Effective Spamming
For most of us, the Internet is an extension of ourselves – but should email too be part of our extension? As a tool, email should be just that – to send and read messages sent and received.
In the 21st century, that tool has been abused.
If I have not heard of a company, the likely of the message received will be filtered and directed to the trash box. Content should also be relevant, expected and of value to me, otherwise, lawyers will be busy getting ready to sue companies for push marketing {aka SPAM}.
Spam is typically defined, first and foremost, as unsolicited e-mail. It is also e-mail that does not deliver the content the recipient expects.
If you have a relationship with your clients, you would consider first asking if your clients would like to receive communications from you, and/or your partners – sending unsolicited emails over a period of time even to announce a company’s event for a sale of the century; the release of a solution or partners’ solution might not constitute as ‘advice’ – an esteemed client would easily filter the incoming mails as annoying, and will have listed a company, yours’ perhaps as being one that has betrayed that relationship trust.
What is deemed important to you might not be perceived equally to your ‘trusted’ client.
Clients should have the right to opt-out from receiving a company’s e-marketing mails – this is a standard protocol for CAN-SPAM compliance. Learn to determine how you can fortify that relationship with your existing client…
If you’ve had any form of contact previously to sending out company’s messaging with an existing client in the form of invoices, receipts collected during purchase online or otherwise, you are wise to consider asking your ‘trusted’ client whether they’d like to receive messages and/or solutions from your company.
If you have met or made contact with a company or potential client at an exhibition, and have yet to make a sizable contact you are wise to initiate asking them if they’d like to receive your company email – but this does not constitute sending emails over a period of time without first learning of your potential clients.
You have to learn as much as you can about your potential client{s}. Sending emails without first asking and doing your background check of the company or the person you are addressing may instigate and perceived as SPAM even if you have acquired a hot list of names from the most-prized database for the quarter.
A policy should be in-place first and foremost before your company even attempt blasting email marketing messages. This should include, but not limited to…
Your company’s own definition of spam
- Roles & Responsibilities – who is responsible for ensuring non-spamming e-mail practices?
- Subscriber qualification – what are the “relationship” criteria?
- Content protocols – guidelines ensuring content is useful and not just promotional
- Distribution policy – what is the process for determining subscribers’ receptivity to certain content, i.e. previous purchaser, referred by another subscriber
- Infractions – how will they be dealt with?
Another good practice that companies should consider before sending-out messages opted-in or otherwise is to implement a SPAM complaint system that lets the company track negative feedback against certain initiatives.
Relevant
