The Relationship-Building Card
by Laurie Wilhelm
I’ve often heard the recommendation to send a real hold-in-your-hands thank you or appreciation card to friends or clients for that extra-special acknowledgement and to strengthen your relationships. The only card I’ve ever received was from my bank. It was one of those standard-issue corporate cards with some generic blurb about how happy they were to serve me and below that was a scribble by, I assume, the person who served me but it could have been anyone since it was illegible. The card had no personality and was just another impersonal corporate communications piece. I promptly forwarded it to the recycle-bin and grumbled about what my service fees pay for.
That was the only card I’ve ever received. Until last month. That’s when I received a card from my new hair stylist. It was a little card with Monet’s Waterlilies on the front. Inside, he wrote a very simple yet thoughtful couple of sentences that read: “It was great to see you and a pleasure to do your hair. I look forward to serving you again. David”
I was really impressed. He didn’t have to take the time to write a note and mail it. He wasn’t required to. He wasn’t getting paid to do it. He took the time to do it because he recognized the importance of relationship building, especially in his highly competitive industry.
Now, if David was a poor stylist, I wouldn’t go back. But he’s very good at what he does and I would have returned to his chair, card or not. With this card, however, he demonstrated to me that his clients are more than appointments every several weeks. He took the time to go beyond the confines of a wash and blow dry to connect with me as an individual. This little card, that took him only minutes to select, write and send, made him stand out from all the other hair stylists, salon staff – and bankers, for that matter.
This kind of relationship reinforcement isn’t limited to the service industry. It can and should be applied to any business or personal relationship; it’s a small thing that can make a big difference. While my bank attempted to include a little personal touch following my interaction with them, it failed because it sent a highly corporate card to someone who just entrusted her personal finances to them. The two don’t match. A professional look is good, I get that, but if you want to build a relationship then make it appropriately personal.
I was really impressed with David’s after-care of his clients. In my mind, he’s a hair stylist with style and I’d recommend his services to anyone – and I have.
