| Many
e-commerce businesses talk about the importance of building a long-term
relationship with customers. Email, the Internet’s first and still
most powerful "killer app" is one of the most effective
and popular methods of communicating with customers. Customer relationship
management (CRM) is hardly a new concept, but technology has added
an entirely new spin, and not all of it is good.
The
CRM software and consulting services market has boomed in the past
few years as companies adopt e-business strategies. Basic marketing
principles have been incorporated into products developed by CRM
software manufacturers. Unfortunately some CRM software solutions
are developed or implemented by engineers, not marketers. This can
lead to problems.
 A
good example of email-based CRM-solution-gone-bad is an implementation
by a particular e-retailer that will remain unnamed.
This company’s email marketing program is so poorly implemented
that once-loyal customers like myself have been turned into lifelong
customers of the competition
(even if their product selection or service isn’t as good). This
is not to say the problem is not experienced by many leading e-retailers,
I just haven’t come across them in my day-to-day like I have with
the aforementioned party.
Rather
than dwell on the anger and frustration created by this particular
company, I’d prefer to focus on the bigger issue of creating a coherent
CRM marketing policy and technology implementation plan. Below are
the key components and issues that should be addressed by any e-retailer
or e-marketing company looking to build and maintain relationships
with key constituents.
Articulate
the Offer
Clearly spell out what the visitor will get from signing up for
"updates." Outline the kind of content they can expect
(i.e. special offers, discounts, product updates, company news),
what format they can expect (text or HTML) and how often they will
receive it (bi-monthly is ideal for generic e-retailers).
KISS
Registration
Keep it simple stupid. The registration process should be quick
and easy. Name and email for newsletters. Keep it short and sweet
if you’re collecting demographic information from a purchaser. Don’t
ask any unnecessary questions (you can collect them later in an
incentive-based survey).
Opt-Out
Default
While collecting names and email addresses is always ideal for marketing
and company valuation, it can backfire if not done properly. First-time
customers may not understand the company or product offering, or
they may be purchasing gifts (like myself) and are not likely to
be interested in ongoing offers. When requiring visitors to register,
it’s always better to leave the "please send me updates via
email" checkbox blank (aka opt-out default). It’s better to
have an uninformed customer than a pissed off customer.
Privacy
Policy
Any company working with customer information needs to clarify how
the information is going to be used and who is going to see it.
For a comprehensive policy, check out AOL.
Let it be known that the unnamed company has a privacy policy, but
it is buried a few clicks down, rather than accessible from the
home page.
Now
You’re Cooking
Once you’ve got your email and have content to send out, keep in
mind the registrant likely forgot what they signed up for a week
ago, let alone an hour ago, and will need a reminder. The subject
line of the email should be enticing and clearly communicate the
context and relevance to the recipient. The sender should also include
the company name or domain in the email address (or an actual person’s
name, if they are well known within the industry and respond personally
to inquries). Any outgoing email should also have a disclaimer at
the top of the email explaining why they are receiving the email
(i.e. you signed up for this on our site) and what the email is
about (so we’re sending you product updates you requested). Surprisingly
few marketers do this; the unnamed company is not one of those.
Get
Me Out
As much as you’d hate to lose a customer or subscriber, it’s better
to make it easy and stem the flow of blood by immediately removing
recipients that no longer wish to receive information. To minimize
attrition, make it easy for the recipient to change or delete their
address or personal information. This is where the unnamed company
failed completely. Rather than have to simply reply to the unwanted
email I received from them, or forward it along to another email
address with "unsubscribe" in the subject line, I had
to click on a URL link and click the "no" box (their default
choice is "yes, keep sending me updates"). To make matters
worse, a bug in the database re-added my name after unsubscribing
multiple times. I finally got in touch with a representative and
they apologized, promising it was taken care of. I received two
more messages the next day. One of their senior database experts
personally responded to apologize and explain the error, but by
then I was downright pissed. Don’t let this happen to you; don’t
start using the technology until it’s tested. Make sure you have
at least two or three ways to for your recipients to unsubscribe.
Come
Back
Now that you’ve lost your valued customer or subscriber, you should
throw in the towel and head to Maui. Wrong. You have one last opportunity
to repair the situation. In the unsubscribe confirmation, thank
them for their patronage and offer them a special offer or contact
info to talk to a company representative. Most of the time, some
attention is all they really want. If the unnamed company had offered
a "special offer" as compensation for my trouble, I would
think much more highly of them, but it’s doubtful I would change
my mind. Others may be more understanding and appreciative.
Keep
in mind these are my opinions and not those of anyone else, use
at your own risk. If for some reason you have a problem, feel free
to email me.
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