The Winner Of The Most Counterproductive E-Mail Marketing Idea Is ….
Written by Evan SchumanThe folks at ExactTarget discovered a few bits of space in E-Commerce land that weren’t already supporting advertisements. Such blatant examples of straight communication could not be tolerated. Their target: transactional E-mails.
Here’s how they described their plan in a message sent to reporters: “Transactional E-mails, as defined by CAN-SPAM, are those sent after a purchase, confirming a subscription or sharing product update news. In the past, transactional E-mails have been limited to IT systems that used a server to generate an automatic confirmation message. There was no marketing messaging, or up-selling possibilities included in the messages. This was a huge missed opportunity.”
Maybe. Or maybe it was intentional, as they didn’t want critical confirmation messages to be ignored or deleted. My favorite part is where they bring up the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003—which was intended to prevent unsolicited ads from being sent to consumers—as though it supports this action.
-Marc
August 10th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Hi there. I run ET’s deliverability and policy compliance department. The new transactional tools are definitely NOT a license to spam, and we’d definitely be taking action against anybody who misuses them to send spam. As always, the ongoing efforts from my team involve educating clients to do the right thing (NOT spam), and policing clients to take the right action if they do the wrong thing (send spam). I’m a long time anti-spammer myself (run my own sites at http://www.spamresource.com and http://www.dnsbl.com tracking and reporting on spam issues), and I’m in full agreement that CAN-SPAM has little to do with actual permission — our policies go far above and beyond.
August 10th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
I DON’T WANT ADS in my Confirmation Emails! Period. Stop.
I’ve already bought something, please just send me a small email with my order details! Send me other ‘up-selling’ email I can delete later. Your web site should already have done it’s ‘up-selling’ magic when I was ordering!
August 11th, 2007 at 10:50 am
Let’s talk about what a transactional email is, and what it is not. Most seasoned merchants understand that they won’t be imbedding “ads” in transactional emails…however they also know that any chance to communicate with a customer in a personal and relevant manner should be taken advantage of – hence the power of transactional email being driven through an ESP (eMail Solutions Provider).
That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t imbed cross sells into transactional email. Relevant cross sells, such as memory sticks for your new Sony Camera, a protective case, or extended life battery – lend value to both the customer and the merchant. Especially when discounted to the value of that customer (high value customer – here is an extra 5% off). Cross selling in email CAN be customer service oriented, and SUCCSEFULL cross selling generally is.
Blend that with the level of INTELLIGENCE available through an ESP, and you can have lifetime value messaging in the email – allowing the merchant to welcome back high value customers who’ve been away, greet first time customers – in addition to providing cross channel data such as loyalty programs information.
AL – I loved your point about the technology simply being a tool – it’s up to the merchant to determine how to use it – based on their market, their business goals, and the ability to derive value from their transactional program by creating value for their customers
ROB – remember that you, as a consumer, have the ULTIMATE power by selecting who you spend with…you find a merchant abusing this new found ability, send them an email and never shop from them again – you won’t be alone, your impact will be FELT, and your message will be heard. In the end – your dollar will be what determines proper application for “next generation” transactional email solution.