Do You Hand Write Notes to Clients?
Last week, we asked if you hand write notes to clients to get a feel for how much digital communications has or has not taken over some traditions in the real estate space such as following up with clients via hand written notes. The results were not surprising (at least not to me anyhow).
The poll results:
- 47% Sometimes I hand write notes.
- 33% I hand write notes as often as possible!
- 13% Digital all the way, baby!
- 3% My assistant writes all of my notes by hand.
- 3% I write notes by hand for personal use only.
I was not surprised to see how many people still write notes by hand. Some commenters noted that they use services that they type up and it creates a printed note that looks like it was printed by hand while others have gone completely digital.
I have a personal affinity for stationary (my next career will be a stationary retailer, I’m not even kidding) and I don’t think anything can replace the tangibility of a hand written note. Our friend Sumina Bhatti is a Realtor here in Austin and we became fast friends. Although it wasn’t business related, when I got a hand written note from her on gorgeous brown and Tiffany blue paper, I knew we would be friends for a long time. It was touching, thoughtful and went miles beyond what most people do.
My personal belief is that a hand written note goes a lot further than an email thanks, despite the money and tree savings digital communications provides. I had a reader email me and joke that I must be one of the “all the way digital” types because I write and speak so frequently about technology, but I’m still a hand written note type and I still pick up physical books, and I still carry a nice pen, and I am still impressed when a store clerk pens a note to me instead of junk mails me a coupon.
What are YOUR personal thoughts about hand written notes? Do you still use them? Do they sway you when you receive them?
Nanette Labastida
February 22, 2010 at 4:09 pm
i guess i missed this poll – but i’m huge fan of hand written notes. I send them as a follow up after meeting people, i send them now and then to clients of yore just to say hi, i send them as thank you’s for anything,
Believe it or not i amped up my hand written note frequency after reading the book by Million Dollar Listing star Madison Hildebrand
Greg Barnhouse
February 23, 2010 at 3:21 am
Hand-written notes are always more personal. They can even be used to follow up on your digital or other printed communications, but a hand-written note says a lot more than the words you carefully wrote on the card. It speaks volumes about the care, attention and valuable time you allocated to that individual. These cards often get saved, sometimes for quite awhile, because the are connected to a thoughtul memory that can be directly tied to strengthening that relationship.
I have to admit. I mostly communicate via email, txt, or other social media means, but there is something about writing a simple note that is lasting, satisfying.
Thanks again Lani.
Liz Bolton
February 25, 2010 at 12:38 am
I missed the poll too but will cast another vote in favor of hand written notes. I don’t write as many as I plan to – my aim is to send out five a day – but I do write them regularly. I often get handwritten notes and thank you cards from my clients as well.
I have a large collection of stationery with house images and often plead for more cards with houses on them at my local stationery stores. I wish the card manufacturers would listen – the demand is there since I bet real estate agents are sending more cards and notes than the general public.