Economists studying the best and brightest companies in America found that a large percentage of Fortune 100 companies do not reveal the secret to their success. Nor do the same economists report on the reasons behind a company’s success because as economists, they understand that’s what smart businesses do.
Small business owners will attempt to get more for less because an entrepreneur’s nature is to produce big things from little packages. Some of the top performing small businesses are able to be successful, while others will fail.
Enormous corporations expect to do more with less because the climate of business is changing from hard copy to digital. Some are able to be successful, while others are failing.
What these super successful companies are not saying is that as they move ahead electronically, they are also utilizing new ways to use the internet to nurture relationships the old fashioned way. They are using the internet to create and send out cards. Personalized greetings produced on schedule, and delivered at will. It has something to do with technology, but it also has everything to do with getting back to nurturing the kind of relationships they want to have with their clients.
In today’s sales environment, where new sales are harder to come by, companies are reducing sales forces and retaining only the Top Producers. Subsequently, these companies rely more and more on E-Marketing such as Blogs, Email Marketing, Twitter and Facebook to maintain customers and open doors to new sales. Companies who realize that a deluge of E-Marketing makes the “Power of Personal” even more powerful will benefit dramatically in this environment.
Personal Greetings are Powerful
Before the internet there was the United States Postal Service. Everyone used the mail to send out cards to announce a dedication or event. From hardware stores to dentists, tax preparers and the local newspaper, cards would be delivered saying “Happy Holidays”, “Happy Birthday” or “Big Sale (For Your Eyes Only)”. Companies that developed strong relationships using personal business greetings sixty years ago survive today because of the response. People search out the purchasing power that comes from an inside connection, forget if the connection is high speed or not.
“PEOPLE STILL LIKE TO BUY AND DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE WITH WHOM THEY HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP.”
The power to create and send personal greetings automatically has finally arrived, and not a second too soon. Clients who never experienced the effects of a personal B2B greeting delivered in the mail to their office or home are caught reading the information longer, thinking about its effect, and then saving the card for later use. Digital electronics permit us to reach farther and faster, yes, but a personal message delivered at home or office still works best. It not only builds stronger relationships in a technological world, but they generate more sales from consumers who want to reward businesses that are committed to their clients.
Nancy Guggenbickler
