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Love ‘Em, Leave ‘Em & Move on What to do when your subscribers just aren’t that into you
Love ‘Em, Leave ‘Em & Move on What to do when your subscribers just aren’t that into you
Something is wrong. You and your subscribers aren’t communicating like you used to. Gone are those days of young love when a flirty consumer was clicking around your site and made the first move by committing to your email program. The eager new subscriber couldn’t wait to tell you everything about themselves. Profile forms were completed, wish lists were built, orders were made. You were giddy with excitement too. You asked them to join your social networks. You teased discounts and limited-time offers to help take the relationship to the next level. You even showed the benefits of committing to a long-term relationship by asking them to join your loyalty program. What do you do when this back-and-forth has become routine and your once overly-attentive subscriber has become distant, distracted and unimpressed? You hoped things would get better during the rush of the holidays. They didn’t. You thought that making over your email design would remind your formerly adoring subscriber of why they fell in love in the first place. It didn’t. It’s time to face the facts. You know you love ‘em, so you need to give ‘em one more chance to get your relationship back on track. Let this white paper be your faithful and brutally honest BFF that helps you make a few last-ditch attempts to reignite the spark. If that doesn’t work, we will show you how to say “enough is enough,” leave ‘em gracefully and move on. Let’s get started.
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Love ‘Em The haze of uncertainty has been lifted. You have finally come to terms with the fact that your relationship has been waning and you’re just not as happy as you used to be. Before you start telling your sweetheart subscriber how much you miss them and want to rekindle the romance, you should first do some undercover work. Start with some serious soul-searching. Is there a pattern from past relationships that you can’t stop repeating? Perhaps there are recurring behaviors like an overly touchy-feely onboarding experience followed by a series of impersonal or irrelevant emails. Maybe you came on too strong by offering a discount for a first-time purchase but didn’t leave them wanting more. So, what do you do? Honey, it’s time to get your data together! Go back to where you met your subscribers for clues about why the relationship is starting to sour. What was it that they liked about you in the first place? Skipping over this important step will likely lead you to repeat past mistakes. You won’t understand when and where your subscribers started to lose interest, and you won’t know how to get the passion back.
Let’s look at some of the most common places you meet new subscribers. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD You will likely discover that you meet quality subscribers on your website, whether it’s a sign-up box on your homepage or during the checkout process. These subscribers made the first move by showing some initial interest in you and taking a look around your neighborhood. FRIEND OF A FRIEND Subscribers gained from social networks may have been introduced to you by a friend. Perhaps they weren’t into you before, but your mutual friend was able to find a connection between you two. Maybe a special offer or clever pic created some chemistry and urged the friend of a friend to give you a second look. SPEED DATING Acquisition sources, like sweepstakes, are full of players just trying to get something from you. They give their information to anyone who will take it in hopes of getting something in return. They are not interested in a long-term commitment but want to play the odds to see who is worthy of their attention. THE CLUB Point-of-Sale subscribers may just lie and give you a fake number, I mean, email address. There was enough interest for the subscriber to go into your store and share their email address, but can the relationship really transition from brick-and-mortar to the inbox? Each of these sources and potential heartbreakers has a different motivation and intention, and it’s up to you to understand the risks and potential outcomes before you enter into a new relationship with them. First, build segments based on acquisition source and subscription date, and then analyze how long it takes for opens to start to decline or flatline.
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This chart, while just an example, gives you an idea about how the most common acquisition sources can trend over time. Those you meet in your own neighborhood tend to start off with a strong connection. Initially, it’s like fate has made the perfect match. As time passes, you may start to see a slight loss of interest, and then the red flags go up as engagement metrics start to decline. In a similar pattern, subscribers who opted in at your store locations showed initial interest, but it may take a while for the truth to come out. They really just aren’t into the online channel and still prefer your in-store sibling. While you have a mutual friend in common, subscribers gained from social channels often find that the more they get to know you, the more they figure out they really aren’t that into you. This could mean that disengagement happens sooner than your site and store subscriber acquisitions. Lastly, we have those speed daters. These subscribers had their eye on the prize and not long-term engagement with your email program. Engagement may linger immediately after opting in, but once these subscribers figure out they are not taking home the grand prize, they start to turn away and that might just be ok with you in the long run.
Engagement
The key to breaking the cycle of broken hearts and lost loves is to determine the point where the burning flame of engagement begins to flicker. We will talk a bit later about what to do with the flame that has completely died out. For now though, there’s still a chance, so put down the bon-bons, dry those eyes and let’s try to save this relationship.
