The Brands Reviving the Lost Art of Letter Writing to Drive Loyalty

In a world abuzz with Whatsapp pings and email notifications, handwritten notes are a rarity. Whether it’s a poem in a birthday card, an apology letter or silly scribble on a Post-It, the written word has the ability to evoke emotions in ways that can elude the digital form. Among those jumping on the trend are beer giant BrewDog and global fitness retailers including Gymshark and Sweaty Betty. On International Women’s Day (IWD), the latter sent "thank you" letters to members of its “Insiders” loyalty scheme—and more recently expressed gratitude via written notes to a select group of customers that had been shopping with the brand for 15 years. “Loyalty isn’t dead, but it doesn’t mean the same thing it did 10 years ago,” explained Georgina Little, head of CRM at Sweaty Betty. “Loyalty now doesn’t mean ‘spend more, get more,' it’s all about how customers perceive the values of your brand.” “Loyalty can be a psychological feeling from a customer that they love the brand—and you cannot measure that. But, it’s also the act of them shopping with you and the frequency of which they do it," she added. British department store John Lewis has also experimented with the handwritten approach. Last Christmas, the department store’s “Give a Little Love” campaign saw it post handwritten Christmas cards to close to 80,000 customers. Mightier than the keyboard? Post-pandemic, marketers are reimaging loyalty for the digital age, investing in personalized promotions and reward schemes to keep customers coming back for more. Where Covid-19 has made both Americans and Brits more brand loyal, the global levers of what inspires this devotion are changing. A recent study from e-commerce platform Yotpo found that 90% of U.K. consumers were loyal to brands that shared their values. But personalization is a key driver too: Accenture research has shown 48% of global consumers expect special treatment for being loyal to a brand. While direct mail might seem an antiquated way to reach consumers amid the digital noise, when it comes to driving behavior to encourage brand loyalty there is a unique power in putting pen to paper. 81% of Americans told note-writing service Bond that they considered receiving these to be more meaningful than an email or text. In the U.K., Sweaty Betty's IWD campaign by Inkpact illuminated this trend and drove a 15% sales uplift. In total, 54% of people who received the letter also made a purchase within three weeks. The business, which runs 60 stores globally, has plans in the pipeline to invest more in these handwritten experiences. However, for Little, there are other personal touches her team has applied to ensure the personal touch after “bringing so much online” at the height of the pandemic. This has included running market research with existing customers and calling them directly to address and understand any negative feedback. Also driving retention has been feedback through Facebook group Betty Buzz; a community of over 2700 customers. John Lewis' handwritten Christmas campaign drove results for the brand. John Lewis' head of loyalty, India Watson, responsible for a team delivering monthly targeted rewards and incentives for the 'My John Lewis' scheme members, explained how customers took to social media to express their joy at receiving something so personal following its "Give a Little Love" campaign—saying the brand had "never seen a reaction like it" from any previous work. John Lewis also saw commercial uplift; customers who received the campaign went on to shop 11% more frequently than those in a control group—and retention rates were also 4.5% higher. Measuring in manuscript Several businesses are now offering scribes on tap to pen notes to customers. This includes Inkpact (which works with both Sweaty Betty and John Lewis), which has a network of over 800 freelancers who put pen to paper. Others such as Scribeless and Roboquil both enlist artificial intelligence tech to do the job instead, integrating themselves with apps like Shopify to automate the service. Of course, like its equivalent digital channels, the challenge of handwritten marketing lies in measuring the return on investment (ROI). It's not just about the social media buzz these types of campaigns can generate. Little says a big learning element has been to take a longer-term approach: "We've learned so much from our customers. Implementing a loyalty strategy like this takes time. To measure how something is successful, you need to give the chance to see if it will work," she observed. "Loyalty can't be built in a day, it takes time." She also said this slow approach to marketing is particularly prevalent in the brand's international markets—where it doesn't have the same base of consumers as in the U.K. In these regions, it's relying on events and experiences to drive that connection with people. Watson, meanwhile, is building a framework to help John Lewis (which has just recently returned to growth after a turbulent few years) measure more unique loyalty investments. When it comes to communicating with customers in a direct, personal way, the KPIs look different: "It's not about looking at three-month incremental profit, it's about looking at those customers six, 12 and 24 months down the line. It's a much more emotional piece of activity, it's not just about how much they spend." Brands aren't just using notes to thank customers either. Gymshark inked 2,500 handwritten apologies to customers who were affected by its 2019 Black Friday crash—and luxury watch marque Montblanc is known to welcome new customers with a written message. Covid-19 Has Made Americans More Brand Loyal Than Ever