Marketing: The Relationship Rule Every Marketer Gets Wrong

  • What Charlotte Pearce’s handwritten-note empire teaches us about human connection and growth

    Most brands still treat marketing like a one-way street.

    They broadcast messages, demand clicks, push offers, and ask customers to do something—buy now, refer a friend, leave a review—often before any real relationship has been built.

    Charlotte Pearce did the opposite. And in doing so, she built Inkpact, a company that sends millions of genuinely handwritten notes for brands such as Victoria Beckham, John Lewis, Waitrose and Boden.

    Her insight is simple, but uncomfortable for many marketers:

    Customers are humans first. And humans buy from people they feel connected to.

    Marketing Works Like Dating (Whether You Like It or Not)

    Charlotte compares modern marketing to romantic relationships—and the analogy is painfully accurate.

    Imagine going on a first date where the other person immediately says:

    • Do this for me.

    • Buy this for me.

    • Tell your friends about me.

    You’d end the date pretty quickly.

    Yet this is exactly how most brands behave.

    They jump straight to demands without first offering value, warmth or appreciation. The result? Low engagement, rising acquisition costs, and customers who feel nothing towards the brand.

    Marketing, like dating, only works when there’s give before ask.

    The Radical Power of Marketing With No Call to Action

    This is where Charlotte’s approach really challenges conventional thinking.

    Many of Inkpact’s most successful handwritten notes contain no call to action at all. No discount codes. No referral links. No “shop now”.

    Just a simple message:

    “Thank you for choosing us.”

    For traditional marketers, this feels terrifying. We’ve been trained to believe that every interaction must push the customer somewhere.

    But the data tells a different story.

    When customers feel genuinely appreciated—without being asked for anything in return—they become:

    • More loyal

    • More likely to return

    • More willing to recommend the brand organically

    Gratitude, it turns out, converts.

    Write Like a Friend, Not a Brand

    Handwritten notes work because they force a different kind of copywriting.

    Charlotte’s rules are refreshingly human:

    • Address people by their first name

    • Sign off from a real person and team

    • Strip away jargon and corporate language

    • Speak like a friend, not a campaign

    The handwritten format allows brands to express warmth and emotion in a way that emails, ads and social posts simply can’t.

    It doesn’t feel automated—because it isn’t.

    The “Mantelpiece Moment” Most Marketing Never Achieves

    Think about how long your average marketing message lasts:

    • Emails vanish in seconds

    • Social posts disappear down the feed

    • Ads are forgotten almost instantly

    Handwritten notes behave differently.

    They end up on mantelpieces, fridges and desks. They stay visible. They’re seen repeatedly.

    Every glance is a reminder of the brand—and of how it made the customer feel.

    That’s not a touchpoint. That’s memory-building.

    Scaling Human Connection (Yes, It’s Possible)

    The common objection is obvious: This is lovely, but it can’t scale.

    Inkpact proves that it can.

    With 1,500 trained scribes worldwide, Charlotte’s company delivers genuine human connection at massive scale—without losing authenticity.

    The lesson for business owners is clear:

    You don’t have to choose between growth and humanity. The brands that win long-term are the ones that combine both.

    The Takeaway for Business Owners

    If your marketing feels noisy, transactional or increasingly ineffective, the problem may not be your funnel, your ads or your copy.

    It may be this:

    You’re asking before you’re giving.

    Build the relationship first. Show appreciation. Speak like a human. And trust that connection, when done properly, drives growth.

    About Charlotte Pearce

    Charlotte Pearce is the founder of Inkpact, the only company sending millions of genuinely handwritten notes at scale. Her clients include Victoria Beckham, John Lewis, Waitrose and Boden. She has raised £2.5 million in investment and leads a global network of 1,500 scribes, redefining what human-centred marketing looks like in the modern world.

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