Our methods of communication say a lot about us, and how we feel about the audience we’re communicating with. Email is mundane, perfunctory. Receiving hand delivered correspondence can be a delight, yet writing letters has become something of the past.
Culturally, we’ve moved onto digital forms of communication. Mail is seen as “junk.” Expensive. Sluggish. Business moves fast. Speed is essential.
Slow down. Taking the time to put your thoughts on paper can enhance the impact, and results, of your communications. The fact that you could dash off an email, yet choose to write then post (as in mail, not upload) a note may end up saying much more than the message itself.
Technology is wonderful; I’m speaking to you through a blog after all. But, have you ever received an e-card – no matter how beautifully designed – and not thought to yourself, “They couldn’t send a ‘real’ card?” Technology doesn’t do your brand any favors when it diminishes the human connection.
Emails, tweets and texts are temporary, and disposable; easy to overlook, to flatly ignore. Paper has weight, and heft. Paper has a voice. The printed page touches, and can be touched in ways bits and bytes on a screen cannot.
Apple takes great care in crafting what they call the “unboxing” experience of their products. Every detail of the packaging, and process meticulously designed to resonate with the consumer; reminding you that you are in receipt of something truly special – that you are truly special. Such brand rituals create important signals, and connections.
Receiving a beautifully designed envelope made from quality paper; opening it, removing, and unfolding the contents to reveal the message can be a powerful brand ritual of its own – full of sights, scents, sounds, and tactile sensations that become indelible brand signals forming personal connections.
Make personal connections whenever you can. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that have the greatest impact. Whether handwritten or printed, crafting your correspondence with care on stationery or corporate letterhead lends your words weight – literally.
Sending your message in an easily disposable digital format marks that message as disposable. In business, if you’re message is seen as disposable your brand is going to be seen as disposable.
Communications from your brand should be coveted. An email from Steve Jobs would have been exciting to receive. Perhaps even printed out and placed in a file for safekeeping. A letter from Steve Jobs, on Apple stationery, would have been archival framed and hung on the wall.
Compendiums of contemporary letterhead design are widely available. We thought it would be fun to take a look at some examples of personal stationery and letterhead that are perhaps a bit more historic. What’s striking is how powerful these pages are, even without any content. Not because of their design, but because of the tangible, personal connection they each offer to their respective namesakes.
Here are a few great resources for getting in touch with paper:
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Ken,
This is a subject that most people overlook, and it is one of the most important aspects of doing business or dealing with people in general.
What I’m referring to is creating context. Smart businesses get it, and that’s why they’re successful and thriving in tough times.
Businesses are always looking for shortcuts and ways to scale activities, however trying to scale building relationships with customers (your people) is a critical error. This is an area where business owners need to pay the most attention because people are a businesses most valuable asset.
I think we are all guilty of relying on technology when we really shouldn’t to a degree, but I believe that creating context with customers is vital to the success of one’s business.
Excellent subject Ken!
P.S. I will most definitely be utilizing some of the alternatives you’ve provided.
Dewane,
Thanks for reading and sharing. I agree, business boils down to people. You’re right that we often rely too much on technology. Creating and maintaining relationships is key. Doesn’t always take a lot to let somebody know they matter. Often, a simple written note is worth 1,000 emails.
Cheers.
Hi Mr Peters
Eloquent piece as per normal, I always look forward to your blogs. Love your writing style and how you always are able to link the past to present. Your love for history always shines through your writing. Sadly most people seem to treat history as historical anecdotes but rarely look to learnt from it. I always say that history happens in cycles and learning much from history can help predict our future. Human nature does not really change over time.
Back to this current post; your statement “Technology doesn’t do your brand any favors when it diminishes the human connection.” In this technology obsessed world, personal relationships have fallen by the wayside and at some expense to the brand. Too many banks here in RSA have automated call centers, automated email services and fewer opportunities to have human interaction which is important to brand building. It’s critical to maintain the relationship via the human element that reminds the consumers that he/she matters. It makes a huge difference. Attention to the finer details, wish more companies had this perspective. Apple have it down to a fine art.
My personal favorite is the Merry Christmas email sent from my bank. Yip, nothing like building a brand by spamming your clients with generic email wishes. ;-(
Love the letter heads, especially the Spider Man one as I’m a comic fan (would have preferred the DC comic letter head as I’m hardcore fan). ;-)
Along with the Brandbuilder, I look forward to your work. It’s enlightening and further illuminates my thinking into new undiscovered paths. Powerful stuff.
Regards
Pravin
@clark_69
Pravin,
Thanks so much for the kind words. It means a lot to me that you see and appreciate the history I often try to touch on in these pieces.
You are absolutely correct when you say, “…it’s critical to maintain the relationship via the human element…”
Thanks for reading and for sharing.
Cheers
Thanks for the reminder Ken.
Many people are saying that print is dead. I know that you disagree with this and I’m with you. Print may be more “high end” now, but think how memorable mail must feel to those under 20.
I would be so bold as to say that college admissions offices should purposefully mail multiple pieces to their prospects. Think how special that “archaic” touch will feel to the recipients!
Justin,
Print is definitely still thriving. Sure, other forms of communication have grown, and print has diminished, but it’s alive and well.
