Can you guess why these people DON'T call?

33 replies
Here's the situation:

I do a give away. People enter on line. I was sending an email once a week, notifying everyone who had entered during the previous week, to call and claim the give away, saying it would go to only one person.

And some people called and others didn't but in general I'd get a 35% response.

So I thought to bump up the response maybe it would work better to send that email out sooner. Like, same day they enter. So I made it automatic, that they get it within minutes of entering their submission.

The response rate didn't get any better. Got worse, actually.

WHY?

I mean, you just entered to win it... and you got a notice within minutes saying OK, what you have to do now is call to claim it. Call now, or call tomorrow, but you have 24 hours to call. And they don't call?

Can't wrap my little brain around this one. It went from a steady 35% to nil. Anyone have any hunches to boost response or what's possibly going on?
#call #guess #people
  • Profile picture of the author Jason Kanigan
    Too soon a turnaround...seems like a scam? "Oh I entered and I won; how convenient." </sarcasm>

    Whereas with the day delay, it seemed like more of a real process and not an automated Ding!Ding!Ding!You WON! :-D
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      IN what is suspected of being an automated system, gets automated results! ( trash )

      The power of setting an appointment / time and date. If in your "online' communication you say that the contest ends at say midnight on Friday, and to expect notification on Saturday. I would bet your Saturday response would be better.

      You are building in the expectation, the anticipation, the DRAMA... and for middle of the road America to actually get that E-mail on Saturday... LOOK PA we might have won!!!!

      Hope that Helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    Pretty much what Jason said.
    ------------------------
    Also

    I wonder what would happen if you sent the email out like now except that you just confirm their entry . tell them drawing is in a couple days, wish them good luck AND then make an offer like $99 session vs $200 session for everyone that entered. (Maybe someone buys , but that isnt the goal)

    What you are really doing is building value as in you actually do SELL the sessions and then when they are selected in a couple days perhaps even more people will take you up on offer.

    Try it and let us know how it goes.
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  • Profile picture of the author AlphaWarrior
    Originally Posted by misterme View Post

    Here's the situation:

    I do a give away. People enter on line. I was sending an email once a week, notifying everyone who had entered during the previous week, to call and claim the give away, saying it would go to only one person.

    And some people called and others didn't but in general I'd get a 35% response.

    So I thought to bump up the response maybe it would work better to send that email out sooner. Like, same day they enter. So I made it automatic, that they get it within minutes of entering their submission.

    The response rate didn't get any better. Got worse, actually.

    WHY?

    I mean, you just entered to win it... and you got a notice within minutes saying OK, what you have to do now is call to claim it. Call now, or call tomorrow, but you have 24 hours to call. And they don't call?

    Can't wrap my little brain around this one. It went from a steady 35% to nil. Anyone have any hunches to boost response or what's possibly going on?
    I am not trying to be offensive, but, to me, this appears to be fraud and misrepresentation. You have a give away and tell people that they must enter to win it. Then you tell everyone who has entered that they have won, and lie to them by telling them that only one will be given away when it appears that everyone who calls you gets the give away. It is a phony "contest".

    If you are trying to build a list, why not simply trade the give away for the person's email address? If you want people to call, why not simply tell the people to call you to receive the give away?
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  • Profile picture of the author bob ross
    I gotta share this...

    In the home improvement company I worked for when I first became a salesman, most of the leads would be generated via direct mail "sweepstakes" to win a free house full of windows and siding.

    one winner was picked per year.

    Every year, around xmas the name would be drawn and we'd call to notify them they won... and EVERY time it took 2 or 3 people before someone would actually believe it. The first one or two that answered would hang up or call it scam, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Originally Posted by AlphaWarrior View Post

    I am not trying to be offensive, but, to me, this appears to be fraud and misrepresentation. You have a give away and tell people that they must enter to win it. Then you tell everyone who has entered that they have won, and lie to them by telling them that only one will be given away when it appears that everyone who calls you gets the give away. It is a phony "contest".
    I don't tell anyone who enters that they've won anything. Not at all. Only that they need to call in to claim it. They've entered for the chance to win. I also mention there's a couple of qualifying questions that'll be asked when they call, and when they call in, I ask those certain questions to make sure they're bonafide. But the point is this is no different than what was being said when the notice to call in was delayed a few days, but delaying it seemed to work better.
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    • Profile picture of the author AlphaWarrior
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      I don't tell anyone who enters that they've won anything. Not at all. Only that they need to call in to claim it. They've entered for the chance to win. I also mention there's a couple of qualifying questions that'll be asked when they call, and when they call in, I ask those certain questions to make sure they're bonafide. But the point is this is no different than what was being said when the notice to call in was delayed a few days, but delaying it seemed to work better.
      Still looks like fraud and misrepresentation to me.

