When you’ve been in marketing long enough, you begin to
relate nearly every life experience back to strategies and principles—it’s
practically unavoidable. So, when I talk to a client about building email
engagement with new subscribers, I always refer back to one specific
experience.
Shortly after my wife and I moved into our new neighborhood,
one of our neighbors invited us to a Super Bowl party. I was thrilled to watch
the big game on a big screen—my wife, not so much. But she was excited to have
the opportunity to socialize with our new neighbors.
When we arrived, I immediately snagged a seat near the TV
and, from kickoff, I was glued to the game. I wasn’t paying much attention to
anything else happening in the room. When I finally glanced up at my wife, I
noticed she’d been cornered by one of our new neighbors.
“Who would you like to win the game?” he asked. My wife
smiled politely and said, “Honestly, I don’t really like football—I just came
for the food.”
What did he do next? Started talking about his predictions
for the game, rattling off facts and statistics about various players and his
opinion on the teams’ coaches. He wasn’t talking with her, he was talking at
her. And all the while, my wife stood there, her patience wearing thin. She
caught my eye and gave me her “come save me” look. I should have gone over and
rescued her, but I was really into the game. (To my wife: I’m sorry!)
There are actually two small lessons about email engagement
we can glean from our Super Bowl party experience:
Don’t Ignore the Information That’s Given to You
Literally the first thing my wife said to this gentleman
was, “I don’t like football.” And what did he do? He talked about nothing but
football for several minutes straight. She immediately became disengaged and
began looking for an out. If he’d been a brand, she would have unsubscribed.
When you obtain a new subscriber, the first thing you need
to do is assess all the information you currently have on hand. If necessary,
enhance this information with additional consumer data. Define the person
behind the email. For example:
- What are their interests?
- What is their age?
- Where do they live?
- What do they buy?
Then, use this information to personalize the
experience.
Just how clean is your data? Identify where your data requires attention, allowing you to choose which areas to improve.
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A Bad First Impression May Mean No Second Chance
Although my wife was polite to the neighbor, smiling and
nodding along to his comments, it was obvious she wasn’t interested in what he
had to say. Unfortunately, he didn’t pick up on these social cues. The result?
From that point forward, my wife avoided the neighbor. If she saw him out and
about, she would cordially dodge his attempts at conversation.
If he’d stopped and taken a moment to assess her facial
expression and body language, he would have been able to tell she didn’t want
to talk about football anymore. He could have changed the subject or allowed
her to steer the conversation toward a common interest. If so, the outcome
could have been much different.
When it comes to email, it’s about making that good
connection right out of the gate and planting the seeds for continued
engagement. When someone offers their email address, that’s when they’re most
likely to open the next email. If you’re unable to make a good impression from
the first email, you may not have another chance.
Conclusion
The fact of the matter is, email isn’t about you—it’s about
your customers. You should only provide offers and information they’d be
interested in based on the data you have. If you use the information you have
and strive to make a good impression, your new subscriber will be more
likely to engage in the future.
Article From: towerdata.com
