Sending personalized thank you cards is a dying art. However, the feelings that come when you know you're appreciated remain the same. By using thank you cards for business, you can show appreciation for clients and employees, earning loyalty from both.

There are some thank you cards basics you should follow when writing a business thank you card. Unlike writing a thank you note for a gift, a business thank you card must be professional but have a personalized, appreciative tone to it at the same time. Before writing business thank you notes, consider the following:

1. There are more options than just sales thank you cards. While it's vital to thank clients who raise your sales numbers, it's also important to thank clients who recommend your business, even if the recommendation doesn't lead to a sale. Recognizing the efforts of others to help grow your business means they'll continue to promote your business to their friends and clients.

2. Business thank you cards should mention what you're appreciative of and why. This is especially important when thanking employees.

3. Corporate thank you cards help build morale and improve employee performance. You can thank individuals or teams.

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Write formal business thank you cards

Formal business thank you cards are good for a high-end client or a superior. Formal business thank you cards look and sound more professional than just a verbal thank you or a thank you written on a sticky note.

I recommend: Hammond Greetings and Promotions sells traditional, textured and executive business thank you notes. Shop through CardsDirect for formal business thank you cards that work for all business occasions.

Look for informal business thank you postcards

Not every business transaction has to end with a formal thank you card. Sending employees informal thank you cards, as well as frequent clients, lets you say thank you without making it seem like a big production. These also work well when bulk mailing cards to many clients at once.

I recommend: Get fun or formal business thank you postcards from Executive Greeting Cards. Work with Lighthouse Colorprint and customize your own business postcards.

Use business thank you card templates

Templates let you design your own custom thank you card for clients and employees. While this might not be the most practical solution for bulk mailing thank you cards, it's the best option when a client or employee deserves something more than a boxed greeting. A template lets you personalize the card to the situation.

I recommend: Blue Squirrel offers a program, ClickBook 10, that lets you customize and print everything from thank you cards to documents. The Microsoft Corporation has a variety of custom, downloadable thank you card templates.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You can use thank you cards as a part of employee morale by making them unexpected. If you send a thank you card every time an employee does something well, they'll become expected and unimpressive. But if you save them for when employees or teams do exceptional jobs, and they have a positive stigma attached to them, it will build morale and, hopefully, initiative.

Business success in a small company often hinges on making personal connections. Unfortunately, in our fast-paced, technology-centered world, many of us forget to express thanks to the people who support our business with a personal note, rather than an email or voicemail message.

Customer thank-you notes aren't just a great way to show appreciation — they can be a valuable marketing tool. It doesn't take a lot of effort to write a personal, sincere thank you note to a client, but it will help you and your organization stand out. When sending a thank you note to a customer, keep these ideas in mind:

1. Hand-write a personal note on a high-quality blank or pre-printed card
2. Keep the message brief, warm and personal
3. Including a thoughtful gift can be a memorable way to thank a preferred client.

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Hand-write a message on an elegant blank or pre-printed card.

High-quality blank cards, or those pre-printed with a standard message like 'thank you for your business' and your company name and logo, are a versatile and memorable way to show appreciation. Write a brief but warm personal message and include your signature and a business card.

I recommend: Crane's, Nisa Business Greeting Cards and Cronin & Company all offer a variety of business-appropriate thank you notes in a variety of colors, paper weights and styles. Cards Direct sells a variety of cards you can customize with your company's logo or a pre-printed message. eBusiness Thank You Cards can link you to supplies of discount cards, unique cards and oversize cards.

Use software to help you come up with the right words

It's not always easy to know what to say in a thank you note. Programs that give you samples of language you can use can make showing your appreciation simple.

I recommend: 3001 Business & Sales Letters by Write Express provides sample letters you can use for nearly any business correspondence, including great ways to say thanks.

Consider a gift.

For loyal clients, a small token of appreciation can make a big impact.

I recommend: FindGift.com offers gifts in a variety of types and price ranges, all perfect for saying thanks.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be prompt. The best time to send a thank you is within a few days of whatever your thanking the person for.
• •  Thank unhappy customers. A customer who complains is giving you the opportunity to make things right and win back his or her loyalty.
• •  Be appropriately formal. If you are on a first-name basis with the person you're thanking, use it; but if you aren't sure, stick to the less-familiar 'Dear Ms. or Mr.'
• •  Consider timing. Many businesses send annual thank-you cards around the holidays, but yours is less likely to be lost in the shuffle if you choose another time of year.

One small investment that can have a big return is thank you cards for business. Managers, employers, small business owners and job hunters should all research the pricing and costs of thank you cards. Depending on the size of your business, you may need a small or medium budget set aside for a continuous supply of cards.

