Earlier this month, I was invited to a dinner that required business dress. Being a student and someone who's not really worn suits often, I had to go shopping.
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I needed a good shirt, so I did a quick search through the brands I had in mind and ended up in T.M.Lewin.
The service was great – I had my collar measured and was advised on what 'fit' was best for me. At the till, I had to give my email to register if I wanted the student discount, which seemed fair. Bought the shirt, left the shop all happy.
The service was great – I had my collar measured and was advised on what 'fit' was best for me. At the till, I had to give my email to register if I wanted the student discount, which seemed fair. Bought the shirt, left the shop all happy.
Here is where it went wrong.
After having a very positive experience with T.M.Lewin, I was suddenly bombarded with 7 emails within just 10 days!
Receiving emails was obviously something I expected, but why is it that businesses like T.M.Lewin exaggerate and ruin it for their customers (and themselves)? Talk about customer experience.
Unlike supermarkets or cafes, a suit shop is not somewhere I would be visiting on a daily basis or expect to frequently repeat-purchase from. Why send me this many emails then!
Smart Insights tells us that it is important to understand the recipients' attitudes towards the brand and their purchase tendencies in order to target them successfully. Regular suit wearers might like receiving frequent emails, but people like me, or a man shopping for a one-off event like a graduation or a wedding, will not need this invasive communication.
So what can be done? Brands like T.M.Lewin need to work on data. It is their best tool.
Instead of focusing on the time scheduling for their next post, they could work on segmenting their mailing list. This could be based on whatever data they already have and from previous engagement metrics (Smart Insights). Another technique to collect data would be to send out a short questionnaire as part of the ongoing emails. However, questionnaires often have low response rates and might require an incentive.
If you want to learn about how to segment your mailing list, have a look at this article by HubSpot.
The very same goes for Trywhitt. They started it and Lewin has panicked and blindly followed. Incredibly annoying, especially when Trywhitt bombards you with paper over. And over. And over.
ReplyDeleteWretched autocorrect.
DeleteThanks for your comment! Marketing is an art that requires being subtle sometimes, and it can be difficult for marketers who have high campaign objectives.
DeleteI was struggling to understand why Tyrwhitt are still doing paper, but I suppose it might be for the older or less tech savvy client base who don't do email. Still doesn't justify the high frequency though!