Would like to send offline clients a thank you letter please let me know how this sounds

by khut
25 replies
I would like to start sending my offline clients a thank you postcard thanking them for their business, in the letter I would also like to ask for referrals and possibly a letter or of recommendation. Can you please give me your feedback on how this sounds:

Thank you for working with _____ Design for you website design needs. We pride ourselves in keeping our customers happy, and our continued commitment is to provide you with a personal, prompt, and professional service. We are looking for testimonials to use for our marketing purposes, and would appreciate it if you would pass our information along to anyone in need of our service.

We look forward to working with you again.

Thank you.
#clients #letter #offline #send #sounds
  • Profile picture of the author newbizideas312
    Is it waaay too professional or is just me?

    .. At time of payment do this.

    Did you like our work?

    How was the process for you?

    We built our company on customer satisfaction. Would you be willing to help us out and provide a testimonial?

    If you want to give them extra incentive, offer a discount to all customers who help you out.. just an opinion.

    Something like that..
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    • Profile picture of the author Evolve91
      It sounds professional.

      Having an affiliate program for my clients is something I have been recently mulling over and it does need to be tested for sure. If it works, my thinking is there would never be a shortage of new clients as long as the current clients are satisfied with services rendered.

      There are many various angles you could use to set your affiliate program up. It could be a flat one-time percentage of the first service a new referral purchased, or you could make it so the referring client gets commissioned on ALL the services a new referral orders now, and in the future, or just now.

      For myself, it will be a 50% commission of the first months services ordered. I don't care if it is a $500 website or $3K, $5K, or more in multiple services.

      A 50% commission of the first months service may seem high but if you hand your client a nice fat check for bringing you a referral they might send allot more referrals your way.

      Offer this affiliate program to all clients and maybe that would solve ever having to look for clients in the first place.

      It would be wise to work out the life time value of a new client when determining how much commission you're willing to pay out to your referrers.

      You could also hire a sales person and give them the 50% commission and 10 or 20% monthly residuals but most business owners already know and talk to other business owners so I would personally start there.
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  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author khut
      Originally Posted by newbizideas312 View Post

      Is it waaay too professional or is just me?

      .. At time of payment do this.

      Did you like our work?

      How was the process for you?

      We built our company on customer satisfaction. Would you be willing to help us out and provide a testimonial?

      If you want to give them extra incentive, offer a discount to all customers who help you out.. just an opinion.

      Something like that..


      Originally Posted by Evolve91 View Post

      It sounds professional.

      Having an affiliate program for my clients is something I have been recently mulling over and it does need to be tested for sure. If it works, my thinking is there would never be a shortage of new clients as long as the current clients are satisfied with services rendered.

      There are many various angles you could use to set your affiliate program up. It could be a flat one-time percentage of the first service a new referral purchased, or you could make it so the referring client gets commissioned on ALL the services a new referral orders now, and in the future, or just now.

      For myself, it will be a 50% commission of the first months services ordered. I don't care if it is a $500 website or $3K, $5K, or more in multiple services.

      A 50% commission of the first months service may seem high but if you hand your client a nice fat check for bringing you a referral they might send allot more referrals your way.

      Offer this affiliate program to all clients and maybe that would solve ever having to look for clients in the first place.

      It would be wise to work out the life time value of a new client when determining how much commission you're willing to pay out to your referrers.

      You could also hire a sales person and give them the 50% commission and 10 or 20% monthly residuals but most business owners already know and talk to other business owners so I would personally start there.
      Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

      That's awful wordy for a postcard.

      As far as referrals one thing you might do, is make it easy to get the information to you, as well as pass your information on.

      Incentives work as well. Personally i don't give incentives for referrals,
      but i know a lot of people who do, and they say it works great.


      Thank you for the feedback. I didn't think about the incentive route before, but I might try it to see how well it works.

      Thanks again
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  • Profile picture of the author beeswarn
    If you want to use a postcard, keep your message short.

    If you don't want to use a postcard, try this. Call a client when you've finished his latest work order. Thank him for his business and ask him directly who he knows who can use your product/service.

    Omit flowery over-thanking and cliches like "pride in your work" and "professionalism." By this point your client has already formed indelible opinions about you and your work and will or will not refer you accordingly.

    A fine point worth knowing: Do not ask "Do you know anyone else who can use ...?" Instead ask, "Who do you know who can use ...?"
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    • Profile picture of the author EnzoBlaque
      Originally Posted by beeswarn View Post

      If you want to use a postcard, keep your message short.

