Timing is Everything

Yesterday in my travels for Father's Day festivities, I drove past a CVS Pharmacy. That's a pretty easy feat, in this are of the country, it seems, there is one on every corner, usually with a Walgreens right across the street. I saw a banner advertising their "Digital Sunday Workshop". I wasn't sure if this was something specific to that store, or the district we were in. Regardless, I thought it was an interesting idea.

This morning, while reviewing my email I received over the weekend, I found a message from CVS. Promoting, what you ask? Their "Digital Sunday Workshop". My initial reaction was they had timed their message with a great deal of thought to arrive in their subscribers inboxes Sunday morning when people are planning their activities for the day. Even though it was Father's Day and a lot of people probably already had plans.



I was disappointed with CVS when I realized the message was sent at 5:24 AM EDT Today. Monday morning. Six full days until their next event.

This could be brilliance in disguise if CVS follows up with an additional message on Thursday or Friday, although they run the risk of over saturating their subscribers with messages.

The best-case scenario would have been to wait until at least Thursday to send this message. Monday morning is too early to start planning the next weekend. And this message will most likely be forgotten by next Sunday afternoon. By waiting until Thursday, CVS could have remained top of mind as subscribers started to plan their weekend activities.

Before you send your message, think about the timing. If you are promoting an event on a specific day, consider when you will get the greatest response. Message timing is a great piece to test over the course of several weeks. Sending messages willy-nilly won't garner you the best results.