I've been overwhelmed with emails lately. My husband wardrobe shamed me a few weeks back so I bought some new clothes online - despite the fact that I really hate buying clothing online. But, Covid.
Some of the vendors I used now send me multiple emails daily. Really?
According to a recent study 69% of people said that they have unsubscribed to marketing emails due to too much frequency. So I am not the only one feeling overwhelmed.
But how much is too much? Almost 2/3 of people who sign up for an email list say they want to hear at least monthly. (Greenspan, 2021)
Different studies have identified different sweet spots from four a week for new companies to six a week for fashion brands. Some even show that while open rates go down with greater email frequency, some consumers keep clicking.
Everyone seems to agree that the way to increase open and response rates is Personalization.
But what does personalization mean?
The Wall Street Journal puts my name in the headline when they send me an email - i.e. "Pj, Your Latest WSJ+ Offers Are Here." Yes. They do not capitalize the J. A sure sign that none of the items they are selling in the email will be of interest to me. I don't bother to open their emails anymore.
Yet, research shows that simple field insertion of a customer's name can increase email open rates by upwards of 18%.
I was surprised when two companies actually went further than simply putting my name in the headline of their emails, since this had been my experience with personalization to date.
Lands End and Target both referenced my previous purchases.
Target wrote: "Pajamas & Loungewear: Come back & see more." While Lands End wrote: "Tonight! Long sleeve tees from $6? Yes, please." Wow. Lands End really gets me.
Not surprisingly, research shows that a personalized product recommendation can increase open rates by 41% and conversion rates by 188%. (Grunberg, 2019)
What are your thoughts about email frequency? Do you think the amount of emails people are willing to receive is based on MBTI personality type? If so, which type might be more interested in frequent emails and why?
Have you yourself unsubscribed due to too much frequency? If so, how much was too much? And does it vary by vendor?
Have you clicked on a personalized email? Which type? Did you buy something too?
Greenspan, S. (202, January 15) How often should you send marketing emails? jilt.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://jilt.com/blog/email-marketing-frequency/
Grunberg, J. (2019, June 25) Email Open Rates: Leveraging Personalization to Be Ever in Your Favor. sailthru.com. Retrieved March 2, 2021, from https://www.sailthru.com/marketing-blog/email-open-rates-personalization/
7 comments:
I have definitely unsubscribed from email lists for too frequent of emails. There are certain brands I will never unfollow from just because I don't want to miss that chance to get an email that says SALE! But most times with brands/companies they email way to frequently and warrant the unsubscribe. DSW is the worst when it comes to their email chain. Every day its a personalized warehouse clearing sale and it just gets old and stale. I feel like I'm getting scammed.
I don’t like receiving emails from companies, and when they send emails every week, it really makes me annoyed. Any company that sends emails every week, I block them. Even when my favorite brands send me emails too often, I hate the brand. When brands rely on email marketing too much, it seems like they depend on only marketing without good products. I never bought some products after I saw an email advertisement or promotion. And I never changed my preconception about some brands’ images after I read the email messages they sent. As you mentioned above, I also received several emails with my name and introducing products that I might be interested in, but it didn’t make much difference to me. Because of my name, I clicked the email, but I did not buy anything. Just putting my name is not enough to open my wallet. I am especially interested in fashion brands, and I always keep checking my favorite brands’ Instagram accounts and news, so I already know the information I want to know. And I like brands that make customers voluntarily seek information about the company, and I want to spend my money on those kinds of brands.
In terms of MBTI type, I guess INFP type of people might be more interested in frequent emails because they are quick to see possibilities and curious about various things. Also, they are adaptable, flexible, and accepting unless a value is threatened. For this reason, they might be open-minded about emails they get, and they will check the emails quickly whether there are some curios things or opportunities they possibly can get.
-Hanjo Mok-
It is greatly annoying for companies to focus on email marketing. By using too much of it, they make the potential customer lose interest. Personally, I have received numerous emails from different companies particularly from airlines, online newspapers and magazines, and clothing stores. However, it became obsolete for me when there were too many emails causing me to unsubscribe because of too much frequency. It became too much for me when the offers were not really personalized and especially when the offers they had were not needed at the time. At one point I clicked on a personalized email from an airline that mentioned my name and offered for half fares. However, it became useless for me since I was going on with my semester for another two months and could not travel within the timeline of their offer. In this case, I would have bought the tickets since they were very enticing. Yes. The personality type of a person can determine their willingness to receive the many emails. I think people with the ESFP personality are most likely to purchase from such marketers because they enjoy material comforts and are outgoing and are spontaneous. Through such an approach to life, they can have an interest in the frequent emails.
In my opinion，email frequency is a very useful and efficient marketing tools for brands and coporations. And I think it has correlations with MBTI types.ESTP may be interested with frequent emails because they are willing to have interactions
I have never unsubscribed because I never subscribe the trashy brands and websites. All the things I subscribed are those I think useful enough.I have clicked personalized email from a website called Change.org and they asked me to join a event for scholarship but I did not join. I clicked it because they put my name Yuqi as the start so I think someone sends me email personally but it is actually not.So I did not continue interact with this email.
I believe that email frequency can become noise in many consumers' minds. Personally, I do not even open most emails attempting to solicit business products/services toward me. It can feel intrusive and a bit annoying receiving so many emails about products. The personality types can have an effect on an individual's receptivity toward responding to these emails. I feel that the Adventurer type may be very susceptible to being receptive to this form of direct marketing. They are open-minded and enjoy novel products and experiences. They do not like to be "boxed in" and are always willing to try something new. Perhaps receiving frequent emails about new products or services can be something that appeals to them.
It is extremely rare when I respond to emails attempting to persuade me to make a purchase. The only time that I can remember that I did was a skydiving email that caught my attention. However, I had been researching skydiving for several weeks previous to receiving these emails. I did make a purchase and I tend to open emails from this organization every time they send them because I had such a great experience. Additionally, it does captivate my attention when an email uses my name within the heading of the email. It makes it stand out much more amongst the rest of the noise.
I am a typical ISTJs type so I often bother by the marketing emails. Vendors usually send ads to my email address when I shop online. This often makes me frustrated with too much spam. I often delete emails manually and unsubscribe. Because ISTJ is practical and they tend to be chosen based on practicality rather than fashion. I value tradition, so I choose styles and colors that suit me, simple but not fancy. ISTJ rationally analyzes all the details, so when I buy a product, I have to consider whether I need it, rather than buying it on impulse. I will always be persistent to buy the things I like and will not change easily. So, I don't buy a product because of an email advertisement. For the personalized email, I have click sometimes for my dog. Chewy has sent me other snacks. Because it's something that I need and probably not familiar with. After I researched it and thought it was a good product, I bought it. I would like to pay more attention to personalized emails like Chewy than to other advertising emails. Because it strengthens customer experience with the business by sending the right content to the right people at the right time.
Xinhu Chen
More than once a month is too much for me. Personalized Ads on Facebook or Twitter are a better way to get me to click and open. I have bought an uncountable amount of items this way. Ratio of social media ad clicks to email ad clicks is incalculable as well. Even those companies automatically add you to their lists and I unsubscribe immediately.
Disclaimer: Being that my job requires a lot of emailing I try and keep all my inboxes free of ads. This might be different for those who don’t do a lot of emailing. So I’m less likely to click on ads there simply due to lack of volume.
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