I’ve been with Sprint for 3 years now and have been satisfied with their service, never overwhelmingly brand loyal, but satisfied enough to renew my contract.

The other day I found in my mailbox an envelope that seemed to be handwritten. Looking at the return address it was clearly from Sprint.

Curious, I opened the envelope to find a cute, colorful thank you card. On the front it listed various activities in a given day:

• wake up
• text a friend
• have coffee
• call boss
• do some stuff
• take pics
• grab a bite
• change ring tone
• do more stuff
• get message
• have dinner
• call mom
• watch that show
• change ring again
• brush teeth
• sleep

On the inside was a message saying “Thanks for letting us be a part of your day. Just taking a moment to let you know that we appreciate your business.”

Thanks for brightening my day. It feels good to be appreciated.

Why does this campaign work? Two reasons:
First, it’s a thank you card. Sprint is letting their customers know they are appreciated (which is a great way to build brand loyalty).

Secondly, Sprint has subtly reminded its customers just how much they rely on Sprint’s service. Sometimes when services become part of our daily routine, they’re easy to take for granted.

With this gentle reminder, Sprint effectively made me just a little more brand loyal - which adds to my lifetime value. Who knows, maybe I’ll even tell a few friends about how appreciated I feel and based on my experience they will choose Sprint for their cell phone service.

Still, being the skeptic I am, part of me wonders if this is authentic. Could this be in response to the Washington Post article Geoff commented on last month?