vanguard sent me a thank you card!

[Mr Mark]

Received in the mail a thank you card from vanguard.

Cute.

Suspect it was because I dropped 100k into the mix all at once a month ago!

[Nords]

Received in the mail a thank you card from vanguard.

Cute.

Suspect it was because I dropped 100k into the mix all at once a month ago!

For a company that prides itself on low expense ratios, a thank-you card seems oxymoronic when they could accomplish the same effect with e-mail.  Or even a simple "Thank you for your business!" screen when you made the original transaction...

[geekette]

Gee, we rolled over a half a million into an IRA at Vanguard last summer and didn't get so much as a sneeze!

[AssetGrinder]

Always nice to receive a thank you card. Over the past 10 years customer service has severely degraded and outsourced. Good to see some companies actually make an effort.

[OzzieandHarriet]

I got one of those, too! It was after I added an account with a big lump sum from our real estate sale.

[matchewed]

Received in the mail a thank you card from vanguard.

Cute.

Suspect it was because I dropped 100k into the mix all at once a month ago!

For a company that prides itself on low expense ratios, a thank-you card seems oxymoronic when they could accomplish the same effect with e-mail.  Or even a simple "Thank you for your business!" screen when you made the original transaction...

I want to see that in marquee with the flaming font... and flashing.

[ZiziPB]

I got a thank you note from Ally Bank in the mail the other day...

[brooklynguy]

For a company that prides itself on low expense ratios, a thank-you card seems oxymoronic when they could accomplish the same effect with e-mail.  Or even a simple "Thank you for your business!" screen when you made the original transaction...

I agree with this, but one semi-plausible explanation could be that an email or screen prompt does not have the same effect as a tangible, physically delivered card (at least not to all people).  And for an explanation of why it may make sense for Vanguard to make any expenditures of this type in the first place, see this post from their blog:

http://vanguardblog.com/2009/11/25/why-we-advertise/

[Paul der Krake]

Discover sends me a $5 starbucks card every now and then. Stuff like this helps their activation/retention numbers like you wouldn't believe, barely registers in their budget, and lands some executive a massive bonus come year end.

Whatever.

[Freedom2016]

For a company that prides itself on low expense ratios, a thank-you card seems oxymoronic when they could accomplish the same effect with e-mail.  Or even a simple "Thank you for your business!" screen when you made the original transaction...

I agree with this, but one semi-plausible explanation could be that an email or screen prompt does not have the same effect as a tangible, physically delivered card (at least not to all people).  And for an explanation of why it may make sense for Vanguard to make any expenditures of this type in the first place, see this post from their blog:

http://vanguardblog.com/2009/11/25/why-we-advertise/

Exactly! Doubt the OP would have started a thread to marvel at a giant blinking THANK YOU FOR YOUR BUSINESS message on the screen. Snail mail thank-you's are memorable.

[Nords]

For a company that prides itself on low expense ratios, a thank-you card seems oxymoronic when they could accomplish the same effect with e-mail.  Or even a simple "Thank you for your business!" screen when you made the original transaction...

I agree with this, but one semi-plausible explanation could be that an email or screen prompt does not have the same effect as a tangible, physically delivered card (at least not to all people).  And for an explanation of why it may make sense for Vanguard to make any expenditures of this type in the first place, see this post from their blog:

http://vanguardblog.com/2009/11/25/why-we-advertise/

Advertising brings in more customers (and more money) which helps Vanguard scale their business and lower their expense ratios.

But Vanguard spending your money to thank you for giving Vanguard your money... they already have your money.  Is a postal-mail card going to inspire you to boost your savings rate, or were you already sending money their way in auto-deductions? 

This philosophy is right up there with the friendly financial advisor who sends you "free" courtside tickets to the basketball game.  Different orders of magnitude, but were you going to yank your money out of Vanguard because they failed to properly demonstrate their affection for you?

A more tangible expression of their appreciation would be lowering their expense ratios again!

Emotionally and psychologically, I'd have the same "Awwww..." reaction to a thank-you card.  But mathematically and financially... we're suckers.

[brooklynguy]

For a company that prides itself on low expense ratios, a thank-you card seems oxymoronic when they could accomplish the same effect with e-mail.  Or even a simple "Thank you for your business!" screen when you made the original transaction...

I agree with this, but one semi-plausible explanation could be that an email or screen prompt does not have the same effect as a tangible, physically delivered card (at least not to all people).  And for an explanation of why it may make sense for Vanguard to make any expenditures of this type in the first place, see this post from their blog:

http://vanguardblog.com/2009/11/25/why-we-advertise/

Advertising brings in more customers (and more money) which helps Vanguard scale their business and lower their expense ratios.

But Vanguard spending your money to thank you for giving Vanguard your money... they already have your money.  Is a postal-mail card going to inspire you to boost your savings rate, or were you already sending money their way in auto-deductions? 

This philosophy is right up there with the friendly financial advisor who sends you "free" courtside tickets to the basketball game.  Different orders of magnitude, but were you going to yank your money out of Vanguard because they failed to properly demonstrate their affection for you?

A more tangible expression of their appreciation would be lowering their expense ratios again!

Emotionally and psychologically, I'd have the same "Awwww..." reaction to a thank-you card.  But mathematically and financially... we're suckers.

Again, I don't necessarily disagree, but there are plausible explanations that can be used to justify this.  The first that springs to mind is that the card could inspire heightened brand loyalty in the recipient, so even if it doesn't cause him or her to step up his or her investments with vanguard, it could turn the recipient into a more vocal ambassador for the company generating word of mouth business.  As someone said above, the card did inspire the OP to go post about it on the internet.

[massmustache]

I'd say having a member post on a targeted message board and then getting 8+ different people to respond to the sending of that card is a pretty good return on advertising dollars.

[Mr Mark]

I'd say having a member post on a targeted message board and then getting 8+ different people to respond to the sending of that card is a pretty good return on advertising dollars.

Exactly.

[Nords]

I'd say having a member post on a targeted message board and then getting 8+ different people to respond to the sending of that card is a pretty good return on advertising dollars.

It's good that they're happy about it, because they're funding the advertising budget...