Why Email Doesn't Work Anymore (and how to really connect with guest families)

We send each guest family a thank you letter and a coupon the child can bring back for a gift on their second visit.

Last week, I was looking at the number of coupons that have been brought back this year and it is significantly less than last year...way significantly less.  And it's not because we've had fewer guest families.  In fact, the number of guest families is way up.

So why the huge drop in returned coupons?  One simple answer.  We switched from sending a physical letter to sending email letters.  The result?  A much smaller return. 

This week we're switching back to sending physical letters.  Here is the interesting thing.  Now that most communication is done electronically, physical letters really stand out and get read.

Think about it.  Besides junk mail coming to your mail box, how many physical letters do you get?  Not many I'm guessing.

And if the letter is handwritten...wow...huge attention grabber.

People receive so many emails today that most get the delete treatment.  We all know what it's like to have a full inbox.  The solution...hit that delete button as fast as you can as you scroll through your emails.

Want to get your correspondence read?  Use physical letters.  Old school is making a comeback!