Getting complaints about spam is like having a fever. They’re not an illness in their own right, but rather but a symptom of an underlying issue.
A high percentage of spam complaints is a troubling sign that your customers or prospects didn’t want your e-mail message in the first place. How do you reduce such a “fever?” Address the causes.
Caveat emptor
It is tempting to consider purchasing a mailing list or entering into a co-registration agreement with a partner. No doubt about it, a large number of e-mail addresses can be generated this way. But, don’t confuse quantity with quality.
Unless you were there looking over the data collection process, you really have no idea what you are getting. Moreover, you have no idea what those subscribers are getting, either.
It is unlikely that anyone is going to respond favorably to your message after being bombarded by e-mail campaigns from all your cohorts who are sending to the same data.
Collect your own data
Instead of looking for the easy solution, consider ways in which you can manage the data collection process from the beginning. The ways you may do this will vary according to your business, but one simple method is to introduce a newsletter for customers and prospects. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it should be relevant.
A good litmus test to measure whether your organization is addressing the needs and problems of your customers is how they respond to the newsletter. If response is poor, it may mean that you have lost touch, signaling an even bigger problem.
Manage the value chain
An interesting thing happens when you build close relationships with your subscribers—you start to understand their unique needs, preferences and identification (e.g., geographic, demographic, behavioral) attributes. For instance, you may develop insight that certain data fields, such as income, gender, state, etc., would prove useful for segmentation and targeting strategies.
While your opinion on what and who will respond better may be interesting, it is also irrelevant. The more facts you bring in, the more in touch with reality you are, the better chance you have to meeting the needs of your market. In general the more data fields you can use or collect, the better.
Use common sense
Purchased a list and only have the e-mail address field? Good luck and be careful! Not only do you have no background information to validate the interest of the recipients (even having the source would be nice), but you are also at risk of using harvested data —a clear violation of privacy laws including the CAN-SPAM Act.
Using time, energy, focus and diligence will keep the spam fever down and keep your direct e-mail campaigns healthy now and in the future.
Andrew O’Halloran ([email protected]) is manager of privacy and ISP relations at Cypra Media, Montreal.
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