For businesses, it can be hard to determine the right amount of marketing communication to your customers. But now more than ever, companies need to be flexible and cater to consumers’ preferences. Since consumers today are presented with so many choices and options, companies need to take advantage of the (potentially) limited number of interactions they get.
Finding the right amount of marketing communication is difficult; consumers have different preferences, and some people will want more than others. However, there are actions that companies can take to enhance the customer experience and provide just the right amount of communication.
Email Campaigns
Email marketing can be a tricky thing. Companies don’t want to spam customers with too many messages, yet they want to consistently show up in inboxes to remind customers that the brand is there. Take the following example.
I recently made a purchase online, and as usual, an email address was required upon checkout. I entered my email address and subsequently received my receipt and order details. So far so good.
A day later I received an email from the website from which I had just made a purchase, with other sale items highlighted and other items which I might enjoy. Still OK. However, the same type of email ended up in my inbox the next day, and the next, and the next…
Although I may potentially go back to the site and make another purchase, the sheer amount of communication they were sending me made me angry; I’m not going to purchase something every day – so stop spamming my inbox every day. I eventually got annoyed enough with the emails that I went to unsubscribe from all future communications.
But this is where I was taken by surprise. Instead of simply allowing a quick 2-click process to unsubscribe, I was presented with a small menu. The menu had different options listed for the amount of communication I wanted from their email campaign – it could be every day, once a week, once a month, or never.
Originally I had planned to completely unsubscribe from the mailing list, but after being presented with the options, I decided for the once a month selection. So just by offering the right amount of marketing communication, this company will get to send me an email every month – just enough to keep them in the back of my mind, and quite possibly will lead to a future sale. They key was offering different options for communication and allowing me, the consumer, to decide how much I wanted to receive.
Mobile – Let the User Decide
Mobile technology, particularly smartphones, offers a great opportunity to marketers because they allow brands and companies to put the consumer in control.
NFC tags and QR codes offer consumers digital information at their demand, and don’t overwhelm the user. Users can access as much information as they desire, and stop accessing it when they choose to, since the media is being accessed via their own smartphone.
Audible Tags are new innovation in mobile marketing, and provide companies a chance to engage their customers. Accessed with a smartphone through QR codes, Audible Tags allow brands and products to share voice recordings and place them on products, labels, advertisements, and more.
The tags allow customers to access information when they want it, and also allows for increased customer engagement, and chances to increase loyalty and awareness. Again, the consumer can decide how much communication and interaction they are comfortable with.
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