Making an Impression

If you only have one chance to make a first impression, why do so many companies do such a poor job with their e-mail marketing strategy?

MediaPost’s Bill McCloskey performed an experiment earlier this year as he attempted to opt in to receive e-mails from 246 different apparel and accessories brands listed in the BrandWeek Directory. This is what he found:

Out of the 246 brands attempted, he was able to sign up for 71 unique e-mails. Some of this was because multiple brand listings in BrandWeek resolved to the same parent company’s URL and many times had only one sign-up for the entire product line. However, the majority did not offer an e-mail newsletter sign up on their site.

Of the 71 signed up for, in the first seven days, Mr. McCloskey only received e-mails from 22 brands. Only two of those brands offered a double opt-in.

Less than 30 percent of all the brands in the category offered any type of e-mail sign up. Less than 30 percent of those who offered e-mail actually responded with a welcome letter on signing up. Less than 1 percent of all brands provided a double opt-in e-mail program.

Virtually all of the welcome letters did not advance the brand or fortify the relationship with the customer who has just requested communication.

A typical welcome went like this, according to Mr. McCloskey:

“Thank you for registering with (brand name)! Your e-mail address: (e-mail address) Next time you visit (web address), click on log in to use your registered features”

Unfortunately, these email marketing campaigns have missed the mark. There is no information about the brand or the relationship it wants to develop with the customer.

A brand-building opportunity with a customer who has asked to be contacted should not be wasted. An email marketer is virtually guaranteed the welcome message will be read, after all, the customer just left the website.

The welcome letter is astoundingly valuable. When building a brand, even the small opportunities to influence the customer are important. Show your customer you care by taking the time to craft an impactful and meaningful welcome letter.