Small businesses are always looking to stand out in the crowd and offer something a little different, a little better than the competition. And also get value for their marketing dollars. Well, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing wrote a blog post as a guest blogger for HP talking about just those issues.

When you take the time to send a client or prospect a thoughtfully hand written note, not only do you get the benefit of this connection I describe about, you also:

* Stand out from the crowd (nobody does this anymore and that’s what makes it so powerful)
* Say, I care enough to take the time to do this
* Can’t help but write something that is personal in nature (computers stink at that)
* Make a connection with another form of communication (email, phone, web site, blog, note - you need them all)
* Have the ability to make the person who receives the note feel special (if you can’t figure out why that’s a good marketing thing, I can’t help you)
* Will begin to receive more referrals (your clients will tell people about your unique habit)

As I’ve said many times, if you’ve got the time to write personal handwritten notes, you should. Go do it. I couldn’t agree more. But, if you don’t have that time let us help. Don’t give up the power of handwritten mail just because you don’t have the time.