It can be hard to be a good customer. I recently had the misfortune of needing to change my personal email address and in this consumer role, I was reminded once again how important it is to make it easy for your customers to take actions you desire. In this instance, my goal as a customer was simply to change the address on record for various newsletters and online catalogs I valued. It was an instructive experience — and a surprising headache in an age when marketers reportedly invest heavily in seeking ‘engagement’ and maintaining the quality of their lists.
Compliance versus Consideration
Thankfully for all of us, compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is widespread now and among the many advocacy groups, subject newsletters and merchants who had my personal address there were none that did not at least offer an ‘unsubscribe’ link at the bottom of the message in my inbox.
And that was at the same time the problem — I did not want to unsubscribe! I simply wanted to update my address and leave everything else the same. I was surprised by how difficult this simple task was made by some otherwise sophisticated marketers.
Common Difficulties
In terms of convenience, of making it easy for me to continue the relationship, the most common error was to offer only an ‘unsubscribe’ link in the message. This leaves no choice but to go through a multistep process something like this:
- Go to the website (Amazingly, many messages did not include a direct link to the home page.)
- Survive the challenges of remembering (or looking up) user name/password/login
- Search for profile, ‘my account,’ or the equivalent
- Find where the email address is listed (Profiles sometimes included multiple pages to wade through before email address is listed!)
- Click edit
- Type in the new address
- Click save.
Whew! You recall that I am a customer trying to maintain a relationship. No doubt significant effort was invested to establish this relationship by the organization or company trying to sell me ideas, goods, or to sell my eyeballs to advertisers.
A Few Examples
Peter Cashmore’s Mashable newsletters surprised me by falling into this category. Seven steps? Really. Similarly, the Kevin Kelly’s usually simple-but-functional approach fell down when I wanted to update my subscription to KK Lifestream. No thanks.
Mashable: email message options
KK Lifestream: email message options
Direct merchants of goods often did little better. A quick look at Eileen Fisher (FAIL), Wine Spectator (requires change preferences, change email, update for a total of 3 clicks, which beats seven) and finally Lands End, with its fetish for user friendliness came through with a clearly labeled single click to ‘change email address’.
Eileen Fisher: email message options
Wine Spectator: email message options
Lands End: email message options
Do some marketers think such contortions are a way to weed out their email subscribers, that if a customer is not motivated enough to go to some effort to update their address they do not want them? Today’s consumers simply have too many options for any marketer to afford to be so cavalier. At best, I will go directly to their website in the future (IF they happen to be top-of-mind that day). These marketers lost me — a heavy online shopper with regular needs for gift-giving to a large extended family, and years of donations to various causes, and they will now have to start over again to get into my pristine new email inbox.
Who was the winner in this survey of marketing attentiveness? It’s the free (or optionally premium) AWAD (A Word A Day) news letter from Anu Garg. Labeled clearly in the footer of every email is a link labeled ‘update email address.’ Thank you!
AWAD: email message options
There’s a lesson here for anyone trying to inform and educate to change behavior or market a small business or nonprofit: Start by looking at your own behavior to be sure you are making it as easy as possible for your best customers to do whatever it is you really want them to do.
Related
Step up your email value or else! [What Counts]
Tackling the Top 5 Challenges of Email Marketing [1 to 1 media]
Email Marketing: Make It Easy for Your Customers | Change Conversations http://t.co/io1qcDwX
It’s rare to come across a newsletter that has links to change your profile details, you’re right. Thanks for pointing this out, I will make amends in my own Communication newsletter.