The pricing and costs of thank you cards depends on the customization of the cards. Blank business thank you cards are cheaper than personalized thank you cards because there is no charge for printing. Business thank you postcards are more affordable than notes or cards, even with custom print jobs on the postcards. The average thank you note order can run you anywhere from $20.00 for a small order to over a $1,000.00 for a large order. Consider the following when looking for business thank you cards:

1. The more involved the design is on the cards and inside the cards, the more the cards cost.

2. Custom business thank you cards require a larger budget, due to printing and customization costs.

3. Free printable cards available online are an affordable option for a small business to use with employees.

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Research the Internet for the best priced corporate thank you cards

An Internet search can bring up a ton of cost comparisons for thank you cards. However, searching different suppliers gives you a better idea of any specials or sales going on with that supplier. The benefit of using specific retailers over wholesalers is that most suppliers offer custom business thank you cards based on your specifications. On average, you can purchase thank you cards for between $20 for a small amount and over $2,000 for a large amount.

I recommend: Harrison Greetings is a reasonably priced greeting cards company, with the option to order as little as 10 cards. Order business thank you notes, with a custom message, from Touchpoint. This company also offers a shipping option in their pricing, which means you can save time by letting them mail for you.

Order wholesale business thank you cards for frequent uses

If you frequently mail clients a business thank you card, ordering cards wholesale is the best choice for your budget. Most wholesale cards will have preprinted messages and only a handful of designs, but they work great for showing appreciation on a regular basis. Depending on the style of card, wholesale pricing averages around $5 for two dozen cards.

I recommend: Order boxed sets of thank you cards from MyExpression.com at wholesale prices. They have everything from professional to quirky. Galison offers wholesale pricing on thank you notes, including referral thank you cards with a space for your business card.

Print out your own thank you cards

If you're on an extremely tight budget, print out your own thank you cards using free downloadable templates or designs. While these aren't the best for clients, they work fine for thanking an employee or a group of employees for their efforts. And depending on your business, they can work fine for clients, too. Just use a high quality cardstock when printing to increase the professional look and feel of the card. Printing your own cards can save you hundreds of dollars a year. The average pack of high quality cardstock runs around $12 to $15, and gives you about 80 sheets.

I recommend: Printfree.com offers a small selection of free, printable designs for thank you cards. Get free printable thank you cards from Blue Mountain and print out beautiful or fun thank you cards.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Stay extremely budget friendly by doing interoffice e-cards. If you just want to thank someone within your business for a job well done, send a thank you e-card to their inbox. This lets you send a custom thank you card, show your appreciation and avoid tapping into your budget.
• •  Don't forget to factor in the cost of mailing when making your budget. Since postage rates rise on a regular basis, you should budget a little over for postage than what you actually need. This way you don't run short of money should postage rates rise unexpectedly.

Thank you cards are useful in many business situations. When a company rep wants to create a relationship with someone from another company, a thank you card can help cement that connection. Individuals also use thank you cards after interviews or in other professional situations. All kinds of small businesses use thank you cards to let clients know they care and are paying attention to whom is paying them. Knowing about some of the basic terms for thank you notes will help business leaders select the card-making process that best meets their needs.

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Paper stock

Paper stock is important for all kinds of cards, including thank you cards. Paper stock is the weight and quality of a certain kind of paper.

I recommend: Find out more about paper stock at The Print Guide.

Print run

Another thing to consider in printing up thank you cards is the print run, or the number of cards that will be printed in the initial run.

I recommend: See a definition of a print run at Reverso.

Laser photo paper

Some companies may choose to print custom thank you cards with photos of staff or execs printed on the front or inside of the card. For projects like these, laser photo paper might be right for the job. Laser photo paper is a type of high-gloss, photo-quality paper that can produce great results.

I recommend: Find more on laser photo paper at Graytex.

Font

Another consideration for a business making thank you cards is the font selections. A font is a kind of type face, or letters created with a specific standard visual design. Card planners will need to choose fonts wisely for a visually appealing result.

I recommend: Learn more about fonts at Urban Font.

Business card

The business card is a standard-sized card printed on one side that professionals use to promote their businesses or companies. Many businesses use a business card inside a thank you note to give the recipient access to basic info about the company.

I recommend: Get more on business cards at Business Card Doc.

Engraving

Another process for printing thank you cards is engraving. Engraving is the art of creating raised letters or images on a card. This is often used to give thank you cards a sense of style and elegance.

I recommend: See more about engraving at What is.