| |
| |
|
Email Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Reach Out and Slap Someone
I got my first email account way too many years ago. I was working for a large Chicago bank in the 1980s, when they introduced an electronic message service for internal communications. The only electronic mail that seemed to flow for the longest time were all those official HR notification of vacation time policies, etc., and of course, the ALL CAPS messages from the executive floor. It took a brave soul to send out the first?"so, where should we go for lunch on Friday?" message. It took a polite soul to create the first autoresponder message. It was nice of them to let people know that the reason their inquiry would not be answered immediately, and personally was because he (or she) was out of the office until XYZ date. I'm still trying to figure out where the the personal and polite parts of autoresponse messages went. Sometime between then and now, the person who wrote that message left the building, but forgot to turn the machines off. Today, too many autoresponse messages are anything but personal, polite or informative. If you've ever been tempted to believe that message sound bites strung together by bits of "if, then, else" coding logic might actually prove to be an asset to your business, you owe it to your business to look at how some of these have played out in the real world. Here's a brief list of some of my favorite offenders, along with a suggestion or two about what you can do if you find anything like them on your list of messages. "We'll return your message within 24 hours, or 12 hours?" Forgive me if I don't set my watch by that. Despite improvements in so many other areas, surveys still show that only 65% of companies EVER respond to their email, never mind responding within the time they've allowed themselves And just how credible are you when 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours of silence have passed? "We usually respond within two business days?" . I think this variation is worse. If 48 hours pass and I haven't gotten a response, I'm not only going to think you can't deliver what you promised in any area of your business, but I might feel personally slighted. After all, if you "usually can," why did you choose not to help me? The lesson: Don't Make Promises Unless you're 100% Sure You Can Keep Them "Thanks for your message about broken website links (an obvious fill in the blank). Here is our FAQ list on how Widgets can change your life through better chemistry?" Do you remember when people got excited by the idea of artificial intelligence and wondered if we would one day need Asimov's Laws of Robotics to protect us. I think we can all breath easy for a little while yet. "Thank you. Your address has been permanently deleted from our database and you will never hear from us again?" The lesson: Don't presume to know why people are responding, or what they want from you. "You're receiving this because you downloaded a free report from my site 279 days ago, but still haven't bought anything?" and you still haven't gotten a clue. "I'm only sharing this secret information with a carefully chosen few like you, EAMIC, because you're such a good friend?" Really? Even though you're greeting me with a string of letters that isn't even close to my name. "Dear Friend?" Yes, I understand that software is a black and white kind of thing and that when it comes to personalization your choices are or , but do you understand that there is a third choice? Don't do it. The lesson: Repeat after me, "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." It really is the golden rule of technology use. Personalization is a very powerful sales and marketing tool. When you personalize a business problem, identify a client need, or use it to demonstrate how your product or service will help that particular client's situation, you are using it correctly. Machine generated personalization, on the other hand, fits the very definition of an oxymoron. Email autoresponse messages were invented to apologize for a lack of an immediate personal, human response, not to take its place permanently. Unless all of your message is personal, no one is going to believe it really was written just for them. So why slap them in the face with the fact that it wasn't? The bottom line is this: if you find any messages like these in your current autoresponse setup, rewrite them if you can, or just get rid of them if you can't. Silence is better on your part. Your business reputation is at stake. And where your reputation is at stake, so are your profits. *************** Liz Micik has been an Ordinary Marketer for nearly 25 years, helping companies tell their story to the right people in the right way to sell their products and services. Visit www.ordinarymarketer.com to sign up for the Inside Edge, a free monthly multimedia newsletter, and find out how you can get extraordinary results from marketing you can live with.
