Kept and Re-read Thank You's

You probably have them too.

Thank you cards and notes from people in drawers, on bulletin boards or special places. You just can’t make yourself chuck them or recycle them, can you? And have you also noticed if you’ve kept a card you are likely to re-read it at different points of your life.

Why is that?

We conducted research to answer this question and discovered the highest ranked reason recipients gave for re-reading cards was simply to recall the feelings they had when they were first acknowledged.

We thought we should dig deeper and ask what factors contributed to a thank you card actually being kept.

We gave them a bunch of factors to choose from. Let’s see how these factors stacked up against your first impressions. Here are the top 5 items given:

1. Top of the list with 84 percent of respondents was the sender writing the card versus having their assistant or someone else writing it.
2. Second, was ensuring the card or note was handwritten and not typed.
3. Next, was the specific wording used in the content of the card.
4. Obviously the relationship between the writer and the recipient was important.
5. And finally the timeliness of the card being received after the action or event being acknowledged.

Now go write a keeper!

ACTION: Share your reasons for why you keep certain thank you cards or notes and toss out others.