      BTW, which is correct? The op where you say "I mean, you just entered to win it..." or the above quote where you say " I don't tell anyone who enters that they've won anything".
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  • Profile picture of the author kenmichaels
    I sell inbounds to travel agencies.

    We went from a decent amount of calls to the phones blowing up by simply
    adding a time limit in the message.

    You have 5 minutes to call us ...


    Maybe you can adapt that idea and give it a try.
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    • Profile picture of the author misterme
      Originally Posted by AlphaWarrior View Post

      BTW, which is correct? The op where you say "I mean, you just entered to win it..." or the above quote where you say " I don't tell anyone who enters that they've won anything".
      In the first quote I'm writing about the contestant's intent. I would think they're hoping to win, why else enter a giveaway? So I presume they enter the giveaway to win. That's why I'm puzzled that they don't follow through with the next step towards winning when they're notified and directed what to do next because I would think they're still fresh in that "I'd like to win this" zone. In the second quote I'm referring to what I write them when they're notified, and I don't say anything like "congratulations, you've won" but rather, I give them the next step. Both statements are correct.

      Originally Posted by mjbmedia View Post

      hey MisterMe the market that you target clearly are not the ones who respond to instant gratification (yet) , they expect to have to wait 24 + hours for things still, that's their neuro programming instilled in them, something comes back to them too quick and they'll shun it as it doesn't fit in with their settings.

      Now if you were doing this with people who were mega active on instant mobile couponing/CPA/hyper local etc then you done the instant response, theyd be more likely to be Ok with that, but your current lot seem content for delays.

      How long was the original capture of them as leads ? Was it an instant thing or a longer winded seduction, why do you then think theyd want to change tack?
      Interesting NLP point. Seems to go against my marketplace's personality, as I think they mostly do want instant gratification, but of course I could be wrong about that.

      Originally Posted by kenmichaels View Post

      We went from a decent amount of calls to the phones blowing up by simply adding a time limit in the message.

      You have 5 minutes to call us ...

      Maybe you can adapt that idea and give it a try.
      Good point. I do have a deadline, long enough to be realistic for my market, short enough so they don't forget. And it worked fine when I was notifying the bunch once a week. But not with the same-day notice.
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      • Profile picture of the author savidge4
        Honestly not that I probably have to say this, but A / B test it.. does waiting return you to 35% conversion?

        Another thing to look at is the habits or patterns of most computer users. What's the first thing you do when you get on your computer? Check your e-mail?

        Ok so then you go around and surf fill out forms to enter a contest etc...

        Your AVERAGE user is then done, until tomorrow. ( We are not average ) As in they shut off their computer. - note, they do not recheck their e-mail!

        If your Time deadline expires or is close to expiring in the time that they got the e-mail, and when they read it next, why would they call?

        Of course all of this is determined by age demographic. Obviously a younger demographic is going to be more instant, but an older demographic is going to be more patterned, as shown above.

        Hope that Helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author MoRaitman
    People don't want to be harrassed , pressured or kept on the phone endlessly. Much easier to deal with someone in writing. Keep in mind, there are offers galore out there. What makes your offer so compelling that a person needs to pick up a phone and be talked into buying something???
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  • Profile picture of the author Ricardo Furtado
    Sorry to hear this.

    Unfortunately, I am not able to give you an exact answer as there seems to be some kind of factor(s) that has proved to be a stumbling block.

    Perhaps you could sit back and analyze the whole scenario once again – then maybe you could come up with an answer.

    All the best.

    Regards.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      I do some vinyl work, make signs, make shirts, do vehicle decals the like. I got an e-mail from my supplier this evening, they are extending an offer to their good customers. The email, says to give them a call to get the offer. THERE IS NO PHONE NUMBER IN THE E-MAIL!!

      misterme? Did you remember to put the phone number in the last batch of e-mails you sent out?


      hahahahahaha
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  • Profile picture of the author mjbmedia
    hey MisterMe the market that you target clearly are not the ones who respond to instant gratification (yet) , they expect to have to wait 24 + hours for things still, that's their neuro programming instilled in them, something comes back to them too quick and they'll shun it as it doesn't fit in with their settings.

    Now if you were doing this with people who were mega active on instant mobile couponing/CPA/hyper local etc then you done the instant response, theyd be more likely to be Ok with that, but your current lot seem content for delays.

    How long was the original capture of them as leads ? Was it an instant thing or a longer winded seduction, why do you then think theyd want to change tack?
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  • Profile picture of the author Arthuria Leonhart
    I won't call, either. It really seems like a scam, and you need to take into account that some people prefer communicating through email than phone
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    • Profile picture of the author TheBigBee
      Might sound silly but...

