The Email Wars

When it comes to relationships, is your goal to continually hunt for new ones, or to make the ones you have into long term commitments?

Most marketers are caught in the eternal struggle to gain more opt in records, having no plan on how what happens next aside from “let’s email them.” Marketing, not just email marketing, needs to have a plan for how to grow relationships once they have started. If you can think about next week / next month / next year, you can nurture healthy relationships and get out of the grow-my-list game.

One of the challenges I continue to see is most interactive marketers not beginning the thought process around where their relationships are going. They live in the now and rarely think about one month, let alone one year, from now. The better you are at listening, reviewing and making plans, the better health your relationships will be in the long term.

Prospects enter into new relationships online with the hope that they will get, clearly communicated to them, something valuable and beneficial. We can use a real life relationship metaphor to talk about this, as it sometimes places it into an easier to understand flow for most.

1. The Look
Sure you saw it. This is something that you always remember about a great relationship. She/he looked at you across the room, saw something that attracted them, and you gave a signal that you were interested (this is the site visit).

2. The Bait
You had something that presented a benefit. This made them take interest in you and prompted them to walk across the room, park, or classroom and dive into a conversation (this is the content/value prop).

3. The Connection
Wait, we have something in common? You have something that is good for me and me good for you. How can we really connect to make sure that it is not just for the now but for a while? (This is the offer).

4. The Ask
Can we be friends? Can we exchange information in a way that is not too much, yet enough to meet again? What are you comfortable allowing me to know? And what am I going to do with it to have a good conversation with you? (This is the opt in).

4. Dates
Whether it is the first of a few encounters/engagements with your company through email, or further down the revenue cycle, you need to be thinking about the things that take your conversation to the next level. Did you say thank you? Did you open the door to new opportunities, events, knowledge, or an offer that makes me know more about our future relationship? Did you make sure to welcome me into your home? (This is the welcome message stream and/or drip campaigns)

5. Meet the Parents
We have been seeing one another for a while now. How can you open up the trust tree and introduce me to more facets of your life, trusting I will only use them to take this relationship to the next level? Can I know more about you? Are there some things you don’t feel I need to know? (This the preference center and progressive profiling)

6. The Marriage
We have been together a while now. Maybe I should start to look for clues into what you are telling me you really want. I can use that information to have engagements with you that I know you are open to and will respond to well. We are going to be together for a while. You might not like everything I might tell/share with you, but I am listening to you and learning what to do. Help me be a good partner and let me know the right thing to say or do at the right time. (This is testing and gathering data from past campaigns)

7. The Ups and Downs
Sure, this morning I sent you the wrong thing. You were not responsive to my ideas. That is okay, because I know there will be times when I say or do the wrong thing, but I can learn from them to be better. We can both be better by getting to really know one another (this is analyzing campaign data to make decisions, learning from successes and failures).

8. Temptation
I know that your eyes stray from time to time. I have seen it. I see that sometimes you think that other person looks like they might be better than me. But I know you. I understand you. I will do everything in my power, with the knowledge and understanding I have gained, to make our relationship the best one ever. Stick with me (this is the re-engagement campaign).

9. Growing Old Together
We have been together for a long time. You know my patterns, my ticks and my good and bad habits, and I know yours. We need continue to try new things and keep that spark between us (this bringing ‘sexy’ back with new offers and relevant content).

If you can think about your subscribers as not just another email address, but as an opportunity for you to land another relationship, you will end up growing old together while keeping the spark alive. Like in love, your email campaigns need to take the basic principals of a real relationship into consideration.

We only truly get to know one another with a two way dialogue that is full of listening, acting, forgiveness, and learning. Every day and every campaign is an opportunity to prove it. Can you stand the test of time? Follow these steps and your prize will be a life long relationship that is fulfilling to both your goals and the needs of your customer.