It’s summertime. And in Phoenix, Arizona, that means one of three things: a) stay inside, b) jump in the pool, or c) get out of Dodge.
When my family and I decide to get away for a weekend or take a drive north to cooler temperatures, I can guarantee I will hear four dreaded words from the back seat:
“Are we there yet?”
I love my kids more than the world, but Jee-zuss H. The over-under on AWTY questions is usually set at 6.5 for a three-hour car trip. My wife and I bet. I usually take the over.
This question wouldn’t be so terribly annoying if it were accompanied with some intrigue, some entertainment or some education.
I know I’m asking too much from people under the age of nine, but if they were to perhaps give some tips on keeping my gas mileage low, to provide some history about the landmarks and monuments we pass, or to even wax poetic on the qualities of their favorite cartoon, candy, or comic book hero, the continuously looping “are we there yet?” quiz wouldn’t be so bad.
The AWTY Trap
My kids (and yours too) aren’t the only guilty ones in scenarios like these. Many businesses working to assist potential customers on their journey to purchase with email nurture programs also fall into the “are we there yet?” trap. Just look at this example from a popular window company:
Please ignore the simple text design of this email. That’s actually not too troubling or uncommon. The issue here is this check-in message provides me with nothing more than a link to a survey. A survey!? Please hold while I try to bottle this unabashed elation after receiving a survey.
Where are the assets? Where are the helpful resources to help guide my decision? Where is the relevance for my individual place in the buying process? Where is the simple declaration that my time is valuable and the content provided in this message will not waste it?
Improving Relations at Every Touchpoint
Another approach would have been to align meaningful and seemingly valuable resources with each and every touchpoint to ensure that the relationship between brand and prospect actually improves. How can we expect to get anything from prospects if we are unwilling to give?
Here is a separate sample from a well-known marketing software company.
The entire point of this message is to provide help and assistance for prospects in the consideration stage. Here Hubspot acknowledges a pain (getting buy-in), provides a solution to that pain in the form of a useful asset, and provides contact information should I be ready to take the next step. Without specific knowledge about campaign performance, we can only assume this campaign performs better than the “just checking in” mantra from Andersen.
If your company utilizes an email track to nurture prospects toward a meaningful action or sale, please provide more than just a “how’s it goin’?” query. Purvey relevant value. If your program cannot do that, it just isn’t there yet, and your prospects will likely never get there either.
Enjoy your summer!
(Source: DailyTelegraph.co.au)