Email marketing automation tools such as HubSpot or Marketo can save telecom companies tons of time and money. These tools are quite powerful, with the capability to email thousands of people at one time, send highly targeted automated email campaigns, and so much more.
But whenever a powerful and complex tool is being used, things have the potential to go wrong. And let’s face it, we are only human and mistakes happen! Many times, the way a company handles their mistake means more than the mistake itself. When a mistake is handled appropriately, many companies will find that their audience has the capacity to forgive and forget.
Email marketing mistakes can range from big to small. Here are some common mistakes to watch out for:
- Using the incorrect name field i.e. [first name] instead of the reader’s actual first name
- Sending the wrong content to a list segment
- Sending an email with a typo or incorrect information
- Duplicate email sends
Our first instinct when we make a mistake is to panic and try to correct it. But depending on the mistake, sending a follow-up email could be more of an annoyance to subscribers than the mistake itself.
If you aren’t sure how to handle a marketing automation blunder when it happens to you, follow these steps:
Step 1: Assess the Mistake
Before taking any further action, assess the impact of the mistake. It can be helpful to ask the following questions:
- How many people received the email?
- How many people opened, clicked, and/or responded?
From there, determine whether a follow-up or apology email is necessary by asking:
- How big was the mistake?
- Will it affect your business or tarnish your brand?
- What kind of mistake is it (spelling error, incorrect pricing, incorrect event information)?
For small errors such as typos or incorrect URL links, hold off on sending any type of follow-up email. Although it can be embarrassing, sending a second email to correct a minor mistake just calls more attention it.
If your mistake doesn’t require a follow-up response, skip to step 3.
If an email promoting an event was sent out with the wrong date or time, this could have a big impact on your company, therefore a correction email is necessary.
Step 2: Respond Accordingly
After assessing the situation, determine the best way to respond. Depending on the severity of the mistake, this email can be apologetic or simply correcting the previous error. Either way, try to stick to these guidelines:
- Be quick: subscribers have already received two emails from you in a short amount of time, so be respectful of their time.
- Be clear: use the subject line and pre-header text to be clear about the email’s purpose. Try using “Correction,” “Oops,” or “We Apologize” in the subject line.
- Stay on brand: keep consistent with your brand but, if possible, use humor to lighten the mood.
- Apologize: take responsibility and provide a sincere apology without over-explaining yourself.
Step 3: Prevent Future Mistakes
Putting the right process in place can help avoid mistakes in the future. Try incorporating these checkpoints into your email marketing process:
- Have 2-3 different people proofread an email.
- Send a test email to ensure all links, images, and copy is correct.
- Send the email campaign to a test list before it gets sent to the regular list.
- Double-check the lists/segments selected and make sure the number makes sense.
Step 4: Move forward!
Mistakes happen, so try not to dwell on them. Subscribers are typically understanding when mistakes happen and will not hold it against you. Instead, move on and learn from your mistakes!
If you aren’t sure how to leverage marketing automation for your business, reach out to Mojenta to chat. We have experience with a variety of marketing automation platforms and can create an email marketing strategy tailored to your business.
