The “not so” special new subscriber offer

July 25th, 2007 by Carolyn Gardner

I was thrilled to receive a “special” free shipping offer if I spent $30 online…and this just for becoming a new subscriber to a very well known and respected shop that specializes in bath and body stuff.

Anyhow, within 24 hours I proceeded to browse the online shop [during my lunch hour of course]. I filled my cart and proceeded to check out with my special code entitling me to free shipping. As I start filling out the form with my address, it asked me for “State”. Well living in Canada, I needed to see “Province” too, but I didn’t. ARGH.

I did read the fine print and not once did it say the offer was only valid in the US.

Oh well, crap happens. But I didn’t want it to go untold so I replied to the email explaining my disappointment and asking what could be done. Within minutes my email bounced back undeliverable! Double ARGH!

Talk about a good intention turned bad. Talk about not feeling so special at all!

The moral of my story is simple:

1. Understand your target audience - through their own analytics, shouldn’t they have known I was a Canadian shopper and made sure I received a relevant Canadian offer?

2. If you’re sending emails, make sure you have a valid reply email address - whether I’m satisfied, mad or indifferent, people like me want replies acknowledged.

Posted in Email marketing |