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.

5000 pieces of white paper?

The Hunt
I think we are all looking for ways to make our dollar stretch these days. Being a small business owner I source my minimal home office supply needs to many stores within the area. Ink cartridges for my printer, pens, notebooks, file folders you name it, I'm always looking to save a few bucks and get a great deal.

The Skunk
I enjoy Office Depot; they provide me a wide selection of goods and there is a location just minutes from my home. I have been receiving email from them for some time. I have recently noticed that the content of the messages they are sending me don't really fit into what I would normally be looking for to help keep my home office fully stocked. I'm not even really sure how I came to be on their email distribution list, perhaps I gave them my email at point-of-purchase?

In any case, this retailer serves both the individual that needs to pick up basic small office supplies as well as larger organizations that require big quantities. This message landed in my in-box recently and most of everything featured in the communication were in quantities that are way too large for my needs or not relevant to me at all. Yes, I know, this is just a marketing email and perhaps I'm asking a bit too much, but I think there are a few ways to help make the messages they send resonate specifically to me.

The Resolution
I went back through the sign-up process online to see how I could classify myself as a customer. My two choices were a) personal, and b) business. These are a little too generalized to leverage my response for message targeting at a relevant level. A better solution would be to ask (or survey) your members just how much they usually spend on their office supplies or provide additional classification on what I need/want from Office Depot. If you knew me just a little better, you wouldn't be trying to win me over with a deal on a big case of copy paper or 15 rolls of paper towels for my home office.

There is an offer for HP printer cartridges which is not being generated on previous purchase behavior...I have an Epson. But what a great opportunity to find out (via online survey) what type of peripherals I do use in my home office. I would love to get special offers for items that enhance or compliment equipment that I use on a regular basis.

By asking recipients or giving them the opportunity to provide more information about their needs, marketers can leverage increased relevancy within their messages and delver communications that suite the individual recipient's needs. If a customer has signed up to receive special offers, make sure they are offers that are of interest. If you don’t know what they want, ask.

Get ready to hurry up and wait.

The Hunt
I'm not sure when being connected becomes more of an addiction rather than a necessity but it happened to me a few years back. The thought of being without my mobile device sends anxiety pains right through me so it is no surprise that when I heard rumblings of the new Blackberry App World I started salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs. For mobile device die-hards, it's not just about the equipment; it's about what new and great things you can do with it. Sign me up!

The Skunk
One of the key selling features for my new Blackberry was that my perception of these types of devices is that they are geared for the business user. The trade-off when compared to the iPhone, applications created for these devices are not as varied or robust as those on the open platform that Apple has created for the iPhone. Enter Blackberry App World. This past month I received two messages to sign up and be one of the first to be notified when this new service is available. My first official message was on March 6; I promptly followed the link and signed up. A second email came on March 26 which came with a similar call to action. The issue with the second email is that I had already signed up and there was no new news on when I could expect this service to be live. Kinda frustrating right?

The Resolution
Besides the obvious question, why are you asking me to sign up twice, I hoped that the second teaser message had additional information about when I could expect this service to be up and running. I'm a huge Blackberry fan and will most likely post the launch of this service to the social sites that I belong to but with little or no information on when the live site is expected, these types of "hurry up and wait" communications become more inbox clutter than informative.

Another point with this messaging strategy is that I'm already subscribed to receive email communications from Blackberry - the reason I got the original message. Beyond building the "buzz" will there be any differentiation between the types of message that I've now signed up to receive for my initial notification of the launch versus the regular marketing communications that will be sent to regular subscribers? I'll be keeping an eye out and yes, I will be the first in line when App World opens.

No matter how you "slice" it...

The Hunt
Pizza has always been and forever will be considered a food group in my eyes and although I limit my crusty cheesy-pie intake to help keep me fitting into my favorite blue jeans, it's no secret that I'm a diehard pizza fan. With email playing a bigger role in not only the pizza world, I regularly sign up for email programs from local (and not so local) food deliver chains to see how they leverage the email channel.

The Skunk In my early twenties this pizza joint was one of my favorites - I just grew to love it. As I got older, and moved around from city to city, I made sure to check out what the area had to offer when it came to pizza-in-a-pinch but I knew that I could always call this place to get a good deal and a yummy meal. A few months ago, I was doing a little bit of "pie research" on the web and happened upon a location that wasn't in my delivery area but decided to drive the 6 (in-town) miles to pick up one in person - just for old times' sake. Just as good as I remembered. I signed up for their email program and get a weekly message with a special offer and invitation to place my order online. So my little issue with this email-program-that-could is that the call to action is to place my order online. I'm outside of the delivery area (and not just a quick drive for pick-up) so the likelihood of me ever ordering online is pretty much zilch. The emails that are delivered regularly to my inbox are just a tease and a delicious one at that.


The Resolution Before you ask, yes, they know what my address is; I completed my full profile after sign-up. I think the better approach would be to send me an occasional (monthly) email since I'm not in the delivery area. I don't get many chances to visit the area where this store is located so repeated messages that I or others like me can't act upon are most likely a little detrimental to their email program.

DO send me an email if a store opens up that is closer to where I live or within my delivery area. I might not get to travel regularly to where this particular store is located but giving me a few other options would be great if I happen to be around one of their other locations.

At the end of the day, the information that you collect about your recipient should be used to provide the best customer experience possible. Clients often ask me what they can do make their emails better. The answer is simple; look at your email messages as if you were your customer. Good email programs can be made great by adjusting them along the way.