Show Your "Class" Spirit

The Hunt
One of my favorite retail spots to visit on the weekend is this great furniture retailer. They have locations in over 10 states and send a few emails a week - I little too frequently if you ask me but I take a quick read when it lands in my inbox. Today I got an email with an invitation stop by for a quick decorating class this coming weekend. If you are like me, the process of home decorating is an ongoing effort so considering to register for this freebie is right up my alley.

The Skunk
So, these past few months I feel like that I've been doing my part to help stimulate the economy with some decent sized purchases from this retailer and I know that I'm in their "system." As an email marketer, I'm always thinking about how to reduce the barriers between the message call-to-action and the actual physical steps that the customer needs to take to accomplish. It's an electronic world and technology is ripe for the picking to help out with these types of endeavors. My question, why can't I register for this fun little class online? For me to complete the call-to-action, I need to go to the website, find my location and actually call the store directly. Seems like a bunch of steps for me to complete before I can sign up for this little shindig.


The Resolution
There are a few strategies with this message I would have leveraged. Some not so technical, some a little more involved. All could take a little bit of the hassle of signing up for this class.

• If you know what location I shop at, why not list the contact information for the actual store in the email? If this information doesn't live in the database, it should.

• The process for online registration does take time and money to set-up. If the budget was too small to use this type of technology to register folks online, make sure to boldly call out that you'll need to contact the store directly to sign-up. Dumping me at the website to have to pick my state and location seems a little impersonal and confusing.

• What could online registration have done to simplify the process? Well, for one, provided real-time updates on the number of attendees. Consider the staff that will now have to field the calls to facilitate the reservations; they might be better off schmoozing with the customers on the show room floor.

• Take advantage of learning more about your customers by using registration data to append to your database. There is a pretty good chance that if I’m signing up, I'm much more of an engaged customer that those that are not.

• Reminders and remarketing can help close the loop. A quick reminder message the day before and perhaps a thank you once the event is over would be a great touch.

Your best customers need to be treated as such. Email is a great relationship tool but if you are not going to use customer history and data to make your communications better you'll leave them feeling a little unappreciated. Leverage technology to help facilitate a true on-to-one communication flow with them and they will be loyal for life.