It’s all too easy to see an unsubscription request from someone in your company’s email database as a sign of failure. However, the broader context should be considered: what’s the point of continuing a business relationship if no one will ultimately benefit?
There are many reasons why a business may feel that your product or service is no longer relevant, but as a professional organisation it’s important to understand why there must be an easy opt-out mechanic. This option will contribute to yielding a mutually beneficial outcome between yourself and the other party.
This process can be easily managed through the unsubscribe feature and these poignant best practice tips will quickly enhance your email marketing strategy:
- Make it clear and easy to unsubscribe from emails If the unsubscribe process is easy, it allows subscribers to opt-out hassle free, reducing frustration all round. If the unsubscription process is more difficult and takes longer than the initial sign up, then this should be a clear indicator that it needs to be simplified.
- Show the subscriber which email address will be unsubscribed. The recipient’s circumstances may have changed, so setting out all details in no uncertain terms is more than just a matter of courtesy. It’s an opportunity for those unsubscribing to reconsider, and can be the difference between losing a subscriber and retaining them.
- Find the best unsubscribe ‘location’ for emails. An overwhelming majority of marketers place the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the page, but it’s important to experiment and test different locations to find what works best for your company. A link at the top of the page and above the fold demonstrates confidence in your process and a commitment to B2B marketing best practices.
- Act on the unsubscribe request quickly and let those opting out know how long it will take to confirm. Most unsubscription processes fail to offer a timeframe indicating when people should expect to be removed from mailing lists. If unsubscribers continue to receive emails after they’ve opted out, this will irritate them and deter them from re-engaging. Unsubscriptions can be painful but remember, they are another touchpoint with contacts and need to be as positive an experience as possible.
- Confirm the unsubscription. The majority of marketers direct unsubscribers to a confirmation page, letting them know the process is complete. Those that don’t leave the recipients confused as to whether their unsubscription has gone through. Confirmation must always be absolutely clear.
- Offer a link to the privacy policy in the email. By offering this, businesses are able reassure their contact that that their information will not be shared with any third party. This demonstration of best practice and confirmation of legitimacy could be enough to prevent the recipient from unsubscribing.
- Ask for the reason behind opting out by offering an optional short ‘reasons why’ survey. Few organisations ask contacts why they are opting out and so many miss a huge opportunity to find out additional information, or learn how they could improve their email campaigns. It is courteous to offer an optional survey, as it provides an opportunity for unsubscribers to share their thoughts about the service or emails they received. Without feedback, an organisation will not determine the areas in which they can improve.
- Offer the choice for clients or prospects to change their preferences. Offering subscribers the chance to set their preferences represents one of the biggest opportunities for B2B marketers. A preference centre can allow clients and prospects to set the frequency and content of communications, as well as letting them change their email address or preferred format. By allowing the number of emails to be reduced, you could retain the relationship and possibly even strengthen it by keeping email contact to a minimum. This empowering best practice is a clear indicator that sometimes in email marketing less is more.
- Show other ways that information can be delivered – via RSS feeds or social media links. If a client wishes to unsubscribe from your company’s emails, this must be honoured. However, it’s important to ensure they know where to get information from in future and so social media or RSS feeds may be the most appropriate channel for them. Again, introducing a survey for those leaving your email campaigns may reveal that some contacts prefer their conversations to happen through LinkedIn or Twitter. This intelligence can deliver a competitive advantage from a seemingly negative position.
Today it is vital to include personalisation, choice and relevance in direct marketing. There are many ways to track the overall success of an email campaign, but failure means consistently delivering information to an uninterested audience. That’s the motive behind raising the importance of the unsubscription process – it aids engagement.
Executed correctly, businesses have the opportunity to gain insight into their own contacts’ behaviour, retain a favourable reputation and nurture them through the sales lifecycle.