One of the main requirements of email marketing is that consumers are given a choice to unsubscribe, also known as ‘opt-out’. However many companies do not understand the importance of taking this concept seriously. Some of the trends and common mistakes are discussed in this week’s Friday Fact Box, which aims to highlight the importance of respecting a customer's decision to ‘unsubscribe’.
From Responsys (March 2010):
- 4% of retail email ‘unsubscribe requests’ failed in 2010. This information was collected by tracking the response from unsubscribing to 100 of USA’s major online retailers.
From the Email Statistics Centre (December 2007 - 2010):
- 22% of US Internet users consider messages they once requested but no longer want to be spam.
- 26% of consumer unsubscribe using spam button.
From Retail Email Unsubscribe Benchmark Study 2010: Executive Summary (March 2010):
- 39% of major online retailers require three or more clicks to opt-out in 2010.
- This is 7% more than in the year 2008. (This trend is not favourable from a user’s point of view, and can be considered to be poor etiquette from online retailers.)
- 35% of online retailers are now allowing subscribers to customise/ reduce the number of emails they receive, up from 16% in 2008.
The diagram below compares the number of emails received after customers had unsubscribed to a service.
Image Credit: The Retail Email Blog
From Marketing Vox - More Retailers Send Emails after Unsubscribe Request (April 2010):
- 30% of online retailers sent subscribers at least one email after an opt-out request in 2010.
- 26% of online retailers sent subscribers at least one email after an opt-out request in 2008.
A retailer can use the ‘unsubscription’ option as an opportunity to obtain feedback from their customers. This can help retailers better understand their customers as well as understand any opportunities or threats for their business.
- 20% of online retailers included a survey to understand a customer’s reason for unsubscribing and gather suggestions in 2010, as compared to 11% in 2008.
- In 2008, 18% of online retailers attached a goodbye or thank you message.
- In 2010, only 16% of online retailers attached a goodbye orthank you message.
The article further explains other opt-out confirmation activities:
- 4% used a link to provide feedback, ask questions or take a survey in 2010 as compared to 5% in 2008.
- 3% used an opportunity/ reminder to subscribe from other addresses in 2010 as compared to 4% in 2008.
On the contrary, online retailers have improved in terms of offering a feedback form by nine fold, from 1% to 9%. In addition, sending a reminder via other channels of communication increased from 2% to 7%.
The lesson of the day here is that it is extremely important not to spam customers, and it is equally as important to acknowledge their ‘unsubscribe’ request. This is simply because the ‘opt-out’ link is there for a reason, and flooding customers with information after this will do more harm than good for a brand.
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