurity based. I just find that most egregious. Advertising "new, better, faster,tech" seems like the opposit…
I'm in upper middle class and switched away from an iPhone to an Android last year and felt like I dropped classes based on verbal reactions from my peers. I thought it was much more prominent as a status symbol in lower classes, but many of my peers also indirectly conveyed that my status had dropped. Some outright said it. I find it pretty bizarre and unfortunate, but now I'm back to getting the new iPhone because it's exhausting to be treated lesser based on a phone choice.