When I sign-up for an email program I expect a few things based on the information that I provide to the marketer. If I am providing my address, personal preferences and the like, I assume that this information will be used to serve up email content that is more relevant than if I had only provided my email address. Savvy consumers today know that it is possible to really target the email you send, so if you are collecting personal information, you best be prepared to use it.
The Skunk
I recently enrolled in the American Express Entertainment Access email program available through my card membership. Although purists would say that Chicago is not New York when it comes to plethora of Broadway, Off-Broadway and other great shows and events, Chicago does a pretty darn good job of providing a full spectrum of rich events to choose from for your entertainment pleasure.
<<personal rant – I’ll keep it brief >> This is one of my pet peeves - when I register for emails that require me to further clarify personal preferences even after I've provided my selections especially when my location should have already been identified by previous information supplied.<</ personal rant>>
I've received a few of these entertainment emails over the last few weeks, all referencing the exciting events that are available for me to book with my Amex card. They were all based on events in the New York area. The two things that are troubling to me is that one; you already know that I live in the Chicago area and two; I have to search within the email to change my preferences so that I receive offers based in my local area. Although not a painful process, I find it a little odd (and time consuming based on the additional steps required) that they would make me scour through a message and take further actions to make the email more relevant to me. Email should be quick and painless and provide the information that is expected.
The Resolution
Knowing your customer means leveraging the data that you have on file; that you have previously asked for! In this case, my billing address reflects a Chicagoland zip code - what more do you need? If any additional selections are needed, these should be handled when I sign up for the communication, not after I realize that these events are not in my home city.
If you are managing user information across multiple databases for your email communications, ensure that these systems can reconcile before messages featuring conditional content are sent especially when content is driven by the data. Another, less integrated, stop-gap measure would be to include a user-friendly, easily identifiable action within the email communication to self report and self request geographically specific information.
Requiring your email recipient to click deeper within a communication to get more information about something that peeks their interest is great and is often a component for a successful message. Asking them to hunt for their relevant information can be extremely detrimental. If your call to action is not crystal clear, recipients will likely just move on…it's not like they don’t have another message (much like yours) awaiting them in their inbox.
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