Time Site
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Social
Sweeps
Store
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The Subtle Sweetheart Makeover Don’t be too quick to show your hand. You know something is wrong, but they don’t know that you know. Perhaps some subtle hints will be the key to rekindling the flame without ever having to confront the situation directly (or …without having to bite the bullet and have “the talk.”). Let’s use an example where the acquisition source begins to disengage after 60 days. Strategies for specific acquisition sources will be noted elsewhere in this white paper, but many of these suggestions will work for all sources even though the timing may differ. How do you reach out to this segment of fading flames? Give yourself a bit of a makeover, and start from the top-down. It’s time to cut and color your pre-header text by giving this group of drifting dreamboats a banner-sized content piece at the top of the email. Let them know that they can receive even more relevant emails if they update their profile. This new up-do in the inbox might be just the “wink-wink-nudge-nudge” you need to regain your subscriber’s attention. These drifting-dearies may have been pining for you to send them an email that really resonates with their shopping preferences, so keep in mind that you will actually have to deliver on your promise. Be prepared to thank subscribers who update their profiles with a special offer, or send an email that reflects the interests and preferences that were updated. The banner can also include a secondary call to action to unsubscribe if they no longer want to receive emails. This could be the out that your not-so-special subscriber has been looking for. If that’s the case, then at least you know where you stand – all it took was a new ‘do to make you subscriber say “goodbye.” Next it’s time for an unexpected subject line. Think of this as your new shade of lipstick. Abandon your signature color of literal explanation – “20% everything this weekend!” - and go with something more playful like “We’ve saved the best for the weekend!” or “We <3 this sale!” This new way of greeting your lazy love-bugs could be enough to get them to open your email and ultimately back on your site. Finally, accessorize your emails as a last attempt to subtly suggest that you are still worth their attention. Your offers may have become too repetitious or are just not aggressive enough to keep your subscriber’s attention. Send this group of dozing darlings a special treat on top of your typical offer. If you are promoting a 20% off weekend sale, add a free shipping offer to see if you can turn some heads.
We Need to Talk There you are … new hair-do, fashion-forward lipstick, the hottest accessories … and still nothing. Your subscribers are not taking the hint. It’s time to drop the subtleties and let them know that there’s a problem. “We need to talk” is the four-letter word of relationships. No one ever wants to say it and no one wants to hear it, but the time has come. Get ready. This won’t be easy for you or your subscriber. It’s about to get real. It’s time to send your first re-engagement email, the equivalent of “you are a really nice person, and I really care about you, but…” You are not ready to break things off just yet, but you want subscribers to know that you have started thinking about where the relationship is going. Tell them you are aware that they have not been engaging with your email program. This often takes the form of a sentiment like:
• Longing: “We miss you!”
• Neglect: “We haven’t seen you around lately.”
• Uncertainty: “Was it something we did?”
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This tug at the heartstrings should be coupled with a reason to return to the bliss you both used to share. Start by reminding the subscriber to revisit your site to enjoy things like:
• Advice from experts
• Improved product search and checkout
• Larger product images
• New ongoing offers like evergreen free shipping
• Loyalty programs
• Customer communities
Now that you have opened the door and started the “conversation” with an emotional statement and a reminder of what brought you together in the first place, it’s time to wait for the response. Remember, this is not your first attempt to rekindle the relationship. You are just being more direct this time around. Many subscribers will take action and revisit your site to renew the bond. While this doesn’t guarantee long-term bliss, at least you are on the same page and the relationship is back on the right track. You can also expect a few unconvinced cuties to need more encouragement, so it’s time to step up your game. Remember, you are still trying to keep this good thing going. Send a second message to those who did not open the first email, as well as those who opened and did not click. You hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but now you are starting to beg and plead just a bit with the hopes of showing them that you really want this to work. Sweeten the pot with a special offer to return, but make it unique. There’s no need to be extreme, but monotony could have been what caused your doodle-bug to start bugging off in the first place. This second message will send some subscribers running back into your loving arms, but let’s be honest. Some relationships just aren’t meant to be. You’ve put in an amazing effort, but for those subscribers who are still drifting away, it might be time to face reality and leave ‘em.
