This may be obvious for those of us who already use handwritten notes, but it’s nice to see others catching on. Brad Sugars at Entrepreneur Magazine talks about the general importance of loyalty to startup and small businesses and gives specific suggestions.

For that reason, startups must develop strategies for generating repeat business even before they hang out their shingle. The process begins with the business concept itself and continues with everything from how you answer the phone to how you keep your name in front of your customers. The mission is to cultivate loyal customers who not only keep coming back themselves, but who also spread the word to friends and family.

The three points that jumped out to me were:

4. Send handwritten thank-you notes. It’s old-fashioned, but it’s still a good way to show customers that you want their business. Even Nordstrom salespeople send an occasional note. Just be sure it’s personalized. “Dear Valued Customer” will defeat the purpose.

5. Call your customers. Sometimes just asking for repeat business does the trick. Consider the case of a chiropractor in Georgia whose appointment book was getting noticeably thinner. She hired a high school student to call clients she hadn’t seen for three months or more. The effort doubled her business at virtually no cost.

6. Send “it’s time” reminders. Dentists send cards; auto mechanics post stickers with odometer readings on your windshield to remind you of your next oil change. The same technique works in any business that offers regular or seasonal service. In one case, a barber shop that started sending self-addressed reminder postcards boosted business by decreasing the average time between haircuts from six weeks to four.

Number 4 is obvious. Number 6 less so, but still a powerful use of handwritten notes. And just like handwriting, an old-fashioned personal phone call still has its place.