How Many Emails Does it Take to Make a Sale?
Ah, the joys of the holiday season: a bevy of percent-off coupons, free shipping offers, and more sent directly to my inbox at a dizzying pace. And in case I forget about the offers at hand, there are all those handy follow-up emails reminding me that I have a limited time to take advantage of the fabulous offer I just received. Then there’s the ultimate reminder that I only have one day left—or else I’ll miss out. Until the next offer comes along, that is.
I get a plethora of emails from various retailers; some because I opted in, others because having made one purchase there it’s now assumed that I want to hear from these companies with some regularity. Not surprisingly, the frequency of emails from almost all of these businesses increased dramatically about a month ago. (Two retailers already send me daily alerts; you can’t get much more frequent than that.)
As much as I appreciate the special offers and “proactive” service (if we can consider those myriad reminders as such), I’m now in email overload and waiting for some post-holiday sanity—which will include a handful of opt-outs. If you’re wondering why I’m waiting to opt out, it’s because now that I’m in the crush, I want to go through the whole cycle and track what all these retailers think is effective marketing. After all, it could spur a story idea or two...
What do you think about all this email mania? Is it just too much or is it so effective at spurring sales that it’s worth annoying a few customers for the sake of pleasing the masses?