      On top of what everyone else has suggested do you think that getting their written permission (EchoSign = OK) ("Clicking A Check Box On Your Site" = NOT OK) during the opt-in process will help?

      I would guess it depends on your offer. You're a pro, no need for me to lecture you on SMS' value.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    Gee, if they think it's a scam I'd wonder why they're entering the giveaway. Although I'm shrouded with credibility and puh-lenty of evidence that I'm not scamming anyone.

    I appreciate the thoughts. But if we can think deeper than "maybe they think it's a scam", that's what I was looking for. Experienced marketing insight. Not for nothing but I can get "maybe they think it's a scam" from me blessed old mum.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      Gee, if they think it's a scam I'd wonder why they're entering the giveaway. Although I'm shrouded with credibility and puh-lenty of evidence that I'm not scamming anyone.

      I appreciate the thoughts. But if we can think deeper than "maybe they think it's a scam", that's what I was looking for. Experienced marketing insight. Not for nothing but I can get "maybe they think it's a scam" from me blessed old mum.
      But it has to be a scam.... forget the fact the first post points out YOU WERE getting 35% return, then you changed the pattern of delivery and it dropped to zero.

      Reading comprehension is a learned skill I think
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        By making it automatic, did you change the method of sending email messages? Are the same number (percentage) delivered into inboxes?
        Did you change the wording? The feel? The subject line? Did you add anything? Maybe before your messages seemed 'individualized' (beyond using a name) and now they seem 'I'm blast'ing everyone' messages?
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  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    If it were me, I would enter the contest.
    If I got an email saying to call in, I would delete that shit and unsubscribe.
    Its like when a car place mails a key. Then you have to go down to the car lot and deal with all their salesy b.s. It's not worth the hassle to me.
    I would think your call-in thing was the same principle.
    I entered to win something, not to call you and get a sales pitch.

    I dont know what you sell, or what you are giving awaynwith your contest...
    I believe you said you have some questions for them when they call in.
    What you might want to try is making the entry form longer.
    Pre-qualify or whatever in the entry form. Then make a note that they may be contacted from a member of your staff regarding their entry.
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    • Profile picture of the author misterme
      Originally Posted by DABK View Post

      By making it automatic, did you change the method of sending email messages? Are the same number (percentage) delivered into inboxes?
      Did you change the wording? The feel? The subject line? Did you add anything? Maybe before your messages seemed 'individualized' (beyond using a name) and now they seem 'I'm blast'ing everyone' messages?
      If anything, I made it tighter.

      Originally Posted by vndnbrgj View Post

      If it were me, I would enter the contest.
      If I got an email saying to call in, I would delete that shit and unsubscribe.
      Its like when a car place mails a key. Then you have to go down to the car lot and deal with all their salesy b.s. It's not worth the hassle to me.
      I would think your call-in thing was the same principle.
      I entered to win something, not to call you and get a sales pitch.
      They don't get a sales pitch. And nothing I write makes them feel a pitch is coming.

      It's like radio show contests where you enter and then when your name's announced on the air you call in. Maybe then you have to have the right answer or whatever. It's loosely based on the same model.

      I dont know what you sell, or what you are giving awaynwith your contest...
      I believe you said you have some questions for them when they call in.
      What you might want to try is making the entry form longer.
      Pre-qualify or whatever in the entry form. Then make a note that they may be contacted from a member of your staff regarding their entry.
      I used to do that but in wanting to scale up I took out a couple of the form fields to see if that encouraged more entries, which then I'd ask the qualification questions when they called to weed out the un-bonafide.

      Lo and behold, someone called and claimed the giveaway as is. Though now after this one, I've reverted back to announcing the call in once a week instead of daily.
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      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        I'm thinking two reasons might have been behind:

        They sign up for lists a lot, and they get a reminder instantly, so when you send an automatic reminder right after, you no longer stand out.

        Sending a reminder a few days later makes it sound more like a contest for contest sake. Sending a reminder automatically, makes it seem like it's part of someone's sales funnel. (I know, they don't call it a funnel, but a lot of people know a sales funnel when they see it even if they don't know its name.)

        In either case, you reduced the enthusiasm/curiosity factor.
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  • Profile picture of the author wbee
    Yeah I think it's the anticipation fact. People are willing to wait in suspense to see if they won something! I think you just shot the gun too soon and it probably makes people think it's a scam because it's too fast, quick & easy.
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  • Profile picture of the author GforceSage
    When I give out my email in such a manner, I always use one of my secondary emails. I may not check it for days, even weeks if I am really busy.

    I'm sure lots of people do this. Some people have just not checked the email that they supplied you with and when they finally do, they see that they have missed the window of opportunity to claim their offer, so they hit delete.

