WHY USE HANDWRITTEN LETTERS OR NOTES FOR ECOMMERCE?

If you’re in eCommerce as either an owner or a marketer, you should be taking advantage of handwritten letters as they can help you humanize your business or brand. Along with this, you should also use handwritten notes due to the multitude of benefits they can bring to you and your eCommerce business, such as increased sales, customer loyalty, and all-around better marketing.

According to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, the average American received only ten personal mail pieces in 2017. This stat shows that technology is causing handwritten letters to become obsolete due to people communicating mostly online through email and social media.

The rarity of receiving a handwritten letter creates value for the customer receiving it because they know it takes effort and time to write and send a handwritten letter. Thus, making the customer much more receptive to your eCommerce business and the message you’re trying to get out.

This leads us to some reasons why you should be using handwritten letters or notes in eCommerce:

• More sales
• Increased customer loyalty
• Better customer and marketing experiences

Just by using handwritten letters, you can achieve all those things listed above and capture both the hearts and attention of your customers. According to a poll conducted by Gallup, 94% of Americans love getting a letter or card in the mail. This stat shows that not only do Americans love receiving letters, but they pay attention and read through them, unlike the way most people handle email.

In short, you should understand by now that using handwritten letters can lead to significant benefits, which will ultimately help your business grow and become more profitable.

Now you may be wondering, How can I use handwritten letters for marketing, sales, and customer loyalty in an eCommerce business? Let me show you.

HOW CAN YOU USE HANDWRITTEN LETTERS OR NOTES FOR YOUR ECOMMERCE STORE?

In eCommerce, there are various creative ways you can use handwritten letters. Still, we're only going to go over three everyday use cases in which they would be most beneficial with specific examples. The three use cases are:

1. Marketing
2. Sales
3. Customer Loyalty

Keep reading to find out more about how we can use them for each specified case.

MARKETING

The first way you can use handwritten letters is for marketing. Handwritten letters are generally shorter, which can be great for marketing. Since the communication inside these letters is limited, it keeps your message short and to the point. This helps you get your message across to the customer. Couple that with the fact they are opened much more frequently than email, and you have a winning combination.

As an example, you could personalize a handwritten note to your customers highlighting a sale. This will not only excite your customers, but they'll have something physical to hold on to, so when it's time for the customer to purchase something from your store again, they can refer back to the handwritten letter that you sent. Handwritten notes are great because they help drive brand awareness while differentiating your company from the competition.

Since handwritten letters can help drive more people to your eCommerce store, this may allow you to convert them into sales.,Let’s move on from marketing now, and dig into some sales use cases.

SALES

The second way you can use handwritten letters is for sales. A well-timed, handwritten letter can reduce abandoned cart rates or encourage a repeat purchase. For instance, let’s say someone leaves their shopping cart before checking out; you can build an abandoned cart sequence that includes sending the customer a handwritten letter encouraging them to come back and complete their purchase.

Since handwritten notes have a higher open rate than emails, this play will help you convert more customers because your message is getting their attention, leading them to return to your store and complete their purchase. Since you’re taking the time to send them a personalized letter, rather than just an email, your customers are far more likely to engage with your message, and think highly about your brand.

Handwritten letters can also encourage repeat purchases through coupon codes or discounts. People hate letting discounts go to waste, so make sure to put an expiration on it.

Another way handwritten letters help increase sales is through referrals. By sending out referral codes in a letter, that code is far more likely to be seen versus in an email. The added boost to your brand by mailing something physical makes the use of that code more likely. Look at how IgnitePost helps you send out handwritten letters to increase referrals.

Now that you know how handwritten letters can be used for sales and acquiring new customers, you can also use them after the sale to build customer loyalty.

CUSTOMER LOYALTY

The last way we’ll discuss using handwritten letters is in building customer loyalty. Thanking your customers with a handwritten letter will leave a lasting effect on them since most eCommerce stores just send an email. Generally, eCommerce businesses send automated emails, which aren’t the worst, but they don’t have the same personal effect that a handwritten note has. The handwritten letter will impact your customers in a way that will help you build better relationships and loyalty.

A handwritten letter can also help you build customer loyalty because people by nature tend to value things they can touch and hold. And when your customers receive a handwritten letter from you, they’ll know that you appreciate their business. These letters help humanize your brand, which is an important step in building a loyal following.

Handwritten letters can also help you service your accounts if you have an account management aspect to your eCommerce business. Take a look at this article that explains how handwritten cards can help service your best customers.

CONCLUSION

Handwritten letters can help you with a multitude of goals and objectives. Whether you’re looking to drive awareness of your eCommerce store, increase sales, or build customer loyalty, handwritten letters will be there for you every step of the way.

With the examples mentioned above, you should have no problem finding ways to implement handwritten letters into your eCommerce strategy.

So, how are you going to use handwritten letters for your eCommerce business today?

If you’re looking to send out handwritten letters at scale and you want to take the pain out of having to write and send them out yourself, check out IgnitePost.

We now have a Shopify App that allows you to send out handwritten letters to every one of your customers, all within a click of a button.

If you’re not ready to download the app and need more information, see how IgnitePost helps eCommerce companies.

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