MORE RESOURCES:
Firedrum Internet Marketing Launches New Software and Offers Free Email ... - PR Web (press release)
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Raid Your Autoresponder Attic For Content Why you need new website content.Finding or creating good content for our websites is a chore. 8 Ways to Get More Email Addresses On Your List ... Today Whether you've got 100 or 100,000 people on your email list, chances are you can optimize your web page to better feature and promote your ezine. Here's a few ways to capture more customers and leads - without having to increase your traffic. DoubleClicks Q3 2004 Report Shows Bulk Email Marketing Eficiency Increase Wednesday, December 15 2004 at 16:00 EET Internet marketing company DoubleClick published its final report over the bulk email marketing evolution this year. The figures show year-over-year increase in delivery rates (cleaner emailing lists), and a decrease in open rates and click-through rates. The Importance of a Name in the Sent from Email Address When using an email marketing tool such as Adestra's Message Focus, you are able to specify exactly what sent address you want the email to be labelled as being broadcasted from. From prevalent industry contacts through to brand names, this gives the marketers the flexibility to use 'sent from' addresses that resonate with their audience for improved recognition. Web Advertising: How To Increase Traffic By Offering A Free Course One web advertising strategy that can help you become popular and improve your credibility is to offer a free course in any appealing subject of your choice.If you have extensive knowledge on a particular subject, why not create a free course for your web site visitors. The Lazy Way To Build A Responsive Opt-In Email List If you're in business on the Internet to make a profit, then you're probably aware of how significant a list of prospects is to your success.But what if you don't want to spend countless hours each and every week promoting, writing and managing a continuous email publication?Well, here's a relatively-unused strategy you can apply to nurture a list of prospects who not only trust you, but are also eager for more of your expertise. The Benefits of Interactive Online Characters This Stanford University study surveyed the leading research on virtual agents and suggests that "social intelligence in automated interactions is good business. Research about interactive characters suggests substantial opportunities for them toenhance online experiences. 10 Netiquette New Years Resolutions Happy New Year! New attitude? New habits? How about 10 Little New Year's Netiquette Resolutions?Yep! Almost every New Year's resolution is based in improved attitude and habit changes. From loosing weight to getting out of debt to trying to live a happier life, almost each of us does have some sort of conversation with ourselves in regard to the New Year and changes we have the control to make. E-mail 101: The Dos and Donts Even though many people have been writing e-mails for a few years now, you would be amazed at some of the pure gibberish that arrives in my e-mailbox on a regular basis.Many people seem to think that because they aren't dealing directly with another person (or as directly as they would be face-to-face or by telephone), all forms of civility and basic respect for the other person (i. You Must Build A Customer List If you run (or plan to run) an online business, it's especially important that you maintain and add to a customer/prospect list. Unlike a store-front business, which can draw on pedestrian traffic, you're only location is cyberspace. How NOT To Appear Like A Spammer Unless you use the Internet only for surfing and never use your email address you've probably received something that is called spam.There are different definitions for spam but I will say that spam is unsolicited email commercial. Personal vs Professional Life Email - Dont Squander Your First Internet Impression My first email address was with compuserve.com back when you could only have numbers for an email address. Just Because You Can... Just because you can communicate with hundreds of people virtually via email, doesn't mean you should. The phone still exists because it's a valuable tool -- especially for small business owners. What is Email Marketing? There are many avenues available for marketing online products. Radios, TV advertisements, newspaper and magazine advertisements, and that big sign on the highway are examples of the traditional marketing approach. Paradigm Shift for the New World In the business world, the primary focus is on selling products and generating sustainable and profitable income. In any organization, the results are dependent on the activity of the organization sales, the quality of the product and service as well as the approach to advertising and marketing. 8 Quick, Hot Reasons You Should Offer an E-mail Course Today 1. E-mail courses are generally quick and easy to create. 10 Terrific Ways To Enlarge Your Subscriber Base 1. Create a unique selling proposition (USP). Email Marketing - Building A Mail List Millions of people use their computer everyday as a form of communicating with others by sending messages through email.From sending newsletters, updates, articles, follow-ups or simply sending an email message. The Most Simple Way to Mask Your Email-address We all know that spammers are looking for your email-address. You can mislead them easily in order to prevent receiving spamming emails. Choose Your Email Marketing Software Wisely Successful online business can't be led without email marketing. Many people know that it is very important to have a web site but having a web site is only one step in creating successful online presence.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |