Does your recipient data go the distance?

The Hunt
It's been several years since email marketers combined the power of email with product lifecycle messaging. It's a perfect fit for makers of electronic goods and computer peripherals. I gladly register my products with the brand website and review email offers that help me improve my experience or provide me with special deals to compliment whatever device that I have attached to my computer. The fact that I get a notification from my HP printer to let me know that my magenta ink cartridge is running dry makes me giddy. Supporting promotional emails; however, need to be keyed off of data or information you know about me and the products that I've purchased. If your data doesn't go the distance, neither will your offer.

The Skunk
My little trusty "all-in-one" HP printer, fax, scanner gets a pretty good workout in my home office and for the most part, the emails that HP send regarding the device that I registered with them are very relevant to me and my needs. The email that I received today is not so much a “skunk,” but rather a “you should have done a bit more homework with this special offer.” The promotion arrived with a subject line stating $50 Cash Back - Trade In Your Old Laser Printer Today. This is all fine and good but I've never owned a laser printer and my 3-year old printer is working great!


The Resolution
So there are a few things I would have considered if I was on the sending end of this message. First, does the recipient currently own one of our products, and, in this case, is it a laser printer that is old and may need replaced? Depending on the product, a lifecycle-type message promoting an upgrade or replacement after a year or so may not be a bad idea.

Second, be careful with making an offer that hinges exclusively on the recipient meeting criteria that you can't confirm (or didn't take time to confirm.) If I don't have an old laser printer lying around my office, there is not much I can do with this offer. This email did contain other links to items that would be of interest but the main call-to-action is not applicable to me.

Last but not least, use your data regarding your recipient/user to determine if the offer is applicable or at least tailor the offer so that it will not exclude the recipient if they don't meet the necessary criteria to be able to participate. I'm a self proclaimed gadget freak and am not opposed to the idea of upgrading to a new printer but I can't do anything with this offer. It's a little like inviting a friend over for dinner when you know they are going to be of town.

I'm not ready for a two-piece.

The Hunt
It seems like everyone is getting ready for warmer weather. Here in the Windy City it has been slow coming but the promise of sunshine and weekends at the beach is nearly here. Marketers have been taking advantage of this change of season and clothing retailers particularly have been featuring the season's newest items through their email programs. We all talk about need for relevancy within email communications and seasonality offers a logical approach to ensure your product offerings are timely and geared to what the shoppers are looking for - if you are leveraging it correctly.

The Skunk
I recently received an email from Active Endeavors (from name and email stated the same) but the branding was that of Couture Candy. In the footer of the message the physical mailing address was for Active Endeavors as well. I'm thinking that this is an online brand that is either part of or affiliated with Active Endeavors but the discrepancy from the name and branding threw me for a loop.

Besides the branding discrepancy, the email as you can see below features only clothes for women - I'm a guy. The greeting is "Dear Valued Customer." I’m not sure how I ended up on this list. I probably have signed up for email from Active Endeavors since they have clothes for men and women. The ambiguous greeting however; leads me to believe that they only have my email address and no other information about me. My "valued customer" greeting doesn't leave me feeling so valued. I'm also curious as to how my possible sign-up to Active Endeavors get's me signed-up to Couture Candy as they appear and act like two separate brands.

After this message arrived, I did use my email to enhance my customer profile but the information they collect is very limited. If I choose to add my billing or shipping information I can add my name to my profile but that's about it. I wonder how many other recipients find themselves in the same situation - why am I getting an email trying to sell me on this season's hottest two-piece swimwear for women?

The Resolution
Email marketers should be crystal clear regarding the sender and actual brand being referenced within the messages. If this is a partner email that is being sent out by Active Endeavors, the communications should be branded as such. Confusing your recipient with a "from name" and email address that doesn't match the content of the message can lead to many issues, opt-outs and SPAM complaints are just a few of them.

I did a bit more digging on both the Couture Candy as well as Active Endeavors websites and both collect only limited profile information. All email marketers take note, if you have products or services that are geared to one sex or the other (or both) make sure that you account for this information within your registration process. Also, if you are going to send partner messages, make sure that you let your recipients opt-in or choose not to receive emails from partners, be clear about the message that you will be sending. There are many cases where an email recipient would want to receive both types of messages - especially when the recipient may be making purchases for other family members however; you can’t assume that irrelevant messaging will not do harm to your email programs.

Over Two Dozen Emails for Mother's Day.