      If you don't want to use a postcard, try this. Call a client when you've finished his latest work order. Thank him for his business and ask him directly who he knows who can use your product/service.

      Omit flowery over-thanking and cliches like "pride in your work" and "professionalism." By this point your client has already formed indelible opinions about you and your work and will or will not refer you accordingly.

      A fine point worth knowing: Do not ask "Do you know anyone else who can use ...?" Instead ask, "Who do you know who can use ...?"
      Spot on. I do the exact same thing.

      When it comes to asking for referals, it helps to be direct and upfront about it.

      Plus, phoning up clients to deliver thank you messages works much better than postcards, or letters etc..

      I just feel it's a great way to build rapport with clients on a personal level, and to give them even more confidence when deciding to put their name on the line by refering their contacts.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Google send out cards.
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    • Profile picture of the author khut
      Originally Posted by beeswarn View Post

      If you want to use a postcard, keep your message short.

      If you don't want to use a postcard, try this. Call a client when you've finished his latest work order. Thank him for his business and ask him directly who he knows who can use your product/service.

      Omit flowery over-thanking and cliches like "pride in your work" and "professionalism." By this point your client has already formed indelible opinions about you and your work and will or will not refer you accordingly.

      A fine point worth knowing: Do not ask "Do you know anyone else who can use ...?" Instead ask, "Who do you know who can use ...?"
      Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

      Google send out cards.

      I have some personalized pens with my website and phone number that I'm planning on sending along with the postcard or letter. You're right what I have now is a little to wordy for a postcard, but I'm not sure what the best way would be to thank, ask for a referral and reference, maybe the postcard is a bad idea.

      @ Rus Sells I'm not sure what you mean by Google send out cards
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      • Profile picture of the author beeswarn
        Originally Posted by khut;6444793

        [B

        @ Rus Sells I'm not sure what you mean by Google send out cards[/B]
        No offense to Rus Sells intended, whatsoever. But if you think a client deserves a hand-written note, then invest the time to write a hand-written note. This isn't a situation where you need to save time or trouble.

        Sound out cards dot com is a multi-level marketing scheme that women get involved in when they want to tell each other that they own a home business, but don't care to do any work and don't need to earn any money.
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        • Profile picture of the author mmiys
          Originally Posted by beeswarn View Post


          Sound out cards dot com is a multi-level marketing scheme that women get involved in when they want to tell each other that they own a home business, but don't care to do any work and don't need to earn any money.
          Actually I know of one woman and over twenty business men who utilize send out cards in their business. They send out very professional cards they personalize with their own pictures, colors drawings, and even handwriting fonts. ..all with an outstanding back end csm for about $1 per card.

          That being said I thought he was saying Google had a post card delivery system I didn't know about! I am disappointed now.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
          Beewarm you are right it is a MLM company but one doesn't have to be into the MLM aspect to leverage a great product.

          An old client of mine is an executive in the marketing branch for a national brand food company introduced me to SendOutCards. I used them to send my roofing customers thank you cards after their job was complete. The cards are pretty highly customizable and make a good impression. My client used them all the time in his business network, non mlm related.

          You should be able to design it so you can have a referral portion as well but you might want to send that as a separate card from the thank you card.

          PS: Here's a photo of my clients home of which he used SendOutCards as a business to pay for his home. I made him a card with his new roof and thanked him for his business. My truck excluded. hehe



          Originally Posted by beeswarn View Post

          No offense to Rus Sells intended, whatsoever. But if you think a client deserves a hand-written note, then invest the time to write a hand-written note. This isn't a situation where you need to save time or trouble.

          Sound out cards dot com is a multi-level marketing scheme that women get involved in when they want to tell each other that they own a home business, but don't care to do any work and don't need to earn any money.
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          • Profile picture of the author Evolve91
            We'd like to thank you for choosing_________for your new website design and would like to remind you we are at your disposal for all your future web design needs and updates. We would also like to let you know we offer a _____ referral incentive should you send any of your contacts our way and they decide to work with us.

            We will keep you updated with the latest designs and cutting edge lead generation methods to keep your site way a head of your competition.

            Until then,

            _________
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        • Profile picture of the author BenFitts
          Originally Posted by beeswarn View Post

          No offense to Rus Sells intended, whatsoever. But if you think a client deserves a hand-written note, then invest the time to write a hand-written note. This isn't a situation where you need to save time or trouble.

          Sound out cards dot com is a multi-level marketing scheme that women get involved in when they want to tell each other that they own a home business, but don't care to do any work and don't need to earn any money.
          I just had to respond to this

          I'm a guy. I started with Send Out Cards almost 8 years ago (July 11th is my 8th anniversary).