People complain about junk mail, but let’s face it, getting something “nice” in the mail is a treat. You are absolutely correct with your college admissions analogy. The experience of receiving something, along with the tactile sensations, is very powerful.
Cheers
I loved this piece! A friend of mine said that travel is a high tech yet high touch business. I believe that people still love going to the mailbox and getting something that is not a bill and not an overt promotional piece.
Great job and I am going to share this with many others.
Chuck
Chuck,
I like the idea of business being “high touch”. Branding is about making connections.
Cheers
You know, Ken, there is definitely something to be said (and you definitely said it! lol) about the sensory experience that printed materials take you through that aren’t present in electronic communications.
Last month, I received a letterpress birthday card from a friend. It felt so luxurious!
And, having said that, ‘luxury’ may be one of the challenges that small businesses – particularly the soloprofessional – on shoestring budgets (if they have a budget, at all) have when looking for ways to stand out, nurture the human connection, and build genuine relationships without breaking the bank.
What would you (and maybe a weigh-in from Justin, too?) say to the solopro who may find themselves in this position?
Tshombe,
Great question. As it applies to the topic at hand, stationery, I’d say that there are numerous options available for those on a tight budget. Printing isn’t as expensive as it used to be, and getting quality stationery isn’t a prohibitive expense. I’d say that for solopreneur or a start-up it’s even more important to make those personal connections, and this is an easy and inexpensive way to do it.
Great points, Ken. It’s so true that it’s even more important for solos/start-ups to maintain the human touch.
It’s also easier for them in the sense that they are inherently more flexible and nimble than a large corporation, which may have layers of “politics” to get through to make any changes to business as usual.
Apple is a great example of deliberately wrapping each interaction with their raving fans with an underlying message of “We care about you and are grateful you are our customer.”
I don’t think I’ve ever received a handwritten card from them (LOL), but their relationship-nurturing strategy includes specific tactics that amount to consistent branding.
They are definitely NOT the least expensive solution on the block, but they’ve built an allegiance into customer experiences where you expect to be delighted.
Every time.
The biggest lesson I take away from this article is the commitment to human connection regardless of the media, and that it’s easy to lose sight of that commitment in efforts to make marketing and service delivery easier via emerging technologies.
Tshombe,
If you take that lesson away from this then I’ve done my job! :-)
I know you, though, and I know you already knew it. I know you do a fantastic job of fostering and nurturing connections.
And, while we might not be receiving a hand written note from Apple, you are correct in that much of what they do works to convey the sense of personal attention that such a note would communicate.
A few years ago I had a horrible customer service experience with a major brand. I complained all the way up the corporate ladder. Through it all I received calls and emails that made me feel like I was getting the brush off. Finally, I received a personal note, on stationery, from a top level manager who addressed my situation. Receiving that note, on paper, made me finally feel that they cared enough to pay attention and help me out. And, in the end, they did.
So, I guess the moral of that story is that even large brands can extend a “hand” to customers now and then.
Cheers.
Great story. Too bad it took all those layers to get to that point!
In most cases, customers won’t go through the trouble. Instead, feeling like “just another number,” they’ll take their business elsewhere.
More than that, they’ll badmouth you all over the Internet!
The internet and social media offer brands great ways to reach out to consumers on service issues, and those methods should never be neglected. When a deeper, personal connection can be made, though, the brand should take the time to do it. Especially if the customer is dissatisfied.
Tshombe,
This is where a smart design partner can make a huge difference.
A great designer (like Ken) can use his creativity to craft personal-feeling design solutions that reflect the need for a economical option.
What do you think Ken?
Justin
Justin,
I agree! :-) And, I’d say you are such a designer yourself.
Thanks Ken!
You offer a great point, Justin, once a customer is inquiring about design-and-outreach solutions, but I guess the thrust of my question was more about getting them “in the door” in the first place.
For example, the actual (very cool and fun!) stationery examples here are from companies with larg(er) print collateral budgets.
That said, I think articles like this (and comments like these that further expand on the issue) help people see the possibilities beyond an initial perception that stationery and other print solutions might be financially out-of-reach.
Tshombe,
I my be over generalizing, but it seems like there are three types of clients…
1. Those who innately understand the value of creative design.
2. Those who are willing to learn and understand the value of creative design.
3. Those who don’t care to understand the value of creative design.
Seek clients that are like #1 or #2 and don’t waste your time with #3.
Justin
Justin,
I couldn’t agree more. As the old adage goes; There are those who learn by observation, those you can tell, and those who have to pee on the electrified fence to find out for themselves.
Part of the designer’s job is to educate, but as someone once said, “I’m not the idiot whisperer”. Sometimes, you just have to know when a client refuses to be open-minded, and move on.
This post took me back to a time in my life where letterhead was an extension of an entity or company’s brand presence.
I went & looked at some letters that I’ve saved through the years, including acceptance letters, congratulatory letters, letters of recommendation, all which had a profound meaning in relationship to my life at the time. Those types of personal communications have become a lost art.
So true that businesses need to find way to fill in the void left by almost purely digital communications. Those personal touches leave lasting memories & help create stronger bonds in our working relationships.
Nice post Ken.
Monika,
What’s wonderful is that you still had those old documents to look at. More and more, communications are electronic, and once read they are deleted. We often delete so much more when we trash those emails.
Thanks for your comment. :-)