Some companies seem addicted to email campaigns that shout breathless, time-sensitive offers. Each week, it seems, they tell subscribers about special deals that simply can't be missed—only to make a similar offer the following week.
In a post at the Email Marketing Reports blog, Mark Brownlow provides a screenshot with 19 emails sent from one such company over a three-month period. Typical subject lines shout messages like these:
• One more day to SAVE 15%
• Save BIG with 20% OFF
• Limited-time only – SAVE 10%
• HUGE SALE 5 days only
• Holiday SAVINGS 25% OFF
• Weekend savings: Act now and SAVE 20%
The unrelenting onslaught of urgent, discounted offers probably generates short-term sales and ROI, Brownlow concedes, but he worries about the strategy's long-term consequences.
"I suspect newcomers to this list are much more likely to respond to urgency," he notes. "Why? Because long-timers are conditioned to understand that you can easily ignore the discount deadline: the next one will be along in a few days time."
Furthermore, he argues, the disingenuous nature of permanent limited-time "sales" can also:
• Create doubt about the general trustworthiness of your company
• Make it next to impossible for subscribers to identify actual limited-time offers
Conclusion: Don't cry wolf. As Brownlow wryly notes, "Urgency works best when it's, um, genuinely urgent."
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