Email unsubscribe tactics.
OK so this thread is inspired by a recent 'spring clean' of my own inbox.
I've had my original email address since 1998 (I vividly remember setting it up and not really having a clue what email was or how it worked!) which is almost 20 years of newsletters, sign-up-heres, eBook sign-ups and online purchase history.
A few times a day I'll check emails, have a quick scan over the junk mail folder (which can have anything up to 20 or 30 emails at a time, and just click delete.
Recently, I've been on a bit of a de-cluttering mission and decided to 'unsubscribe' myself from the newsletters that I'm just not reading. Obviously, it's imperative that you're careful which links you click on for security reasons, but for the genuine newsletters I've signed up for, I've decided it's time to click unsubscribe, me being on these lists is just skewing figures left, right and centre.
As you can imagine, this is a bit of a process but an interesting one which I think we can all learn from.
Bear in mind that I have been on some of these distribution lists for YEARS. Some emails I read occasionally, some I don't, however as far as longevity goes, I'd say that for most, I'm pretty up there.
And I'll be honest with you, the retention attempts have been appalling! I wish I'd done some testing before I started to give some hard facts but unfortunately I didn't so you'll just have to go with my general terms.
Bear in mind that these emails are from all walks of life and not one particular industry - there are sales pages, travel sites, health and beauty, dietary, professional development - they cover such a broad spectrum it'd be impossible to categorise.
Interestingly, a scary number of my unsubscribe efforts have taken me to nothing more than a sparse landing page which says 'you've now been unsubscribed' That's it! No heartfelt goodbye, no attempt to get me to stay, no information on how I can re-subscribe, no THANKS for my previous loyalty; just a simple GOODBYE.
Ahhhh - I've almost been screaming at the screen - RETAIN ME!!! Just a few days in, I couldn't even tell you who those people were, whether I'll miss their emails and despite the fact I've likely bought something from them in the past, our ties are now completely cut.
At the other end of the spectrum are those sneaky little marketers who make me log in to my account to unsubscribe. Of course, I don't have my password so it becomes a mission to find out how to remove myself, by the time I've got to the 'remove myself' section I'm more than reacquainted with the company and their product, however I am so damn frustrated at the length and complexity of the process that I can't get out of there fast enough. IF I remain on their list it's because they've made it way too hard for me to get out. Those people aren't my friends either. One unsubscribe attempt took me at least 8 clicks before I got a result. Ridiculous!
And then there are the somewhere in-betweens. Those that say, we're SORRY to see you go, those that ask WHY are you going. and try to resolve it, and even better; those that tell me what I'll be missing by flaunting a product or offer in my face. Those people have made effort to keep me and I'll admit, I've fallen for it a couple of times already and remained on the list.
I have to be honest though, in my very recent experience, those people are the exception not the rule. How scary is that?
The best effort I've seen so far, and I'm not sure if I can mention the global company name or not so I won't just to be safe. Said they're sorry to see me go, asked my reason for leaving, and just before I clicked 'confirm' dropped a pop up in with a 'customer retention' offer. A $15 voucher to spend as I liked in their online store. Nice. Not only did they keep me on the list, they're also just about to get a sale.
I've also heard of a couple of really creative options to retain people after they've clicked unsubscribe - one company (can't remember who it was now) advise that if you stay, they'll show a video of their CEO getting drenched in water! It doesn't necessarily create a sale however it does show the consumer that these people want you to remain a customer and that they CARE.
So that's been my experience and I wondered how everyone else was using their unsubscribe pages and if it's really being used to its best potential?
I speak from experience when I say that what you do in the last few seconds of your relationship with a customer, really do count.
Would love to know your thoughts
I've had my original email address since 1998 (I vividly remember setting it up and not really having a clue what email was or how it worked!) which is almost 20 years of newsletters, sign-up-heres, eBook sign-ups and online purchase history.
A few times a day I'll check emails, have a quick scan over the junk mail folder (which can have anything up to 20 or 30 emails at a time, and just click delete.
Recently, I've been on a bit of a de-cluttering mission and decided to 'unsubscribe' myself from the newsletters that I'm just not reading. Obviously, it's imperative that you're careful which links you click on for security reasons, but for the genuine newsletters I've signed up for, I've decided it's time to click unsubscribe, me being on these lists is just skewing figures left, right and centre.
As you can imagine, this is a bit of a process but an interesting one which I think we can all learn from.
Bear in mind that I have been on some of these distribution lists for YEARS. Some emails I read occasionally, some I don't, however as far as longevity goes, I'd say that for most, I'm pretty up there.
And I'll be honest with you, the retention attempts have been appalling! I wish I'd done some testing before I started to give some hard facts but unfortunately I didn't so you'll just have to go with my general terms.
Bear in mind that these emails are from all walks of life and not one particular industry - there are sales pages, travel sites, health and beauty, dietary, professional development - they cover such a broad spectrum it'd be impossible to categorise.
Interestingly, a scary number of my unsubscribe efforts have taken me to nothing more than a sparse landing page which says 'you've now been unsubscribed' That's it! No heartfelt goodbye, no attempt to get me to stay, no information on how I can re-subscribe, no THANKS for my previous loyalty; just a simple GOODBYE.
Ahhhh - I've almost been screaming at the screen - RETAIN ME!!! Just a few days in, I couldn't even tell you who those people were, whether I'll miss their emails and despite the fact I've likely bought something from them in the past, our ties are now completely cut.
At the other end of the spectrum are those sneaky little marketers who make me log in to my account to unsubscribe. Of course, I don't have my password so it becomes a mission to find out how to remove myself, by the time I've got to the 'remove myself' section I'm more than reacquainted with the company and their product, however I am so damn frustrated at the length and complexity of the process that I can't get out of there fast enough. IF I remain on their list it's because they've made it way too hard for me to get out. Those people aren't my friends either. One unsubscribe attempt took me at least 8 clicks before I got a result. Ridiculous!
And then there are the somewhere in-betweens. Those that say, we're SORRY to see you go, those that ask WHY are you going. and try to resolve it, and even better; those that tell me what I'll be missing by flaunting a product or offer in my face. Those people have made effort to keep me and I'll admit, I've fallen for it a couple of times already and remained on the list.
I have to be honest though, in my very recent experience, those people are the exception not the rule. How scary is that?
The best effort I've seen so far, and I'm not sure if I can mention the global company name or not so I won't just to be safe. Said they're sorry to see me go, asked my reason for leaving, and just before I clicked 'confirm' dropped a pop up in with a 'customer retention' offer. A $15 voucher to spend as I liked in their online store. Nice. Not only did they keep me on the list, they're also just about to get a sale.
I've also heard of a couple of really creative options to retain people after they've clicked unsubscribe - one company (can't remember who it was now) advise that if you stay, they'll show a video of their CEO getting drenched in water! It doesn't necessarily create a sale however it does show the consumer that these people want you to remain a customer and that they CARE.
So that's been my experience and I wondered how everyone else was using their unsubscribe pages and if it's really being used to its best potential?
I speak from experience when I say that what you do in the last few seconds of your relationship with a customer, really do count.
Would love to know your thoughts
SMTPBOXES - The Email Marketing Alternative