Send your customers a hand-written thank you note. It's as simple as that. I'm a regular reader of Duct Tape Marketing, and I think John Jantsch is really on the ball. If you run a business, go check him out. Nearly every post has a great idea in it.

I got this idea from one of his recent posts: Hand-Written Notes Have Become A Power Tool. It's so obvious when you think about it — email is too easy. Handwriting is a lost art and takes far too much time. Hence, it shows respect. I've been doing this for all my customers so far this year and the response has been great — people love it.

You can't just fire off any old thing on some office paper though – take the time to prepare some nice heavy note paper for writing. And make sure that your letters are from you, not some hired hand (ha ha). It has to be from the top for this to count.

How much effort is it? Actually, it's enjoyable. Once you get into it, you look forward to making a connection with each new customer. You'll feel good, and they'll feel good. Email does nothing in comparison.

So, you want to put this plan into action? Go out now and order some headed notepaper (not the stuff you use for invoices!). Right now. That's the first thing you have to do to make it happen. Oh, and stamps! Ah, snailmail. It feels good.