Idea to Steal: Ninja Surprise

There was nothing in my mailbox yesterday except one small postcard.

That's not all that unusual these days … "snail mail" for anything other than bills or catalogs is increasingly rare.

But this little card was different … hand written with a quick drawing of an otter … it was a "Ninja Surprise" card from Abby who works for MailChimp.  She dropped me a note in the mail just to say she liked my last email campaign (their term for sending out a message to a list of subscribers … something I do about once a month or so.)  Of course, I know this is probably a standard program at MailChimp … but it made me smile ... it made an impression.

We talk about poor customer service a lot … it seems only fair to talk about the exceptional service instances … like someone taking a moment out of her busy day to make a personal connection.  I was so delighted that I went to MailChimp's instant chat support function (another service that has proved very useful) and when I told the person who answered that I wanted to say thanks to Abby, he immediately transferred me to her and we "chatted."  

She has taught herself to draw cute animals so that she can enhance her Ninja notes and she was so delighted that I took the time to say thanks that she is now sending me a shirt, too.  What an amazing circle of connection.  

And, how much did this simple postcard increase my loyalty to MailChimp?  Probably beyond calculation.  Right now I am a "free" account but I hope my mail list grows to the point where I can become one of their paying customers.  When that time comes, one of the many reasons I'll stay with MailChimp is because of that small note from Abby.

So, the question is … how could you use the idea of sending a "Ninja Surprise" to your clients and customers?