In case you aren’t aware, it was my birthday recently. But don’t worry if you missed it, there will be others. I had a special birthday card that I want to tell you about.

It was from Dave. You won’t know Dave, because I don’t know Dave. He works for a website that I visited once. I didn’t buy anything and I don’t even recall leaving my details. Certainly not my date of birth. Did he search for me on Facebook or Myspace? Am I being stalked??

But, I am impressed. It’s not often you receive a handwritten, personalised birthday card through the mail, signed by someone you don’t know, who works for a company from which you have never made a purchase.

Such personalisation is very hard working. Let’s all consider Dave for a moment and think about how much he want’s my business. It costs money to send a birthday card and it costs money to sign it with ink. Does he act on blind intuition, or does he know something I don’t?

If you received a signed (with real ink!), personalised card recognising your donation, would you make another gift in the future? My guess is yes.

Paul Bailey