How do you say "thank you" in business? (2023)

People often don't say "thank you" enough.

People REALLY don't say enough in business situations.

How often does your sales team thank customers and colleagues with a note or email? I think probably not that often.

Why do we tend to shy away from it? FORrecent studyHe looked at gratitude givers and recipients and found that givers were often uncomfortable expressing gratitude. They also thought that the recipient wouldn't care if they sent a thank you note or not. In short, it was seen as a clumsy and unnecessary gesture.

But when the study looked at how recipients actually felt about receiving thank-you messages, they found that giversoverestimatethe time, effort, and discomfort involved in saying thank you andunderestimatedthe positive effect on the recipient and your relationship with him.

So what's the takeaway here? Saying thank you is relatively easy; makes you and the recipient feel good; is required; and you can change the way your customers experience your business and your customer relationships. All of which affect your bottom line.

So why aren't sales teams and B2B companies doing this more often? Maybe they're just not sure how to do it right. The best thank you letters are concise, specific, and most importantly,real and authentic.

That means I can give you a recipe on how to write a great thank you note, but this post isn't about copying an example word for word. You don't need to think too much about it. You just need to be authentic.

Why should I show appreciation in sales and business?

The answer from the study I referred to is that it promotes relationships. But saying "thank you" is like a quick phone call to Grandma to show your appreciation for the card she sent, or a shoutout to revelers thanking them for coming.

What about a business situation?

Saying thank you instills warmth and tenderness in everyone involved, and the etiquette freaks among us would argue that it's the only polite thing to do. However, sales teams are busy. They won't make the quota on good vibes alone and they can't survive on good manners alone. (Ours also seems to work with protein shakes and coffee, but I digress.)

There is also a business case for sending company thank you letters to customers, clients and partners.

Here are three ways gratitude can boost your income, with some stats to back them up:

1. Thank Your Customers for Helpgood customer experiences.

• Two-thirds of shoppers cite customer experience as more important than price.

2. A good customer experience leads to more recommendations.

• After a positive experience, three out of four buyers would recommend a company to their peers.

3. All of this results in greater customer loyalty and lower churn.

• A 5% increase in customer retention rates has been shown to increase profits by up to 95%. And feeling unappreciated is the number one reason people switch providers.

Don't forget: Not only customers and suppliers can see it this way. Your employees and colleagues also want to feel valued. Studies show that two out of three people would leave a job if they didn't feel valued.

Some companies have an internal mechanism for this. Insuggest, our Employee of the Month contest, is nominated by peers. Everyone votes for the person they think most deserves it, but we also wrote a little note about how that employee came across as this.Company Values ​​Positivity, Integrity, Empathy and Motivationat your job. Then, at our monthly all-employee meeting, company co-founder and CEO Kyle reads some of them aloud and announces the winner.

While we don't actually call them thank you notes, they are exactly what they are. It's great to be recognized and to see your co-workers recognized as well. It's a great company culture.

What should I send? A letter? A note? An e-mail? A text?

So we found out that almost everyone likes to be thanked. What's the best way to do this?

A handwritten note often has the most impact. If you've been on social media lately, you've probably come across a pet brand calledDeliveryman. And you've probably noticed them already because your customers write about the handwritten notes the company includes with their orders.

These cute notes are such a hit that when you Google them, one of the results on the front page is a Facebook post from a customer about the note they received. That says a lot about how much the bills delight Chewy customers and others.

I know what you're thinking, this is all an anecdote. How about some dates or something before you pick up a pen and start writing? I hear you.Here's an interesting A/B test of the Donors Choose philanthropy platform.

When they sent handwritten thank you notes to half of all recent first-time donors, they found that those who received a message were 38% more likely to donate again than those who didn't. And those who reciprocated gave more than average donations.

And now you think handwritten notes are great, but you don't want to add another non-business task to your sales team's day-to-day activities. Don't worry, I have a solution for that too.

Authenticity and automation

How to make authenticity coexist with automation?

If you've been in this corner of the web (aka the Proposify blog) for more than a minute, you know that we're big fans of using templates, especially for proposals. You eliminate that blank screen, blinking cursor, where the hell do I start to feel with your sales team.

When it comes to gratitude, a template can mean that your thank you letter doesn't come across as sincere. And that defeats the purpose.

Instead, I suggest your sales team use a formula for your thank you messages. A thank you note formula provides a solid starting point for writing and keeps your message concise and to the point. The formula I'm about to describe to you is simple and versatile: it can be applied to almost any situation in business and beyond. And while it doesn't take much, if any, precious time to sell, it will add value to the customer relationship.

Okay, so we have the medium below. Let's talk about the message itself.

How to Write a Business Thank You Note

There are countless ways to send a thank you card - for a first purchase or a repeat purchase. Start or end of a project. Even the opportunity to submit an offer or RFP is a good time to express gratitude.

Lizzie Post, the OG Emily Post label lady's mat, has a simple formula for the perfect thanks note every time. This is what she suggests:

1. Abra

2. Thank you very much

3. close

Yes, three full steps. It's really that easy. I will show you.

How to Remove "Thank You for Your Business" From Your Vocabulary: 8 Thank You Note Examples

Is there a more boring or characterless message than saying, "Thank you for your business"?

Thanking your customers is great, but thanking them for their "business" seems a little cold and heartless, as if you're just sending the message because you've exchanged money, not because you're genuinely grateful. Short or long, a personalized thank you note always packs a stronger punch than a generic email.

Using the formula described above, it's quick and easy to create a thank you note that doesn't look formulaic or fake.

Here are some examples I wrote to illustrate this. It only took me a few minutes to put them together, and although I used the same formula, each one feels original and personal.

8 Thank You Letter Examples for Sales Scenarios and Offers:

1. Thank you for the opportunity to submit a proposal.
2. Thank you for the opportunity to respond to an RFP.
3. Thank you for the opportunity to quote.
4. Thank you for your quote request.
5. Thanks for using our services
6. Thanks for starting the project.
7. Thank you for your order
8. thanks and bye

Sample Thank You Letter #1 - Thank You for the Opportunity to Submit a Suggestion

Why do acknowledgments like this work so well?

There are three reasons why notes like the ones above resonate with both your team and recipients:

1. These thank you notes are concise.

Business-related thank you letters should be concise and on topic. Do not combine it with other messages, such as questions about project initiation or the outstanding invoice. Focus on saying thank you, then mention this company in your next call, email, or message.

2. You are specific.

There are no general statements here. It speaks directly to the situation at hand and lets the recipient know that this is not an automatically generated mass circulation message triggered by a bot algorithm. Specificity builds trust.

3. But don't overdo it.

Of course, if you really think you've cemented the greatest business partnership in the history of the world, let him know. If not, stay positive, but also be honest and realistic. People have pretty sensitive BS meters. Even if you mean well with your exaggeration, your entire note can come off as inauthentic. This is the opposite of what you want to achieve.

How do you say thank you?

Those are two simple words that go a long way. Thanking you for your business is a simple yet powerful way to grow your relationships, build brand loyalty, and increase overall goodwill.

It's easy to say, done quickly and never to be misunderstood. There's no harm in sending a business thank you email or letter, so try to make time in your week to do this more often.

Oh, and thanks for reading!