Going it Alone
There are some things in life you need help with. For example, I wouldn’t attempt to change the oil in my car, simply because I don’t know how to do it. I assume there are some nuances I would have to learn, such as the weight of the oil, how many quarts I would need, regular oil or synthetic and what type of filter I would need. I’m sure I could figure out how to do it, but I prefer to leave it to the professionals.
Last night an email from a Tampa area restaurant chain was in my inbox. I had never received an email from them before, however I remember providing my email address to them on a comment card last September at their St. Pete Beach location.
I can almost imagine the marketing department on Monday saying, we have all these email addresses, we should send them something… Without fully understanding how to do it.
One extremely wide, giant image of the restaurant mascot (who looks like a curmudgeonly old man) dressed up like a mom, knitting a scarf. The copy read “It’s time to treat Mom” The entire message was clickable and it lead back to the restaurant homepage.
There was no call to action. Okay, I think we all know that Mother’s Day is this Sunday. I’m sure the thought is to drive offline sales on Sunday, traditionally the busiest day all year in the restaurant business. But I’m not sure, because they’re not really asking me to do anything.
By setting goals ahead of sending a message helps in determining the copy and links in the message. As simple as it is, tell me to take mom to your restaurant on Sunday. Another option would be to suggest I buy a gift certificate and link me to the place I can purchase it.
The message did contain an unsubscribe link, but it was missing a physical address. It the little things, the best practices and the legal issues email marketing professionals are well versed in that make a difference. There is no need in going it alone, if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Posted by MindComet on May. 11, 2007