          As far as it being a multi-level marketing scheme... It sounds like you have some baggage about multi-level from previous bad experiences. That's clouding your judgement about a great product.

          You don't have to be a distributor to use the product. This isn't one of those MLMs where everyone has to become a distributor to get the product at the wholesale rate. And it also isn't one of those MLMs where they markup the product 50% more than you can find it at the store.

          I personally have over a hundred customers using SOC. Many of them are traditional business owners. People who work in sales jobs like real estate or automobile sales. I also have a lot of broker owners of insurance companies, financial planners, doctors, chiropractors, and even people who work a trade like contractors or painters. These are customers only. I even have some performers like musicians and actors. None of them do the "business" side of SOC, they just use the product.

          In my experience it doesn't matter too much that Send Out Cards is printed and mailed for you. Your clients don't have a clue. All your clients know is that they don't get postcards, greeting cards, etc. You've gone to the extra effort of sending them a real card in the mail. They don't know all you did was send a campaign much like an email autoresponder but instead sending a real card in the mail.

          The other important factor is what you SAY inside the card.

          If your card is another sales pitch, no one cares. If your card is a genuine "thank you I appreciate your business, is there anything I can do to help" kind of thing, people appreciate that.

          Just yesterday a customer said thank you for the treats (I use SOC to send a thank you box of brownies to every customer) and for the continual encouragement cards. (I use SOC to follow up with customers for 60 days after purchase.)

          Is Send Out Cards an MLM? Hell yes!

          Is it a bad MLM? Hell no!

          Can you sell the product all on it's own? Hell yes!

          Is a postcard or greetingcard in the mail more effective to your new customers (or a box of brownies like I send with SOC) more effective than an email thank you? Isn't the answer obvious by now?
          Signature
          Benjamin Fitts
          877-BEN-FITTS (877-236-3488)
          Send Out Cards from your computer
          BC Marketers, LLC - Membership Site Experts
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          • Profile picture of the author Yogini
            I think a personal note would be best initially and also consider including something you know that speaks to them. For instance, my neighbor told me that her financial advisor sent her a note that also contained a page from the local newspaper about summer jobs for teens in the area. She was very touched because she had been telling the advisor her fear that her son would be sitting home all summer playing video games.

            I never used send out cards, but people have used my stress reduction booklets and I believe they cost the same and are kept and shared. Others I know will send out something special specific to the client such as a funny cartoon about dentists or two movie tickets that a client and his spouse can use etc.

            I personally also agree with Andrew that it might be good to just have the thank you note be a thank you and not mention referrals at the same time, but consider that as a follow up.

            Debbie
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  • Profile picture of the author Rus Sells
    Google, "send out cards". It's a great resource and easy to use for sending thank you cards to your clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author JamieSEO
    Postcards are a great way to go since they really jump out as something different.

    My suggestion is to re-write your postcard as something like this...

    Hi _____

    Thank you for working with us at _____ Design.

    Just following up to make sure you were happy with the services provided and see if you have any feedback on how we can make _____ Design even better.

    Just visit www.____Design.com/feedback to leave your comments and get a FREE Coupon for x% off your next order!

    [Business Owner]


    Keep things as simple as possible in the postcard and have an incentive for them to visit your feedback form. On the same webpage as your feedback form make sure you have a large "Tell People About Us" sign with social media buttons (facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc).

    Personally, I do not like to offer commissions for referrals to my services. If they think your service is good, then they will be happy to refer others to you anyway.

    If you have a business that is a big spender or repeat customer, also send them a "Thank you Package" basically an A3 envelope with:
    - A dozen of your business cards for them to hand to anyone they recommend you to
    - A thank you postcard
    - Your business flyers/special offers
    - x% off your next purchase of ___ coupon
    - Pen/Ruler/other promo materials
    Signature

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    • Profile picture of the author khut
      Originally Posted by JamieSEO View Post

      Postcards are a great way to go since they really jump out as something different.

      My suggestion is to re-write your postcard as something like this...

      Hi _____

      Thank you for working with us at _____ Design.

      Just following up to make sure you were happy with the services provided and see if you have any feedback on how we can make _____ Design even better.

      Just visit www.____Design.com/feedback to leave your comments and get a FREE Coupon for x% off your next order!

      [Business Owner]


      Keep things as simple as possible in the postcard and have an incentive for them to visit your feedback form. On the same webpage as your feedback form make sure you have a large "Tell People About Us" sign with social media buttons (facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc).

      Personally, I do not like to offer commissions for referrals to my services. If they think your service is good, then they will be happy to refer others to you anyway.