    How about phrasing that a pool of emails will be pulled, and the first 25 who respond are guaranteed the offer once they are confirmed to be eligible, so please check your email often? Then give an exact time table when you are going to be contacting people, ..................... " So be sure and check that email often."
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  • Profile picture of the author misterme
    It really does look it has a lot to do with delayed timing. I stopped the daily notice a few days ago, saved it up for today and - kabang! A 33 % response. Go figure.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      Originally Posted by misterme View Post

      It really does look it has a lot to do with delayed timing. I stopped the daily notice a few days ago, saved it up for today and - kabang! A 33 % response. Go figure.
      Well the phrase "timing is everything" has been around since the dawn of time. There must be a reason for that.

      Good to see you got your swagger back!
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  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi there,

    I think it might be a case of,

    "Why should I have to call to claim a prize I supposedly won? You should be giving it to me without any effort on my part as I'm a lazy sod"

    Think entitlement.

    Now....obviously the call is how you're getting paid (I'm assuming) so you need to somehow get them to pick up the phone.

    You don't say WHAT the giveaway is, but is there a way to automatically give away a subset of it? A miniature version? So just for entering they get half a doohickey, but they must call in with their name/address etc to claim that.

    That way they're actually claiming a sure thing as opposed to checking to see if they've won something.

    People's BS meters are always on high.

    We do a yearly mailing for a client where we send out live signed cheques. They could be cashed - they're valid cheques drawn on valid banks. Only about 1% of the recipients cash the cheque. The rest simply think it's a scam or credit on some future offer. Oh, and the cheques are for 150 euro.

    All the best,

    Sasha.
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    • Profile picture of the author misterme
      Originally Posted by SashaLee View Post


      I think it might be a case of,

      "Why should I have to call to claim a prize I supposedly won?
      Thanks for chiming in. Hate to be repetitious yet I need to emphasize a point already stated: they're not given the notion they've won anything. They've entered for a chance to win.

      Subsequently, I go through the entries and select those which appear to be bonafide, as per the entry instructions. There are quite a few which don't meet the entry requirements but that doesn't deter them from entering. There are also those who don't follow the directions at all. Then there are those who look to stuff the ballot box so to speak hoping to increase their chances of winning, even though the instructions state one entry is all that's permissible.

      The bonafide ones get an email which instructs them to the next step, which is to call in. I have a couple of questions to ask to make sure they're for real.

      I also have to make sure they understand the giveaway because even though I'm very crystal clear about what they'll get, not just 1. where they first read about it but also 2. on the landing page and then 3. in the email notice I mentioned above... there are usually always those who think I'm giving away the entire store. I think that's a matter of what they're hoping for.... but it also signals where their minds are at. No worries. They weed themselves out on the call when I go over it again. Even then they ask me to confirm that I'm saying what I'm saying... which I do and further point out it was all stated previously a couple of times...

      Interestingly, if that email goes out soon after they've entered, less people respond. If it goes out a few days after they enter, response seems to hover around 35%. If the email goes out over a week after they've entered, responses drop again. So it's not the email that causes the difference in response. It appears to be the timing.

      And now that I'm writing this, I'm thinking maybe the 65% who don't respond are ones who, upon reading the email, finally understand what was plainly spelled out before about what the giveaway is. Seems some of these people just enter things without reading anything or thinking or even checking out the thing I'm giving away.
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  • Profile picture of the author SashaLee
    Hi there,

    Then it sounds like, based on what you've shared, your qualification process is where there might be a glitch.

    Also, if you have to over-state an offer then it's probably got too many gotchas. Again, supposition on my part since we don't know exactly what you're offering and to whom and under whatever circumstances.

    All the best,

    Sasha.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cray
    I'll prolly ignore it too if the email is badly composed.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      ok now the real question. How in the Goly Gee Wilikars are you getting 33% response rate on an e-mail? That is just straight up silly! Can I hire you to write copy? hahahaha my gosh I still come back and see this post and shake my head 33% I'm such a loser!
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      • Profile picture of the author misterme
        Originally Posted by savidge4 View Post

        How in the Goly Gee Wilikars are you getting 33% response rate on an e-mail? That is just straight up silly! Can I hire you to write copy?
        I only get that 33% response because I tested copy until I saw a decent CTR, and subject lines until I got one that gets between an 83 to 90% open rate.
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        • Profile picture of the author savidge4
          Originally Posted by misterme View Post

          I only get that 33% response because I tested copy until I saw a decent CTR, and subject lines until I got one that gets between an 83 to 90% open rate.
          I don't even get that kind of open rate with my own parents! (That would actually be funny for me if it wasn't true! hahaha ) It is truly amazing what Testing can do.... Ill have to start with my parents... hmm "Im Pregnant" might get them to open ( I am a guy by the way )
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