Why Customer Appreciation Is Fading—And How Handwritten Notes Can Win Back Loyalty

Handwrytten’s newly released 2025 Consumer Outreach Survey reveals a striking shift in how consumers feel about brand communication. The study explores three key themes: how consumers prefer to communicate, how brands are currently reaching out, and the rising “annoyance factor” tied to certain marketing methods.

Perhaps most concerning: only 12% of consumers today feel appreciated by the brands they support. That figure is down 600 basis points since 2022, when 18% of consumers reported feeling appreciated—a one-third drop. The disconnect is growing—and it’s costing brands customer retention, referrals, and revenue.

This raises three essential questions for any customer-focused organization:

1. Why don’t consumers feel appreciated by brands?

2. What would change if they did?

3. How can your business respond to this appreciation gap?

These questions offer a gateway to building a powerful customer experience strategy—one that emphasizes emotional marketing, customer engagement, and the personalization lacking in today’s digital outreach.

Why Do Consumers Not Feel Appreciated by Brands?

Only 12% of consumers feel appreciated by the brands they support—down from 18% in 2022. What’s behind this decline? The answer is simple: overreliance on digital marketing channels and annoying phone calls. Brands are defaulting to emails (72%), text messages (41%), and phone calls (40%) for outreach. These channels are efficient, but often feel impersonal. Phone calls are rated the most annoying, with 52% of consumers reporting frustration.

Meanwhile, non-digital marketing channels like handwritten direct mail remain rare. Only 11% of consumers reported receiving a handwritten note from a brand recently. Yet these are considered the least annoying and most surprising form of brand outreach—proof that analog touchpoints have a place in modern relationship marketing.

  

Direct mail marketing with a handwritten element isn’t just nostalgic—it’s strategic. According to the American Marketing Association, creating meaningful customer experiences is vital to long-term success. Handwritten notes help brands differentiate in crowded inboxes and drive lasting customer loyalty and customer interest loyal users and prospective customers alike.

How Would Brand Loyalty Be Different If Customers Felt Appreciated?

When customers feel appreciated, their behavior changes in ways that fuel business growth:

• 55% would buy more frequently
• 50% would spend more per purchase
• 53% would refer the brand to friends and family
• 47% would write a positive review

These outcomes translate directly to increased revenue and brand advocacy—especially among premium customers who expect a higher level of personalization, such as luxury clients, customers buying more expensive goods (such as home buyers and car buyers) and investment management clients.

Handwritten notes offer a personal touch that supports B2C marketing trends focused on human connection. They also complement campaigns across channels—such as event marketing, follow-ups, and thank-you gifts—reinforcing your commitment to customer satisfaction.

What Can Brands Do to Improve Customer Appreciation?

Digital tools can support scale, but they can’t replace sincerity. 45% of unappreciated consumers say they’d feel more valued if they received a handwritten note. That beat out emails (31%), texts (23%), and phone calls (17%).

Here’s why handwritten notes stand out:

• 3x more likely to be opened and read than printed mail
• Perceived as the most meaningful and most personal form of communication
• Only 4% of consumers find them annoying

Industries like home services, real estate, automotive, and luxury retail can gain a significant edge by using handwritten notes to follow up post-purchase or post-service. These are often underutilized customer touchpoints.  Other businesses still have huge opportunity to add this to their advertising mix.

Four Ways to Elevate Appreciation in Your Marketing Mix

1. Integrate Handwritten Notes into Your CRM: Send 3–4 notes annually at key moments such as onboarding, anniversaries, or post-purchase follow-ups.

2. Use AI for Segmentation and Timing: AI-powered tools can identify ideal outreach moments and personalize the message to each customer segment.

3. Design a Signature Handwriting Style: Match your note’s tone to your brand voice—professional, playful, warm, or premium.

4. Create a Multichannel Strategy: Combine direct mail with digital for a hybrid approach that captures attention and deepens engagement.

Final Thoughts

In an age of automation, authentic connection is a rare currency. Handwritten notes are viewed as non-automatable—making them disproportionately impactful. They embody brand authenticity in a way digital rarely does.

If you want to improve customer retention, enhance engagement, and differentiate your brand, this isn’t just nostalgia. It’s good business.

Contact Handwrytten to learn how we can help you scale handwritten outreach—without sacrificing quality, timing, or personalization. Your customers will thank you for it.