Email Marketing
Email marketing is an
essential part of any company’s presence on the internet and for the company’s
growth.
HostPapa is a web
hosting company that uses email marketing to relate and contact clients
directly; to inform them of prices, improvements, new technology, and
information. I was and still am directly involved in the replies from the
monthly newsletter queue for HostPapa.
The amounts of
replies I receive that are spam filter notices are unreal. The email says
something along the lines of:
“I am protecting myself
from spam. If you would like to contact me further please go to this website...
You will only have to do this once.”
Not something a company wants to see
when it comes to their emails not reaching the consumer. Spam is definitely a
huge problem on the internet. Consumers do not want to receive daily updates
from brands, company’s, or anyone for that matter on an ongoing daily basis. I
honestly do not ever look at 99.9% of the emails I receive from retailers or wagJag
deals. I either felt obligated to give my email while shopping at a store or
gave it out to win something… WHICH I DID NOT WIN OF COURSE, and in turn now receive annoying emails daily.
Companies that do any emailing or
send anything online must abide by CAN-SPAM. CAN-SPAM is a set of laws that
govern the email marketing world while giving the consumers privacy. The
penalties of not abiding by these laws could cost a company up to $16,000.
THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO
SCARE ME INTO NEVER BREAKING THE LAWS!
These
laws include:
1.
Don’t use false or misleading header information.
2.
Don’t use deceptive subject lines.
3.
Identify the message as an ad.
4.
Tell recipients where you’re located.
5.
Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving
future email from you.
6.
Honor opt-out requests promptly.
7.
Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.
This
information was gathered directly from the CAN-SPAM website. For further
information on CAN-SPAM please visit their website.
Here is a short video that explains each one of these
regulations into small detail.
Number 5 refers to an option they
must give you within every email they send that allows you to opt out of their
emails going forward.
Here is just one example
where there is an opt out option at the end of a MAC Cosmetics email blast:
You are
receiving this email because you opted in to receive emails from M·A·C
Cosmetics Online regarding products and promotions. Unsubscribe. Please add macnews@e.maccosmetics.com to your address
book to ensure you continue to receive emails from M·A·C Cosmetics Online. ©
M·A·C Make-Up Art Cosmetics, INC. All worldwide rights reserved. Privacy Policy Legal Terms/Conditions M·A·C Cosmetics Online, 130 Prince Street, New
York, New York 10012
Thank you for reading my blog. I hope you enjoyed it.
Janelle Brown
September 2, 2012
Excellent essay. I think email marketing is more effective than my topic pop ads because it locates the consumer organizised and neatly and causes less side effect. Considering a formal post about cloud Internet service, email marketing would be a powerful weapon in the web marketing's future.
ReplyDeleteEmail marketing is great for a company to feature their promotions, loyalty discounts , and can also alert customers about new product/services. It can also build customer relationships dealing with any feedback, questions and/or problems customers may have. Great Job
ReplyDeleteEmail marketing can be tricky for those businesses that don't do it properly. It would be wise to know those regulations before conducting any major email marketing campaign. Even though people for the most part don't open the emails, that's on you as a company to figure out a way to get them to open them.
ReplyDeleteA huge issue that I believe comes up with email marketing is people opting out, but companies not honoring their request. This could either be because they are ignoring it, or they just are not paying attention to what is going on throughout their ad campaigns. This would become a legal issue that the company should take seriously and make sure they maintain a good relationship with customers. The saying is it takes years to gain a customer, but seconds to loose one.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, I went and opened a few of the spam emails I receive, to check if they have all the 7 elements. Majority of the emails have them, but they're disguised or hard to reach. I completely agree with you about the opt-out process and not honoring our request. This one particular website had such a tedious and long process of opting out, that I actually gave up half way and just decided to ignore their useless emails.
DeleteNice work, Janelle.
Thank you Hunor,
DeleteI agree with what your saying about just ignoring the emails, that is what most people tend to do. A lot of people just give out a fake email, or an email they no longer use when retailers ask for their email information, This ties into what kaila was saying below about feeling awkward. This is because they are tired of receiving emails like this. Also I would say their perception of the brand or company changes when they receive daily annoying emails when they really do not want their inbox filling up with these types of ads.
I agree with you Janelle, email marketing can be very effective to create brand awareness and gain customer retention. Also it is a great way for them to have 24 hour access with consumers, and gain direct feedback. However like you said, consumers can choose to opt out of your companies emails which can be due to the issues you stated above. As a company you need to be aware of these issues to prevent things like this from happening.
DeleteA lot of times sales people will ask for customers' emails. I find it very awkward to say no. They are putting consumers on the spot and i agree that a lot of people feel obligated to give their email when asked by a sales person. However, for certain companies that consumers are actually very interested, they would be more likely to want emails sent to them. This tells me that there could be a more efficient way for retailers to obtain emails.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Job!!
ReplyDeleteWhen asked for my email, I pretty much always say yes. I always opt in for emails. I get all my news and offers through emails. In my opinion its something thats being done more and more. I always have access to my email, so these companies can always get their emails to me.
Thank you everyone for your comments.
ReplyDeleteXavier talked about how this builds customer relationships with clientele which I believe is true when this type of marketing is handled with care. Like Christina talked about in class, people want to be spoken to directly and know that the email was directed to them. They do not want to know the email they just received went to 200,000 other people.
This is where database marketing comes into place. Always knowing something about the customer, their name to start with, and then keeping their purchases on file and reminding them about what they bought, knowing their size if it was clothes, making suggestions, and informing them of specific deals or discounts that would apply to them personally.
In the past I used to do a lot of online shopping for a number of consumer goods, perhaps I should have been more conservative in my use of online revenues, as I am now constantly bombarded wtih spam mails from a number of companys, I think you can understand why I find this to be a nuisance, I particularly liked your bit on CAN-SPAM, I am going to look into ways of getting myself off of all of the emails lists I have signed myself up for in the past. Overall a great post, good job.
ReplyDeleteEmail Marketing is cheap in cost as compared to other forms of marketing.Email marketing can be even useful for the costumers as they can receive latest updates and offers regarding products and services that subscribe for. Email marketing is a way through which marketers can customize the message that they want to convey to the customers,it is a rapid communication process and they can even receive the response of the customers.
ReplyDeleteAre e-mails switching hands much-like phone numbers do for telemarketers? It seems to be the case as I too constantly get constant e-mails from those I have never touched based with, communicated with and even having no clue they exist. It's a terrible nussiance. The laws should be even more rigid and strict if you ask me. They always seemingly break them and don't have any reprocussions. Maybe it would lead to better e-mail marketing.
ReplyDeleteHostPapa is a great tool for marketers.. Alex showed me and told me hohw it works..
ReplyDeleteExcellent posts on email marketing. Email marketing is an effective way to get a customers attention without being to annoying.. with a subtle but captivating subject line, the customer will show an interest and read your ad..