Emails: Six tips to avoid alienating customers
4 March 2008
Read by 1792 persons
Overly salesy emails irritate internet users and cause them to unsubscribe. Here is advice from Andrea Micheaux, a relationship marketing specialist, to help companies avoid wearing out their customer database.
Commercial emails that don't immediately show their true colors often end up in the trash or worse, in spam, and push internet users to unsubscribe. This is the main conclusion of the thesis "Perception and behavior of the consumer in the face of direct marketing pressure", defended at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne at the end of 2007. Its author, Andrea Micheaux, associate director of the relationship marketing company A.I.D, offers some concrete ways to minimize the negative effects of the pressure caused by email marketing.
1. Don't mislead
Let's take the example of a mail-order company that sends a message with the subject "Concerning your last order". The internet user imagines that this is a "personal" message about a payment problem or a delivery delay. Discovering that it's just a discount offer on a next order, they may feel deceived. The resulting irritation then pushes them to unsubscribe. A customer definitively lost.
2. Refine the subject line
This part of the email has three times more impact on the open rate than the sender. While transparency is important to avoid disappointing, there's no need to shoot yourself in the foot. You can attract without lying. For example, "A very low rate, 3.9%, just for you". The internet user knows it's a credit offer and the wording is attractive.
3. Test the subject line
Before sending the email en masse, it is recommended to send two or three different subject lines to a panel of a few hundred people. Then simply choose the optimal combination: the best click-through rate with the lowest unsubscribe rate.
4. Personalize the sender
Putting the sender's first name in the address (Murielle@brand.com) costs nothing and pleases internet users. Andrea Micheaux's study showed that this practice improves the open rate and reduces the number of unsubscribes.
5. Adapt to each prospect's behavior
How many emails have they opened? When did they open the last one? Did they open it without clicking? Today, most advertisers only manage the overall open rate and the number of clicks, without considering the customer's point of view. Implementing individual indicators allows you to personalize future mailings by adapting your communication style and the frequency of emails.
6. Make them smile
It's not forbidden to tease customers, on the contrary. Humorous emails or those accompanied by a game or a gift are often received with indulgence. An overly salesy subject like "George Clooney is waiting for you" won't be annoying if, upon opening, the internet user discovers a photo of the handsome actor praising the merits of the product.
March 4, 2008
Lentreprise.com
Commercial emails that don't immediately show their true colors often end up in the trash or worse, in spam, and push internet users to unsubscribe. This is the main conclusion of the thesis "Perception and behavior of the consumer in the face of direct marketing pressure", defended at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne at the end of 2007. Its author, Andrea Micheaux, associate director of the relationship marketing company A.I.D, offers some concrete ways to minimize the negative effects of the pressure caused by email marketing.
1. Don't mislead
Let's take the example of a mail-order company that sends a message with the subject "Concerning your last order". The internet user imagines that this is a "personal" message about a payment problem or a delivery delay. Discovering that it's just a discount offer on a next order, they may feel deceived. The resulting irritation then pushes them to unsubscribe. A customer definitively lost.
2. Refine the subject line
This part of the email has three times more impact on the open rate than the sender. While transparency is important to avoid disappointing, there's no need to shoot yourself in the foot. You can attract without lying. For example, "A very low rate, 3.9%, just for you". The internet user knows it's a credit offer and the wording is attractive.
3. Test the subject line
Before sending the email en masse, it is recommended to send two or three different subject lines to a panel of a few hundred people. Then simply choose the optimal combination: the best click-through rate with the lowest unsubscribe rate.
4. Personalize the sender
Putting the sender's first name in the address (Murielle@brand.com) costs nothing and pleases internet users. Andrea Micheaux's study showed that this practice improves the open rate and reduces the number of unsubscribes.
5. Adapt to each prospect's behavior
How many emails have they opened? When did they open the last one? Did they open it without clicking? Today, most advertisers only manage the overall open rate and the number of clicks, without considering the customer's point of view. Implementing individual indicators allows you to personalize future mailings by adapting your communication style and the frequency of emails.
6. Make them smile
It's not forbidden to tease customers, on the contrary. Humorous emails or those accompanied by a game or a gift are often received with indulgence. An overly salesy subject like "George Clooney is waiting for you" won't be annoying if, upon opening, the internet user discovers a photo of the handsome actor praising the merits of the product.
March 4, 2008
Lentreprise.com
