Follow ups

After doing a Birthday party/any event, should I send a Thankyou for Having me note? Should I keep track of clients info and party dates and maybe follow up with them the next year around the same time in case they are looking for entertainment? Has anyone tried this?

I think its a nice gesture to send a quick email to thank them and it doesn't hurt to have list. I never tried contacting people but I do get repeat customers so I keep track of what services they had and how much I charged etc. They are always impressed when I refer to that because sometimes they forget what we did for their party.

I wanted to take a pic of the birthday kid, and send it in a frame as a thank you- with a survey for comments etc. Did it on my first party and the check bounced, felt jaded- but it is a nice idea to say thank you.
The advice my husband gave me rings true every time "be the painter you want to be" If sending thank you's makes you happy do it. If sending email marketing the month of their birthday makes you feel impersonal- skip it. Running your own business is great because you get to make your own choices!

I got some post cards from Vistaprint I think, and I send a little thank you post card. Then they get something with my company name/website on it too that they can hang on to if they want to contact me in the future too. I have a few clients who hire me year after year for the same event, and one of them always forgets to call me until the day before. So far I've been able to re-arrange my schedule to make it happen, but for them I definitely need to send out an email to see if they want me! It's all in how you word it. I usually put it in a way that I am checking with them first and giving them first dibs before I let someone else book me, so they don't end up calling and I'm busy. They have always thanked me for it, but I don't do that for everyone.

Thanks for the great advice!