Trigger emails
I read an excellent article on setting up email triggers to for your email marketing campaigns by Silverpop: (ignore the intro paragraphs of marketingspeak, go right to the 5 tips). Silverpop works with a lot of big names. I’d like to check them out. I also want to check out Yesmail, that does Avon’s email marketing.
I like the idea of having some parts of email marketing on autopilot. You set up conditions and when the conditions are met, an emai is automatically sent.
Some ideas from the article:
Email someone a week after they put a product in their cart and didn’t buy it. Some time later (test to see how long after) give them an article about the product, a special deal, or just ask them to buy it. They obviously were considering buying that product, hook them in and close the sale. I’d try sending them an article relating to the product line and then links to all the products in the line.
Most companies have one product that sells best, such as the 80/20 rule where 80% of your sales are one product. That’s your cash cow. Kill your cash cow (what does that mean exactly?) It’s a big target. Use email to grow the other neglected product lines. When people browse these products without buying, email them automatically and see if they’ll bite. Build your neglected product lines by marketing them better. If that doesn’t work, kill them or improve them.
Segment by number of times someone comes to your site. This is a way of upselling to your fans. They must like you, they call every day, but are they buying or is the attention reciprocated?
Reward your repeat customers. Restaurants do it with punch cards. Send an email when someone has visited often or for repeat purchases. Incentivize and reward these customers and they’ll keep coming back.
3 Responses to “Trigger emails”
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February 16th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
I disagree. If a website that I visited automatically E-mails me when I did not request to be E-mailed. Then that is SPAM. And falls under the CAN-SPAM act.
Here is an interesting transcript from a usability test. That illustrates how people may use your site for research on a product without the intent to buy from you: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/sites_visted_transcript.html
Some people will go into your Shopping cart to see what the final price is including shipping. I do this all the time. If one of those companies started sending me E-mail without my express consent, they would permanently loose me and all of my relatives as customers. (I get very vocal when a company torques me.)
February 16th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
What if that email was a coupon for something you liked?
I agree that people like to add products to the cart just to see what shipping is I believe in making shipping charges straightforward and transparent so they don’t have to.
Just to clarify: this isn’t spam (which is EVIL and suicide for a marketer). This is for people who have already opted in your email list (repeat customers). You already have their email address. Even if you are just browsing and figuring out shipping, that shows some intent to buy, a possiblity. This is just capitalizing on that.
February 27th, 2006 at 8:25 pm
If I did “opt-in” then I suppose I have the right to get what I get.
However, with the current legislation, I don’t need to “opt-in” instead I need to “opt-out” in order not to get unsolicited E-mail. So you can though your affiliates/partners get my E-mail address and start sending me things without my prior consent. It is totally legal, but so doing, again you would loose me as a customer.
As far as I know, there is not anything put into law as of yet that will prevent a company from not offering a “opt-out” for future E-mails in the same form where I am giving the company my E-mail address. The CAN-SPAM act requires that all E-mails not specifically requested must have clear list removal instructions, however, I don’t think any of its amendments have stated that they need to supply instructions on how to “opt-out” of the company sharing the E-mail address with affiliates/partners. But the amendments may cover including all subsequent mailing from the same company.
This is walking a fine line between acceptable marketing practice and annoying your potential or returning customers.
As for a coupon, for something that I want … this is another tactic to get me to buy now from a specific company instead of waiting until later. I recognize it for what it is. I have even received E-mails with coupons in them. Did I buy before the coupon expired? No. Did I buy from the company who sent the coupon? No.
If it looks like SPAM, and smells like SPAM, does it really matter that it is not technically SPAM?