Kim T. Gordon has penned an interesting article for Entrepreneur.com regarding personalized marketing. I’d say we agree that in today’s world, personalized and authentic marketing really stands out and gets people’s attention. Small businesses have an opportunity that big corporations often don’t, and that’s the power of the personal message. Kim says it best,

As a small-business owner, you’re in the enviable position of interacting with customers you know on a first-name basis. You can more easily maintain a database with in-depth customer information than larger businesses. The key is to use this important data to ensure your communications strike a personal chord with customers.

Handwritten Results is ideally suited to help small-business owners achieve this personalization. And of her three suggestions, number three certainly hits home.

3. Put it in writing.
What better way to make your message stand out than to express it in a handwritten note? After all, with fast online and mobile communications the norm, a handwritten note emphasizes that you’ve taken the time and thought to communicate something in a special way.

Entrepreneurs nationwide swear by the effectiveness of personal, handwritten notes for making a strong, positive impression. …

If you’re in an industry where it’s critical to build one-on-one relationships with prospects, it’s a good idea to print fold-over notecards with your company logo to follow up with customers. Hand address the envelopes and apply real stamps–rather than run your cards through a postage meter–for a personal look that will get past screeners. If the first task of effective marketing is to get noticed and stand out from the clamor of competing advertisers, then handwritten notecards and other personalized messages will achieve the goal.