The New Yorker article goes on to say about Hall:

He gradually concluded that people used cards to maintain emotional contact with friends and relatives, and that they wanted cards that helped them convey personal feelings that they were unable to forurmulate on their own.

This insight was the foundation of what would one day be a global business.

One insight built the global business. All it required was simple, to-the-point research and some clear thinking to extract the relevant conclusion.

Mark Hurst, "Case Study in Customer Experience," Good Experience, 22 Apr 2004.