When I searched the term “list exhaustion” I got some amusing results. Assuming everyone in the world searches for marketing-related terms, I was actually surprised to see that the general public takes that term to mean “exhaustion due to a large to-do list”. Seems like a reasonable interpretation; hopefully they’ll come out with a pill for that condition. Ah, but I digress. That’s not what this article is about.
For the past five or so years, a local insurance agent has sent me a letter every couple of weeks. I suppose the strategy is to catch me when I’m actually shopping for insurance, but instead, he has wasted untold amounts of paper, postage and effort. He has likely exhausted me (and many others) as a lead because his letters are predictable in timing and design, so they go straight to the shredder with little thought. I wonder if he would have more success sending me a higher-impact piece every six months or annually.
There is a really popular gift basket service online that spends millions of dollars on marketing each year. One year I was feeling a bit lazy so I ordered a basket for someone. I don’t mean to insult all you gift-basket loving folks out there, but you have to admit, it is a slightly lazy gift. That being said, I do like ordering them from time-to-time. Anyway, once I placed the order I started receiving a daily (yes, I said daily) email with various promotional offerings. I also get a mailing about once a month. It didn’t take too long to realize they weren’t going away so I opted out. I have to assume they have tested this strategy, and maybe it works for them, but that was clearly overkill.
List exhaustion can occur in both email and direct mail lists. So, besides avoiding the two aforementioned strategies, how do you prevent list exhaustion?
Smart Opt-Out pages: Besides being the law, it is considered best practices to offer a very simple opt-out option for email lists. Of course, you can offer the same opt-out option for your direct mail lists. Instead of just having someone click “unsubscribe”, why not take the opportunity to ask a couple of brief questions? For example, ask them if they would like to receive less mailings/emails. Maybe they like your materials but just don’t want them as often. Also, ask them why they are opting out. Maybe you’re not delivering relevant content to this particular prospect. Lastly, if they are on a mailing list, ask them if they would prefer to receive emails. Likewise, if they are on your email list, ask them if they would like to just receive mailings. Use this very last point of contact as an opportunity for engagement.
Simple contact update form: Offering an easy way for people to update their contact information will ensure that more of your mailings/emails are going to the right place. Traditionally, industries like advertising and technology have fairly high turnover rates (within the same industry). This doesn’t mean your prospects don’t want to hear from you anymore. Give them an opportunity to login to a page and update their information.
Don’t speak unless you have something to say: If I had a dollar for every time I was told this by my parents or a teacher I wouldn’t be writing this blog post. Or, maybe I would, but it would be from a beach somewhere in the islands. Anyhow, businesses can fall into the trap of feeling obligated to say something when they don’t have anything interesting or new to talk about. Admittedly, when we first began using Twitter and Facebook for business, it was out of a sense that we had to be doing it. We didn’t know what we were going to talk about; we just knew we had to say something. This was a poorly executed strategy. Perhaps we lost some early followers or “fans” because we were delivering half-hearted content.
You can avoid this by planning your content and promotional materials before committing to a schedule. If you have something new and interesting to talk about every week, then do a weekly newsletter or mailing. If you don’t, that’s okay, do a monthly or even quarterly newsletter. Your prospects will appreciate your mailings/emails more if they come packed with useful information, regardless of the frequency.
Are you telling me something relevant: Surprisingly, many B-to-B marketers do not segment their lists by industry. Even the most basic CRM programs have an industry selection, so there is no reason why you shouldn’t be splitting up your mailings/emails by industry. For some business services industry may not be relevant, but it’s still a good idea to feature news, case studies or projects that have to do with your prospect’s industry.
By using these tips you may find your marketing lists become a little stronger. You should see less drop-off and increased response rates. Though the term appears not to be widely used in the industry, list exhaustion is real and should be a concern to marketers.