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Leave ‘Em The relationship with your sweetie-pie subscriber has soured. It’s OK. Keep it together. You will make it through this. You have made every attempt to patch things up – subtle hints, reminders of the good old days, promises to make things better in the future. The time is up, and your subscriber needs to make a decision. Are they in, or are they out? You must turn your attention to subscribers who still care, and you need to rid yourself of this deadweight clutter that is skewing your engagement data. It’s time to for them to make a choice. The endearing, sentimental tone used in previous messages now transitions to a strictly customer service tone, confirming that the flatlining heartthrob will no longer receive email communications from you if they do not take an action within a certain period of time. Even though you are starting to play hardball, you want to give them some time to make their decision. They don’t know it, but you will gladly take them back and pretend like nothing ever happened. The most common action at this phase is to click a link confirming that they want to continue to receive emails. This can be paired with a call to action to unsubscribe. You are providing the ultimatum, and the decision now lies in their hands. In this situation, you may want to vary the message by acquisition sources and past-purchase behavior. Those subscribers you met via Speed Dating (Sweepstakes and Contests) or through Friends of Friends (Social Acquisition) may not be worth the extra effort in the long run, while subscribers you met at The Club (In-Store) or in Your Neighborhood (Your Site) might deserve a better offer. They did make the first move after all. Tug at their heartstrings by including an offer along with the request to confirm their interest in continuing to receive emails from you. This could extend the call to action to, “Let us know you want to continue to receive emails from us, and as a thank you take 20% off your next order.” At this point, you can make one last plea to your snoozing snookums. It’s OK to grovel a bit if your heart is really in it. This is a judgment-free zone. Send a “last chance” reminder to those who have still not taken an action. Tell them that there are only a few more days left to confirm whether or not they want to continue receiving your emails. After that, it’s time to walk away. No need to continue this one-sided relationship. At this point, it’s more a waste of your time and will only slow you down while skewing your data. It’s now time to move on.
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Move On You tried everything you could, but you and your subscriber just couldn’t make it work. Like the old song says, it’s time to “wash that man right outta your hair.” Since you started this process with a defined population of subscribers, you should be able to build a segment containing those contacts that never took an action in your re-engagement efforts. Be sure to remove these subscribers from your list once the window of time specified in the last re-engagement email has expired. You should let your team know when this group is being removed and how dropping these heartbreakers benefits your email program in the long term so the dip in your list size does not cause alarm. What next? If you consider scrubbing these former flames from your list at the end of the journey, then you are simply living in denial and destined to end up in the exact same situation with an inflated list full of derelict dreamboats. Don’t go down that road again. Here’s how to pull it together and keep yourself from making the same mistakes. Start by reviewing the data of your journey from “love at first sight” to “kicked to the curb.” Your first efforts were targeted to subscribers at a time when you expected them to disengage from your program. Review your current list to see if that trend is being repeated. Don’t forget to factor seasonality and aggressive acquisition efforts which may disrupt a pattern. Use your initial set of data and any new trends to determine whether you should adjust your thresholds for the moment when you expect your charm to begin wearing off. Next, review which efforts were most successful along the way. Did your subtle emails make hearts pitter-patter, or did it take an incentive to get their attention? Was it your “we need to talk” message that finally gave you the response you wanted? The answer may not be the same for each acquisition source. Different emails could hold the key to putting the spark back in your relationship. Go a step further by analyzing the groups who responded along the way. Are there shared behavioral or profile traits that can help you anticipate problems earlier on in the relationship? Even though you have broken up with the non-responders, it’s also worth putting the past relationship under the microscope. See if they, too, share any behavioral or profile traits that you could address to keep the romance alive and the subscriber engaged in your email program. Now that you have come to terms with this painful, yet productive, breakup and analyzed what went wrong, enter into your next relationship without reliving all of these details by automating the process. Think of it as getting a relationship coach who helps point out when and where things are starting to breakdown and helps you facilitate the conversation with your subscriber. Time your subtle emails to trigger at the key areas of anticipated disengagement. Take away the stress of your “we need to talk” moment by triggering your customer service (ultimatum emails) to non-openers of your first re-engagement emails.
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It takes time and effort to make a relationship work, and keeping your subscribers engaged is a constant struggle for all email marketers. Luckily, the majority are blissful buttercups who enjoy opening your emails, clicking through to your site and buying when the time is right. Keeping the spark alive is the key to maintaining engagement and saving potentially lost sales; however, every marketer knows that sometimes even the best things must come to an end. While it can be painful, breaking up with your disengaged subscribers allows you to focus more attention on your devoted subscribers and will ultimately make your email program stronger.
About Bronto Bronto Software provides a cloud-based marketing platform for retailers to drive revenue through their email, mobile and social campaigns. The leading self-service email marketing provider to the Internet Retailer Top 1000, Bronto is used by top brands worldwide, including Armani Exchange, Timex, Samsonite and Gander Mountain. The company is headquartered in Durham, NC with offices in London and Sydney. For more information, visit bronto.com.
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