Forget Social Media: Sprint Uses Handwritten Thank You Notes to Connect with Customers

Are handwritten “thank you” notes a good marketing strategy? Sprint thinks so.

In the competitive telecommunications industry, Verizon, Sprint and AT&T are doing whatever they can to set themselves apart. Just think about the advertising battle Verizon and AT&T had a few years ago over signal strength.

In order to create a personal connection between customers and the company, Sprint has employed a marketing/customer relationship strategy that doesn’t require billions of advertising dollars – distributing simple handwritten thank you notes to customers. Sprint is close to reaching its goal of distributing 500,000 personal handwritten thank yous to its current customers. Even the CEO is working on his penmanship.

In an age when customers are overwhelmed with emails, social media sites, automated customer service attendants and automated/online bill pay, personal interaction with customers seems to be going the way of the dinosaur.

In today’s world, a handwritten note will certainly stand out. Think about the last time you actually received a handwritten letter in the mail. I think mine was when my grandmother wrote me letters in college! Even birthday cards have gone digital.

So Sprint’s strategy is definitely a smart one. They even included a way to track the success and help drive retail store sales. Enclosed in the thank you note is a 25% off coupon for an accessory redeemable at a Sprint store.

What some may consider “old fashion marketing” is now cutting through the digital marketing clutter.

Jennifer Manocchio

President

After starting her career with Edelman in Chicago, Jennifer joined Sweeney and quickly established herself as an exceptional industry innovator. In 2004, she opened Sweeney’s first full-service office outside of Cleveland and quickly rose through the ranks to become agency president. Jen leads by example and without fear. She has been critical to agency growth throughout the past decade and continues to lead the agency into the future.