Handwritten Notes Impress Customers

I recently ordered a beautiful letterpressed calendar and package of letterpressed Christmas cards from Linda & Harriett (read their blog). I had never ordered from the company before so I didn't know what to expect, but I had read about them in Daily Candy and I have a soft spot for letterpressed anything. The items arrived promptly and were ever prettier than I expected, but what impressed me the most was the handwritten thank you note (see above image) included in the package. In a world of automation and attempts at personalization it was wonderful to see a company that understands that their customers are actual people (not mere numbers) and are smart enough to know that the Dear John personalization of mass emails is just a computer attempting to make a good impression. It took an extra 20 seconds for a Linda & Harriet employee to write the thank you note and include it in my package, but it made me feel like a valued customer, so valued I'm willing to tell all of my friends about the experience. My challenge to you is to think about the extra 20 seconds you could add to your own processes to start really connecting with your customers.