Insight
As a society we are becoming more impatient, we demand quick service, we expect results and we do not like waiting. This attitudinal change is visible in many walks of life and, for example, dictates how we evaluate success in any number of sporting arenas and in the corridors of Westminster. There is a physical need for a quick fix, we just haven’t got the time or desire to be reflective and calm. We need it now and we don’t care what it takes.
If we were to embrace this attitude and make it our business style do you think it would work? Maybe for some it would, but on the whole an unstructured, rushed and irrational approach to selling products and services does not result in success. So, if that’s true why do companies, who would have invested a good deal of time and effort in developing business plans and defining target audiences, buy random email lists? Is it business mimicking society?
In essence, they are targeting thousands of new ‘prospects’ who they have no existing relationship with. There’s also a good chance that these new ‘prospects’ are not relevant and may never have even heard of the company before. In essence, this is a ‘hit and hope’ marketing technique and is strategically unsound. So why do it?
For many years I have been working in this sector and direct a company which develops digital marketing solutions. From my perspective, companies that purchase lists with little or no thought to the long term impact this will have on their brand, don’t understand the digital channel. In fact, at Concep we feel so strongly about this that we refuse to work with companies that buy databases.
The majority of suppliers that sell email lists are cowboys. There are a few reputable ones, such as Mardev, but on the whole the rest cannot be trusted. If you ask them where they obtain their data, they will become evasive. If you ask them how many times a list has been sold, you won’t get an honest answer. If you can be bothered to cleanse your new ‘prospect’ list, it will soon become apparent that the data quality is poor.
Look at it from another perspective. The majority of us have stopped subscribing to new content online as we are trying to limit the amount of emails we receive in a normal working day. We are now far more cautious about receiving email and are therefore more selective about signing up to receive new information. Therefore, when we receive an unsolicited email about changing our mortgage or buying new life insurance, do you think we find that marketing message engaging? Does it enhance the brand experience or belittle it?
Does the company who sent that email campaign believe it will result in hundreds of people reaching for their VISA cards? If they do, they are sadly mistaken. Most likely the recipient gets annoyed. They question how that company got their contact details. They feel that their privacy has been invaded? Ultimately, they will not trust the message or the brand.
Which ever way you look at unsolicited email, it doesn’t work. Opt out rates are very high and interaction extremely low. Admittedly, a small percentage of recipients will read the email and follow a click through. But that isn’t the point; the damage has already been done as the vast majority of the new ‘prospect’ database will ignore and resent the correspondence. In reality, you are not opening up your brand to a new audience, you are isolating it.
Digital is just another channel to market and because it is relatively new some companies believe that it doesn’t adhere to standard marketing practice. This is misguided and is one reason why the industry has a slightly tarnished reputation. To be successful long term, you still need to understand your audience and build a relationship up over time. You need to send the right content, to the right people at the right time. Be warned, there is no quick fix in business. If you perceive digital as a short term tactic, you are not only devaluing the power of your brand but also detrimentally affecting your future revenue streams.
By Mark Power,
CEO, Concep