Email Identity-Do Your Customers Know Your Name?

I’m sure this happens to all of us from time to time, we get an email from someone we don’t know. A lot of these end up in our junk folders, or look suspicious from the subject line, with ahem, too many bad words or !!! or misspellings. But, I also get emails from small businesses that I have signed up to receive their information, with names I don’t recognize, and they are missing my business by setting up their email marketing incorrectly.

Real life #1: a salon by me, that I would frequent or use their specials, the owner sends out mass emails under her own name. I don’t know her, so her emails (usually with generic subjects like “Sale” or “July Specials”) gets ignored. She should send out emails from “Rumors Salon” so I recognize the emails as something I signed up for, a salon in my area where I have already made purchases.

Real Life #2: A small equine tack store by me sends out emails from TTC. What/who the heck is that? Again, with generic subject lines that give no clue as to the sender. Most people won’t pay any attention to this.

Real Life #3: A store I know sends their marketing emails, nicely done, but under the owner’s name again. While the owner is a very visible and memorable part of the store, and well known in the industry, maybe people signed up online for a specials newsletter, or purchased online, and don’t know the owner by name! These emails will get overlooked in our customers overloaded inboxes.

Lesson: please, if you are sending out email newsletters, have them come from your store name. It is easy to reconfigure this or add an email address to your system. When the email is in the customer’s inbox, it should say from: Jim’s Bait Shop. Not James Rodansky. And subject lines should be specific: July Special On Minnows. Or 50% Off Green Line Rods and Reels. Not just “sale” or “special” or “coupon” or “newsletter” which can all be spam/generic. Do not over use exclamation marks, and always check for spelling.

Email marketing can be very successful, if you are targeting your market, and if you are communicating to them in a clear fashion. Your customers who signed up are already interested in your product or service, so don’t miss your mark on your messaging by using an obscure name or generic subject. People don’t have time to do detective work to find you.