      If you have a business that is a big spender or repeat customer, also send them a "Thank you Package" basically an A3 envelope with:
      - A dozen of your business cards for them to hand to anyone they recommend you to
      - A thank you postcard
      - Your business flyers/special offers
      - x% off your next purchase of ___ coupon
      - Pen/Ruler/other promo materials
      Thank you Jamie SEO for your advice, this is along the lines of what I'm thinking.
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  • Profile picture of the author touchstone
    Google, "send out cards". It's a great resource and easy to use for sending thank you .
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  • Profile picture of the author mmiys
    Originally Posted by khut View Post

    I would like to start sending my offline clients a thank you postcard thanking them for their business, in the letter I would also like to ask for referrals and possibly a letter or of recommendation. Can you please give me your feedback on how this sounds:

    Thank you for working with _____ Design for you website design needs. We pride ourselves in keeping our customers happy, and our continued commitment is to provide you with a personal, prompt, and professional service. We are looking for testimonials to use for our marketing purposes, and would appreciate it if you would pass our information along to anyone in need of our service.

    We look forward to working with you again.

    Thank you.
    This is one of the techniques I use with my off-liners to get them more ratings on places, yelp, yahoo, etc.

    I make a QR code that can be changed. I link it to the site we want the most reviews from. I print that code on a sticker and my clients write a note on the invoice of the client that has just thanked them for the service. It says, "If you were happy with your service today, please take a moment and leave us a review." Many times the client does the review before they leave.

    As far as your letter, here is how I would rewrite it:

    "We appreciate your continued business and want to thank you for choosing us for your web design needs. If you are happy with our service, would you consider writing a testimonial we could show to prospective clients?

    Thanks in advance for your consideration."

    I'd also make it super easy to give you the recommendation. This could be with a qr code that leads to a contact form or a self addressed stamped envelope. People with great intentions don't take action unless it is super easy.

    Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author khut
      Originally Posted by Steve Solem View Post

      Oh crap - I wish someone told me that before I became a customer 5 years ago to help develop better personal and business relationships - what will I do now?



      Getting back on topic, I think every business person can benefit from sending "Thank You" notes to clients, and I think you're message is ok....but I think you'd be better off sending a letter or a real card (whether you write it yourself or use a service like SOC) thank a postcard. Just my opinion, but that's at step above sending a thank you email in my book, and I think a card or letter would be remembered and appreciated a bit more.

      Don't let your thank you be the only time they hear from you though. Send them cards on a regular basis to keep your name top of mind and remember important dates like their birthdays or anniversary if you can find out that info. Sending cards helped Joe Girard become the worlds greatest salesman, no reason it can't do great things for you too!

      Cheers,

      Steve
      Originally Posted by EnzoBlaque View Post

      Spot on. I do the exact same thing.

      When it comes to asking for referals, it helps to be direct and upfront about it.

      Plus, phoning up clients to deliver thank you messages works much better than postcards, or letters etc..

      I just feel it's a great way to build rapport with clients on a personal level, and to give them even more confidence when deciding to put their name on the line by refering their contacts.
      Originally Posted by Rus Sells View Post

      Beewarm you are right it is a MLM company but one doesn't have to be into the MLM aspect to leverage a great product.

      An old client of mine is an executive in the marketing branch for a national brand food company introduced me to SendOutCards. I used them to send my roofing customers thank you cards after their job was complete. The cards are pretty highly customizable and make a good impression. My client used them all the time in his business network, non mlm related.

      You should be able to design it so you can have a referral portion as well but you might want to send that as a separate card from the thank you card.

      PS: Here's a photo of my clients home of which he used SendOutCards as a business to pay for his home. I made him a card with his new roof and thanked him for his business. My truck excluded. hehe

      Originally Posted by Evolve91 View Post

      We'd like to thank you for choosing_________for your new website design and would like to remind you we are at your disposal for all your future web design needs and updates. We would also like to let you know we offer a _____ referral incentive should you send any of your contacts our way and they decide to work with us.

      We will keep you updated with the latest designs and cutting edge lead generation methods to keep your site way a head of your competition.

      Until then,

      _________
      Originally Posted by mmiys View Post

      This is one of the techniques I use with my off-liners to get them more ratings on places, yelp, yahoo, etc.

      I make a QR code that can be changed. I link it to the site we want the most reviews from. I print that code on a sticker and my clients write a note on the invoice of the client that has just thanked them for the service. It says, "If you were happy with your service today, please take a moment and leave us a review." Many times the client does the review before they leave.

