The other day I received an email from someone from one of my insurance companies. The person who sent the email is not someone I know (I know the people I have policies through/with), and while they included their name in the closing (and their email address is with the company so I know it's not fake), they didn't bother to introduce themselves as a secretary to the person I insure with or anything along those lines, or share how they got my information. They also told me to call them but didn't include a phone number. It was 4 sentences long and read more like a blind pitch than something from someone I'm in an existing customer relationship with. There are lots of interesting lessons we can learn from this very brief marketing effort, let's dive in.
One of your biggest responsibilities as a business owner is to protect your brand. If you're in charge people expect to hear from you, not some random person who's somehow associated with you. It's one thing if you're part of a team or the entire team is part of the brand, because then people know to expect communications from a variety of people: for example if you run a local coffee shop and you've got 5 main team members, all of those people could/should be involved in the marketing on a regular basis. But if you're the face of the business/brand or if you are the business/brand, you should be the face of the marketing. If you are going to have anyone on your business/brand team do marketing or communication on your behalf, you need to introduce them so your clients and customers feel safe and continue to trust you with their purchases.
Second, the death is in the details. It's really discouraging as a consumer and damaging to the relationship between a brand/business and a customer when the business includes incorrect or faulty details or doesn't provide enough information for the customer to follow through on the marketing message. Whether you offer to buy the apartment a tenant lives in (they can't sell something they don't own), ask someone to call but don't include a number, don't follow through on a customer request to change subscription/account information, don't carry a product you're advertising, or don't establish who you are and why you're reaching out, not only are you wasting your marketing dollars, you're decreasing the likelihood that your customer will continue to do business with you.
Finally, every single communication is an opportunity. You choose whether you want to blow up the opportunity, let it slide, push and push and push, or do your best to make it a positive experience for everyone. So while I'm sure you're a famous brand and everyone knows everything about you, assume that they don't and make sure you include all the relevant information about you and the next steps you want them to take. And if you're not sure whether or not something needs to be included or needs to change, remember that the first rule here is that you're human and you're marketing to humans (not know-it-all gods or entities), so if you wouldn't feel comfortable with receiving the marketing communication you're sending out, it's time for a reevaluation. What helps you communicate and market well both from a business and human perspective?
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