Mistakes can happen any time. We have all committed some kind of blooper one way or the other. No matter how experienced you are, it’s bound to happen once in your entire lifetime. Sometimes, we are unable to spot errors and hit send before we can rectify our mistakes. At times someone else points out a mistake that fooled our eyes even when we recheck a thousand times over.
Now that the mistake has been spotted, nothing can be done. All you can do is wait and watch. It’s an uncomfortable experience that nobody wants. So, what to do?
Simple, it’s time to be careful and start avoiding common marketing automation bloopers. If you can take care to avoid the common marketing automation bloopers, then there’s a chance you might be able to avoid them all.
Personalization
Marketing is all about personalization. Every prospect wants personalization and tailor-made content these days. If personalization is part of every piece of communication and campaign, there’s a chance that it might go wrong someday. You have to make sure that you use the right information, like location, language, name, etc. to make the personalization work.
Back in 2014, made.com made a massive marketing automation blooper. It seemed to be a clever idea at that point of time. They launched a Scottish-themed email marketing campaign thinking that Scotland had become an independent country.
However, no one informed the furniture company that the country voted NO. The email was decorated with the Scottish Saltire and proposed an auspicious launch in a new country (Scotland). They offered a discount coupon as well to spice things up.
Guess, personalization isn’t everything if your personalization is misinformed.
Sending Wrong Emails to Customers
Time and again, we receive emails and go, “Wait! What?! Does this company even know me?” Probably not.
This might be a website you bought something from. But they still keep sending you emails about buying the same item that you already have.
I mean, what’s the point? If you do not update your databases and lists in real time, this email marketing blooper is going to happen sooner or later. Sending irrelevant emails are as irritating as unsolicited emails.
The best way to avoid this is to regularly update your lists or better still opt for real-time email list syndication using a CDP.
Also Read: 10 of the Biggest Marketing Blunders of All Time
Proofread
Too obvious, right? But you would be really surprised to see how many marketing bloopers are caused by proofreading errors. Broken links, incorrect images, and spelling & grammatical errors can wreak havoc in any marketing campaign.
Always get another if not two other pair of eyes to check everything before you click send. To rectify technical errors, A/B testing is the way to go. Check out these typo errors as marketers launched these without a second thought.
No “ragrets”, right?
Too Many Emails from Multiple Workflows
No one likes too many emails. That’s why most companies let subscribers choose how many emails they want in a week or a month. But still, very few companies think about it. As long as the subscriber opts-in, companies think sending emails will help get attention from them.
Moreover, there’s always a chance that the same subscriber has become part of too many workflows. Don’t add to your subscribers’ misfortune of receiving excessive emails.
Recipients might start marking your emails as spam. This defeats the entire purpose of your campaigns.
Also read: Here's How to Humanize Marketing Automation
Lost in Translation
Every company wishes to go global. And we completely support that. But it comes with its own set of risks. You have to make sure that your communication makes sense in another country.
For example, KFC’s slogan is “finger-lickin’ good”. But in Chinese it translates to “Eat your fingers off”. When they launched their brand in China that was a big translation blunder.
Similar marketing bloopers are not uncommon. So ensure that your marketing automation system sends the emails in right languages carrying the most appropriate translations. Moreover you will also have to keep the sentiments of the people of that country in your mind as well.
Avoiding Marketing Bloopers Once and for All
Be proactive in your approach. Create a checklist of things that you should check, and re-check before pressing send. Then verify all the information provided. This will curb most marketing automation bloopers in the future.
However, you need another plan in place in case a blooper actually takes place. How do you react when the mistake has happened? As a CMO, you need to find these answers!
This will help you tackle disasters better. It’s always okay to prevent disasters from happening. But you never know when one might happen. So, you can jump into action whenever needed.
Plan out which team member needs to handle what activity in case of a blooper. You save time and energy, and can keep your cool when s**t hits the fan.
Which are the biggest marketing bloopers that you have come across? Let us know at [email protected].