Chewy's Handwritten Notes Highlight the Power of Personalization

Around the holidays, it’s not unusual to receive cards or notes from large brands you have had interactions with on some level. Typically, these cards are generic and sent en masse to customers, or at least that has been my experience, until this year.

In December, I received what appeared to be a handwritten note from Chewy, thanking me for choosing the company to help care for my pets and wishing me a happy holiday season. On the back of the card was a QR code, that when scanned, took me to content curated for the holidays.

The QR code located on the back of the holiday card links to a holiday-specific page with tips for celebrating with your pet.

I thought the card was a nice touch and held onto it thinking it might be a nice piece to highlight at some point in the year.

It wasn’t until a received a second card, for my dog Perseus’ birthday, that I realized the cards might actually be handwritten, and with a QR code linking to a birthday gift shop for pets, also a great marketing tactic.

The Chewy Birthday card QR code linked directly to a shop full of birthday gifts for pets.

Although I reached out to Chewy for comment and wasn’t able to gather the information I was looking for, I was able to find a tweet from another intrigued customer.

This person had asked the same question I had been asking myself — is it possible that Chewy employs card writers to handwrite personalized cards to each of its customers for holidays and birthdays? It seemed impossible to me since I assume Chewy has an extremely large customer base. Chewy’s answer, however, shocked me.

Hi there! We employ many card writers to hand-write all of our cards. We always strive for authenticity when it comes to showing our appreciation for our Chewy family. 🙂

— Chewy (@Chewy) March 4, 2020

Authenticity is powerful. It can make a customer feel appreciated and keep them coming back for more. Chewy was not only able to utilize direct mail as a simple gesture of gratitude, but it added a deeply personal touch that took its efforts one step further. Obviously, the cards are a vessel for bringing customers to curated shops to encourage more engagement and shopping with the brand, but the personal touch makes it seem more than just a marketing tool.