In the olden days, you would send a postcard or letter acknowledging a birthday or other special recognition for a customer.  This was time consuming and expensive.  What's worse, most of these were so generic that they did nothing to convey any sense of personalization, and build loyalty. Flash forward - the future is here!  If you're not already, you need to study how your customers are communicating.  Heck, you can even ask them!  Do they constantly check their email?  Do they "tweet"?  Are they on Facebook? Linked In? I recommend being where your customers are.  Plus, capturing a little information that will allow you to personalize and tailor each and every communication just to that customer.  How?  It's easy!  Just ask some simple questions to start - birth month and day, favorite menu item, etc.  Then, when you communicate, refer back to this information as appropriate. You'll be amazed at teh positive response when you send meaningful communication to your customer.  Your task really is to build the value into each and every interaction.