ENVELOPES.COM - GIVE A LITTLE TO GET SOMETHING IN RETURN

March 14, 2011 - LINDENHURST, NY - I absolutely love it when companies get it. Envelopes.com not only gets it, but they want to reward me for telling them a little about me. In the email world, pundits/experts/pontificators often talk about relevancy and the need for companies to either start it or become better at it. Some companies struggle with the concept of relevancy in email thinking it will result in less sales or reach. However, in the long term it makes for more engaged and loyal customers. Don't believe me? Well in a 2010 survey done by Forrester Research on Consumer Attitudes Towards Email Marketing, 55% of the respondents agreed with the statement "Most email ads I receive don't offer anything that interests me".

Some will argue that their research is flawed and say that it does not do a good job reflecting most subscribers out there. However, one of the things I have learned is that I would never question or poke holes in something that I myself have not tried. That said, if you have not done a great job at truly customizing your subscribers experience with your brand, below is a great example of how to get started. After only being on the email list for a few days, Envelopes.com sent me the email below indicating that just for filling out my preferences, they would give me 5% off my next order. 5% off may not seem like a lot, but they are giving me the option as a subscriber to customize and tell them what I want. Maybe they are testing the the offer, but who cares..they are sending it to me with the notion that they are truly interested in seeing what I want. To me this is the first step in the right direction of letting me know I am in charge of my email program with them.

Here is the email that I am talking about:

If I click to update my preferences, I am greeted with a web page that is pretty much the same experience as my email:

They of course ask me for standard demographic stuff, but then want to know if I am a B2b or B2C customer and what industry I am in, which is great for profiling. Then... something strange... they ask me for a frequency option... what? They want me to tell them how many times I want to get email!! Brilliant... but that is not all...

As you scroll down, you are asked for interests and then BAM they ask me what social networks I am on, which is awesome and progressive because I assume they are going to want to see/use that information to make me an evangelist in other areas of my life. All of this information that they are asking for tells me that they are going to use it to cater to what I want... as opposed to what they want. Folks..isn't this what email is all about... letting the subscriber be in charge. Does this make it more difficult for Envelopes.com to market to me? Just a little, but at least I will have in the back of my head that when I get the next email from them it will be something that I asked for. Now... I wonder if my birthday email will come in an envelope?

Great job guys... you have made this email marketing happy and gushing with excitement that you are doing it right.

By Andrew Kordek

Trendline Interactive