Back in the day – and I mean WAY back in the day – my dentist used to send me a birthday card every year.
It was snail-mailed (that’s all there was at the time), hand-addressed, and hand-signed by both he and the three or four other people working in his office.
Now the truth is, I don’t know for sure any of these people actually signed the cards.
Maybe they hired someone to use different colored pens and fake different signatures to make it look like they did. But it certainly appeared so.
Fast-forward 40 years and you will be happy to know my current dentist is keeping this birthday card tradition alive … if not well.
Here’s what I mean…
Every year on my birthday, just as before, I receive a birthday wish from the practice.
Except…
It’s sent as a text.
It’s not signed by anyone.
It’s completely automated.
This year, and with the goal, I assume, of removing any suggestion that a human had something to do with personally sending this heartfelt text, they have added a new twist: the birthday message is repeated immediately below in Spanish (see image).
That’s correct. Instead of segmenting the list into those who prefer English and those who prefer Spanish – which, automation aside, would have demonstrated a modicum (SAT word!) of personalization – everyone gets everything.
I can only assume that eventually, as more and more language variations are added, my annual birthday message will look like the directions that came with your AirPods.
A Good Idea, Poorly Applied
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of birthday cards, both sent and received. I mail out a few hundred every year to anyone who requests one.
And while it does takes some effort – writing, addressing, stamping, inserting the $50 bill inside (What? Yours didn’t include one?) – not to mention the cost of the card and the postage, I believe it has a positive impact, both for my business and those who receive one.
Then, about 10 years ago, I found a way to automate the entire process through a company that took care of everything for me, sending cards that were clearly mass-produced and mailed.
It seemed like a great solution … until it occurred to me that, like my dentist, I had lost the thread.
The point was never to check the “I know it’s your birthday” box. It was to make a small, but authentic, connection with the people on my list.
Instead, my birthday ritual had devolved into something with about as much positive impact as the, “Thank you for visiting us” message printed at the end of a gas station receipt.
Two Suggestions
I get it; when you work solo or in a tiny company, you don’t have the time or resources to “hand deliver” everything. This very newsletter, while uniquely fabulous, is sent as is to every subscriber – without a whiff of personalization.
But I do have two guidelines that I try to follow…
#1. Automate/Outsource the Behind-the-Scenes Stuff.
Bookkeeping, invoicing, recurring payments, file backup, mileage tracking, report updates, research … these are all things that somebody/something can do for you.
They make your life more efficient, but are largely invisible and/or irrelevant to anyone but you.
#2. Don’t fake it.
AI can write your emails and your virtual assistant can send your thank you notes. But the slope is slippery and at some point, as my dentist does and I did, you risk missing the point entirely, and even annoying people who feel they were tricked.
Plus, given how difficult this kind of thing is for companies of size, you are ceding one of your primary advantages of being small when you turn everything over to an automated process.
Here’s the bottom line.
When it comes to your marketing, do things that make a difference. It really is that simple.
And don’t forget to floss.
My dentist must have gone to the same Marketing for Dentists 101 class as yours. He used to (have his staff) snail mail a birthday card. Now he sends an email. Both gestures felt impersonal. It would have more meaning if he included an invitation to stop by his office for a goodie bag of toothpaste and dental floss, something the office already gives at each visit. That would accomplish two goals: his staff could deliver a personal “happy birthday” and patients would get more tools to take care of their teeth!
That’s a good point. I think “bigger” gestures (even if not offered to all clients) are more worthwhile than irrelevant gestures to everyone. A thousand times zero is still zero.
I send out an automated email birthday newsletter to about 1,500 people. Each year I find and create great content making it different and special. almost every day I get a thank you response often with context – what touched the person.
Good to hear.
As a matter of fact, I went to the dentist this week and, while they don’t pretend to know when my birthday is, they do have a lot of new and very cool technology to keep my teeth as healthy as possible.
As for birthdays, as you know, I like to use mine as the marketing tool — everyone seems to love to celebrate anyone’s birthday.
And I am about to send a fancy notepad to a small group of clients and I will write a personal note on each one. I do think it means a lot and it doesn’t take much effort.
As they say, it’s the little things, right?
Little things are big things!
I appreciate you injecting humor into this trend, but all the humor in the world will not make it less frightening for me. As far as I’m concerned the world has become a hellscape of automation. Attempts to each real human beings during any given day are futile. Voicemail, “Contact Us” fields instead of phone numbers,,,,,,it goes on and on. How ironic that the more humans inhabit the planet, the harder it is to engage with any of them (besides your family and closes friends) in any meaningful way.
You are not alone in that sentiment! But from a “build my business” standpoint, all of that makes the non-automated things people like us do all the more valuable and different. Remember, you can’t be above average unless somebody else is below average!
My dentist is new; he bought the practice from my old dentist, who is now in Florida playing golf. My new dentist doesn’t send me birthday wishes, but he does remember my dog’s name and asks about him every time.
In fact, he says, “Where’s Rocky?!” when he comes into the exam room. One time after a cleaning, I went home and got Rocky and brought him back. My dentist came out to the lobby and spent a couple of minutes saying hello to him and said, “Thank you. I love German Shepherds.”
What will I never, ever automate? My method for creating ideas and my writing.
A dog loving dentist is definitely a good sign!
My dentist did the same thing with handwritten cards. It made an impression!
I’ve had great luck sending personal emails inviting “friends” to my writing retreats/workshops. Not every one of the sixty or so invitees is someone I’d sit down with for a heart-to-heart, but all are people I know something about and have met personally. I use boilerplate for the details of the event but write a personalized introductory paragraph, referencing their writing, the last time we met, or some other personal detail. Yes, it’s time-consuming and a bit tedious. But it pays off and strengthens the bonds even further, upping the likelihood that they might attend another event in the future.
Love that idea!
I send personalized videos to my newsletter peeps that share their birth dates with me (year not required). People love it and it guarantees that folks show up at my concerts. I keep notes on the people who respond so I can include more personal info each year or remember them when I see them at an event. It will never scale, but I really have fun connecting with my fans this way.
Put me on the list, please! August 20
You are added to my list. I look forward to singing to you next year.
Thanks, Michael! Can’t recall my dentist sending me a personalized birthday card in the snail mail but the conversation recalls, for me, the trend toward depersonalization we’ve seen in grocery stores and libraries, as in many other places. I’ve always championed your side of the issue as I, myself, often mourn the loss of good, old-fashioned traditions and practices, like humanized connections. If Rod Serling was still around, I’m sure he’d draft a Twilight Zone episode highlighting that, as he did in “Obsolete!” 🙂