My 2 cents: Are traditional agencies running (or ruining) your email?
Jul 24 2007
Taco Del Mar has a huge opportunity to grab some significant lunch business, but this email is not how you do it. Here is what I see wrong with it:
-No Friendly name, just email address (promos@)
- All of the information above the fold does not tell me what this email is about (subject tells you at least)
- All an image with no link to a web version
- I can’t click on anything except the links in the footer
- There is a coupon in the email, but it does not tell me to print it
- No ability to update my profile/preferences
Consumer-based email needs to be smarter than this.
Now this is an assumption in this instance, however, many times when you see something like this it is because a full-service agency is providing this service to their client since it only makes sense to keep it under one roof. Unless your agency really knows how to do email (ask for proof), look somewhere else. Look to an email service provider, but not one that is not a pure-play software company and offers more than “consulting” services, but an provider or agency that is rooted in email marketing.
- Posted by Jeff Mills
- @alexcwilliams
- at 5:13 AM
Published in Email Design, Missed Opportunites
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
July 25th, 2007 at 11:28 am
This brings up a good topic (the Taco email): The issue of whether or not to provide web site links in brick & mortar / retail location driven emails is an eternal discussion topic at my organization. One individual argues that it’s a customer service offering; to just provide information of the offer or service IN the email, not driving the click through (for more info – to a website). He argues that you are making it easier for the customer to just read the content in the email and go to the store; not forcing the click through. I argue that you can’t have an email without a clickable link to the content offer, offline driven or not. It goes against email marketing 101 in my opinion. Thoughts?
———————-
I completely agree Maggie. People like to click for the most part, they have been trained to do so. Why not point them to a PDF of a coupon (track the PDF downloads) or dynamically populate my zip code into a store locator when I click to show me my nearest location. Those two things alone would give huge amounts of information.
July 26th, 2007 at 4:58 am
Jeff -
Agree 100%. One thing I have learned after over 2 years of (Bronto) email marketing is that just because you are a big company (or Agency), have a big list, and/or an enormous budget…does not mean that you understand effective email marketing.
dj at bronto
————————–
Budget does not equal intelligence, agreed. The key component is finding an email partner that is more than just software and “consulting” and truly an email marketing agency that can either empower you to be a more effective marketer or handle your email marketing for you.
Great point DJ.