email marketing
Email marketing isn’t something I’ve written about for a while, so I decided to give this little gem another airing. No one is perfect (not even you). How often have you received an email from a company only to get another a few minutes later because they made a mistake in the original? How you deal with bloopers will say a lot about you and your company.
Email Marketing – When Things Go Wrong
We all like to think we’re perfect, but we’re only human. Which means things go wrong now and then.
Everyone at one time or another has made a mistake.
After spending hours on your latest marketing email, you hit send. That’s when you notice a glaring typo, you’ve sent it to the wrong list, or you got the offer details wrong.
I can see you’re nodding. But don’t feel bad because you’re not alone. Everyone’s been there at some point, but it’s how you deal with it that matters.
How to deal with mistakes in your email marketing
When things go wrong, people tend to fall into one of three camps. They either:
- Hide and hope no one notices
- Realise their mistake, correct it and hastily send out the email again to the same list without an apology or explanation
- Hold their hands up to their mistake, apologise and make it up to their customers
Which are you?
By being the honest guy in the third scenario, you’ll gain more respect and happy customers. You’ll probably still get a rap over the knuckles by the boss, but at least you owned up and put things right.
Often it’s how companies deal with their mistakes that wins or loses customers. A company that refuses to acknowledge its shortcomings will lose customers in spades. But one that admits it’s not always perfect and does get things wrong and is willing to go that extra mile to put it right will retain customers.
How to avoid mistakes
In an ideal world, mistakes wouldn’t happen.
Whilst being human tends to mean things will go wrong now and then, there are a few simple techniques you can follow to try and keep these cock-ups to a minimum.
- Validation list
Before you send your email to your customer list, set up a validation list comprising of colleagues or friends (if you’re a one-person band) who will proofread and test out your links for you. This should help flag up any errors before it’s broadcast.
- Preview
If you have the ability to preview how your email will look in different browser windows, it will help you ensure your email looks good and that the layout isn’t compromised.
- Slow down
Don’t leave it to the last minute.
Plan your email marketing carefully to make sure you have plenty of time to compose it and check it before sending it. Writing in haste is asking for trouble.
Email marketing is a potent tool when used properly. Whether you create your own content or use a professional copywriter to create it for you, always make sure you check and double-check the text, offers and links before sending.