The Hunt
As marketers we all understand the concept of reaching your email recipients at the right time and with the right messages (well the good ones that is.) Knowing just how many messages you should be sending to get your promotion in front of your recipients before they start tagging your message as SPAM is not so much science or art as it is common sense. In advance of Mother's Day this past weekend, a very well known online retailer, FTD.com and their partners, slammed my inbox with countless offers delivered in a multitude of formats.

The Skunk
Beginning May 1st, I received 26 email communications from FTD.com and their sending partners. Now not all were from the official FTD.com website, at least 50% came from other sending partners that perhaps have some sort of affiliate relationship with this brand. Being part of the email marketing world, I realized that FTD.com wasn't responsible for the full spectrum of floral offerings delivered but for the every-day consumer, when the sending name contains FTD they are going to assume that the message is coming from the brand itself.

At first I just started deleting the messages but after I had received 8 messages before May 5, and with 5 more days to go before Mother's Day, I thought I would keep track of the total - just for giggles. Boy was I amazed at the volume that was sent before the big day. I wonder what damage was done as far as recipients unsubscribing both from the actual FTD.com emails and that of their partners.

The Resolution
Remember that increasing frequency can sometimes mean more sales however; you run a greater risk with damaging your sending reputation if the recipients start tagging your emails as spam or fail to open your communications. ISPs look at both of these metrics when determining what type of marketer you are and how deserving your messages are for their customer's inbox, bulk folder or worse - not delivered at all. It is not uncommon for an ISP to take delivery of your messages and simply not forward along to the recipient if their classification processes deem your message as unsolicited...that's just the way it is.

Your reputation with the ISPs aside, the rapid-fire email approach to message frequency will damage more than your ability to get your message into your customer's inbox. Once you harm the perception of your brand by over communicating, it doesn't really matter what you send at a later date, your brand can be tarnished and future emails simply not read.

You should also be very aware of the sending frequency of your affiliates and partners - especially when they may be using a "from name" that is similar to your official brand "from name." Remember the customer will most likely not realize that FTD.com and FTD Special Offer is not coming from the same sender.

If you don't know what and when your partners are sending, you need to start tracking them. Your well thought out email strategy can quickly be derailed if your recipient's inbox is flooded with similar and multiple offers that appear to be from you. I suggest that you learn more about tracking your competition with a product from Email Data Source called Alerts. You can even sign-up for one free Alert (no strings attached) to help you track messages that your affiliates or partners may be sending. This is also a good way to see if anyone is spoofing your "from name" and sending unauthorized messages.

Welcome back? I didn't go anywhere.

The Hunt
Many email marketers have been talking about and leveraging lifecycle reengagement messaging for some time. The concept is pretty basic, if you haven't seen activity from a recipient, find out why. Reengaging your customers helps to improve open rates and keeps your database clean. Based on your sending frequency, it's best to set up those timed touch points when you need to reach out to those that have not shown any open or click-through activity for some period of time. Let's say if you send 2 communications per month, you might want to check-in with those non-responders with a targeted reengagement message after 4-6 months of no activity. Two important things to keep in mind: approximately 30% of your emailable database will change email address on an annual basis and, ISPs do look at your open rates to determine your sender reputation.

The Skunk
In January, I became the new owner of a Black Berry Bold from AT&T. Of course, I'm fully registered to receive emails from AT&T. I login to the website weekly and for the most part, read all the email that AT&T sends. So, when a message arrived this morning with a subject line that included the words "We missed you" I was a little confused. Now I might not open every email that they send but I've surely opened a communication within the last 6 weeks. Even the image within the message called out with a “Welcome Back” phrase. Mistake? Bad timing? I'm not sure but the message left me feeling a little like the kid that gets picked last in dodge ball. I've been here all along.


The Resolution
First things first - you really need to ensure that you have your recipient's individual reporting data correct, especially when keying these types of lifecycle messages against it. When successfully executed, these communications can be a fabulous tool for reintroducing your brand to recipients that have taken a hiatus from your email program.

Make sure when using a reengagement type message or campaign you allow for the appropriate amount of time to gauge inactivity for individual recipients. If I receive a weekly email promotional offer from a marketer I would hope that they are not looking to remove me from the database if I have not opened a message within 8 weeks or less.

And one last thought. If AT&T knows that I'm a wireless customer and that I have purchased a data plan for email on my mobile device they should account for this. Send emails that can be viewed on the device or optimized for both the desktop and mobile world. Even the “Having problems viewing this email? View here” link didn’t open. I'm not sure if it was my device or the link, in any case remove the barriers because I do want to read your message.