How Not To Write Email Confirmations!

I do a lot of shopping online. I buy a lot of stuff and I purchase a lot of services – theatre and cricket tickets for example.

So as a marketer what really bugs me is, when the sale is done and dusted, the confirmation email that pops into my inbox tells me nothing about the company, nothing about what I have just bought, and looks more like spam than the worst spam ever did!

The above is a snip (using the Vista Snipping Tool :-)) from my Gmail account. (Yes I have a Gmail account! I had it before I joined MS – Gotta keep up with the competition!)

These are all emails from companies I have bought goods or services from in recent weeks. What do they look like to you?

The only one in there that makes any sense is from Waitrose!

The email tells you who its from – Waitrose! The subject line tells you what the email is about. I can choose whether to open it or bin it. I don’t have to wade through wondering if it’s significant, or whether it’s just another ruse to get me to help a Nigerian vicar transfer $60m to a Northern Rock account in Jarrow!

And what are Fortnum & Mason thinking?!

At least have your company name in the From column, it’ll look so much more professional and mitigate any confusion or irritation if the mail gets re-directed to my spam folder. Also have something relevant in the subject line too – just a number is simply madness!

And another thing about aftersales – there is such a thing as over-kill! The seventh email on the list was the fifth….yes fifth!….from a plumbing company after I had received my chrome tap, telling me how great their customer service was, and that they pride themselves on it, and how grateful they were for my custom.

Hey Mr MD……that’s spam! You’ve just lost a customer because your excessive customer service is bordering on obsessive and creepy 🙂