      As far as your letter, here is how I would rewrite it:

      "We appreciate your continued business and want to thank you for choosing us for your web design needs. If you are happy with our service, would you consider writing a testimonial we could show to prospective clients?

      Thanks in advance for your consideration."

      I'd also make it super easy to give you the recommendation. This could be with a qr code that leads to a contact form or a self addressed stamped envelope. People with great intentions don't take action unless it is super easy.

      Hope this helps.
      I've never used QR codes, how do you go about getting one?
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      • Profile picture of the author khut
        I didn't mean to make the last comment a multiquote post, but thanks for all of the suggestions there was a lot of great advice. I love the Offline section of warrior forum.
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        • Profile picture of the author AndrewCavanagh
          It depends on what you're trying to achieve.

          If you want to touch people emotionally and you've had some personal contact in the past then a handwritten thank you letter is far more likely to have the effect.

          And if you ask for something in a thank you letter...it's not a thank you letter...it's asking for something.

          So it may be worth considering having two or three different letters a handwritten thank you letter then a couple of follow up letters asking for referrals.

          If you really want to get referrals then you're likely to get a whole lot more if you send a letter then call or drop in in person.

          Also remember the line "where do you keep the names and numbers of people you know".

          That can get you dozens of referrals instead of just one or two because you can go through their address book or phone thinking of how you might be able to help everyone on there.


          Finally you need to think through how you're going to make the person giving you referrals look good.

          If you have some kind of report, video, free consult etc that they can offer to the people they know as a gift that makes them look good and it helps pre qualify and pre educate your referrals.

          Kindest regards,
          Andrew Cavanagh
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          • Profile picture of the author kmg
            Some great suggestions here. Thanks everyone for contributing them.

            Best thing I could add would be it's great to to stay top of mind by sending something periodically as recommendations can come quite a long time after you complete a job if you are still in their thoughts.

            Make this easy to do by drawing up a list of excuses to contact people (cards, postcards, tipsheet, valuable articles, newsletters etc.) and printing off a sheet of address labels for each client.

            Whenever you have a spare few minutes pull out the folder and send out a few more cards or notes. Tick items off on your list and add a date so you know how often you have been in touch and what you have sent.
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      • Profile picture of the author mmiys
        Super easy.

        I'm not allowed to post links yet. There are lots of places but this is a simple one. Google Kaway Free QR Code Generator

        Just enter the url where you want the user to land.

        Google also has generator that lets you track its usage. The only drawback is that it is not changeable.
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        • Profile picture of the author khut
          Originally Posted by mmiys View Post

          Super easy.

          I'm not allowed to post links yet. There are lots of places but this is a simple one. Google Kaway Free QR Code Generator

          Just enter the url where you want the user to land.

          Google also has generator that lets you track its usage. The only drawback is that it is not changeable.

          Thank you.

          After I asked, I typed QR code into google and found a generator, I'm going to add it to the letter.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
    Originally Posted by beeswarn View Post

    No offense to Rus Sells intended, whatsoever. But if you think a client deserves a hand-written note, then invest the time to write a hand-written note. This isn't a situation where you need to save time or trouble.

    Sound out cards dot com is a multi-level marketing scheme that women get involved in when they want to tell each other that they own a home business, but don't care to do any work and don't need to earn any money.
    Oh crap - I wish someone told me that before I became a customer 5 years ago to help develop better personal and business relationships - what will I do now?

    Originally Posted by khut View Post

    I would like to start sending my offline clients a thank you postcard thanking them for their business, in the letter I would also like to ask for referrals and possibly a letter or of recommendation. Can you please give me your feedback on how this sounds:

    Thank you for working with _____ Design for you website design needs. We pride ourselves in keeping our customers happy, and our continued commitment is to provide you with a personal, prompt, and professional service. We are looking for testimonials to use for our marketing purposes, and would appreciate it if you would pass our information along to anyone in need of our service.

    We look forward to working with you again.

    Thank you.
    Getting back on topic, I think every business person can benefit from sending "Thank You" notes to clients, and I think you're message is ok....but I think you'd be better off sending a letter or a real card (whether you write it yourself or use a service like SOC) thank a postcard. Just my opinion, but that's at step above sending a thank you email in my book, and I think a card or letter would be remembered and appreciated a bit more.

    Don't let your thank you be the only time they hear from you though. Send them cards on a regular basis to keep your name top of mind and remember important dates like their birthdays or anniversary if you can find out that info. Sending cards helped Joe Girard become the worlds greatest salesman, no reason it can't do great things for you too!

    Cheers,

    Steve
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