Do You Have a Crisis Control Plan in Place?
It can happen to anyone. And when an email marketing blunder does, it will usually happen when you are least expecting it. So today, I am talking about crisis control in the realm of email marketing.
What do you mean a mistake?
You know, the time when you send out a test message to the wrong list. Or when you are testing triggered campaigns in what-you-thought-was a sandbox environment, only to find out after the fact you sent out an email marketing campaign to around 4,000 emails on a dormant list with non-relevant text – or even worse you send out gibberish. Yes, I’m talking “Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,” to all the UI/UX designers out there.
Admittedly, it is a sticky subject that is better experienced in the theoretical realm, but I am not about sugarcoating things here. Let’s be clear, this is not my favorite email marketing campaign.
In fact, I choose to write on this topic because the last case mentioned above about the erroneous email to 4,000 subscribers actually happened to a product manager that I know. He was testing a new product feature and, unbeknownst to him, let an email slip out of the gate. Naturally, he contacted me – as someone who lives and breathes email marketing – to review what steps should be taken, if any.
Assess the Damage Swiftly and React Accordingly
The first thing in any crisis control situation is to assess the damage. Surely, it is never an ideal situation to be in, so knowing the extent of damage – or potential damage – is important. Was this sent to your entire list or just a small segment? This will play a key part in what you decide to do.
Next, it is a good idea to notify your ESP (email service provider), as they can also play an important role, especially if they help you manage a private IP. Now, one faulty email probably won’t negatively affect your IP/domain rankings, but deliverability should be something on the forefront of your mind.
Now, the next area that you want to follow is the open rate. And while the philosophers continue to debate what happens “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” this email marketer is of the opinion that an unopened email does not have the same clout as an email which was opened and clicked.
That said, I sent this product marketer to see what the open rate was. Luckily, it was a low open rate and we both breathed a sigh of relief. After this, I suggested that he personally send out an email to the people that opened the email and explain what had happened. In addition, a query was built to monitor late openers so the same email could be automatically sent, in the event that additional people would open it. This way everyone who saw the faux pas would get a straight, aboveboard response that relayed the message of no harm was done, no data breach, and we were just trying to test out a new product feature.
Just What the Email Marketing Doctor Ordered
And the last part is crucial. The fact that he assured people that there was a product improvement feature in play ingratiated the audience with the sense that the company was acting in a responsible matter and a human error was in play. Of course, mentioning that no data breach occurred also assured users, too.
The result of this crisis control campaign was just what the doctor ordered. A few people wrote in just wondering about the email because they did not remember even being on the list. Another few were deeply concerned and unsubscribed. And lastly, a few people wrote back thanking him for his candid honesty… “Will these lapsed customers return to shop with the brand?” remains an interesting question, and if they do, it would be an unforeseen benefit of this mistake.
And no, I’m not advocating running split test campaigns with slipups in a larger roundabout win-back campaign, but we’re all human so let’s a least be open to the fact that human error is a part of life. What separates good marketers from less skilled marketers, is that the good ones keep their cool in sticky situations and have the ability to rise above… and even pick out a silver lining on a cloudy day.
Keep this in mind and store these nuggets in the back of a drawer. I hope you never have to rely on this, but as the Scouts motto goes, “Be prepared.”
