Stand Strong After Your Email Mishaps
Estimated Read Time: 3 minutes
Intended Audience: B2B Business Owners, SaaS-Based Service Providers, Microsoft Partners
In the world of digital marketing, planning and prepping is second nature to marketers, but sometimes we slip or get thrown a curveball and a marketing crisis ensues. Ever gone through a marketing blunder before and didn’t know how to overcome it? Well, you are not alone!
The Maven Collective Marketing team is all about learning from it and turning things around for the better. In this blog, we are going to walk you through common email marketing errors and how to recover from such setbacks.
Common Email Marketing Gaffes
Email being among the most effective channels of communication for B2B businesses, any mishaps occurring on this channel can have a significant impact. So how do you differentiate a glaring blunder from an unnoticeable mistake and how do you recover from it? Walk through some of the most common errors and explore tactics around how you can prevent them from happening:
Email Formatting Errors
Usually, this could be something minor enough that you and your audience will let it slide, like if you forgot to include a space between two paragraphs, it’s fine, let it go! But it can be more complex, such as a graphic and code-heavy email that won’t open correctly. It is always best to take pre-emptive measures like testing the email format on different devices and mail servers and checking the appearance on preview panes of mailboxes.
Email Link Issues
Including broken links or linking to the incorrect page can look bad. Make sure broken links are redirected and send test emails to check all links are linking to the right source. If you realize links are broken after the campaign, be sure to send out another email with proper links to ensure that your audience can rely on you for accurate and timely details.
Email Typo
A typo can be easily overlooked and it isn’t usually something you should worry too much about, but it doesn’t hurt to be more careful. Keep in mind that while a simple typo can go unexplained, if your typo leads to something offensive or inappropriate then it is important to make amends immediately. Resend a correction email and make sure to update the subject line to show that you noticed the mistake and are here to make amends. The goal is to ensure that those that haven’t read the email yet will probably see the corrected version when they get around to it. The best practice is to proofread your email to eliminate all grammatical errors, you don’t want to lose both trust and authority because of a spelling error!
Email Merge Field Disasters
We all like to make the content seem as tailor-made as possible to allow the audience to feel connected with the business. So, what do you do when you accidentally send out an e-mail starting with the First Name merge field?
There is only one way out of this mess: ‘apologize and make up for it’. We can say this because we have been there. Take a look at how we overcame with a 3-step action plan:
1. Said Sorry!
The Mavens immediately sent out an apology email and offered a free hot beverage to show our audience how much we appreciate them.
It does look unprofessional to address your audience by a merge field than their actual first name, so you must reach out to them and apologize. It is important to start clarifying right from the subject line so that it catches the attention of your readers and they are immediately updated on your stance. Include words like “sorry”, “apologies”, or “correction” as a quick way to get your message across as early as possible.
2. Befriended our Email Software
After addressing our mistake we quickly turned to identifying the root cause and learning more about our email automation system.
Your email software is your best ally in email marketing campaigns and understanding it is crucial. Check all aspects of mail merging fields and find the root of the problem, it could be something as negligible as a spacing issue or an incorrectly filled personalization field. Basically, know your email software thoroughly to avoid such blunders in the future.
3. Created a Checklist
At Maven Collective, we aim to standardize success. Thus, without further delay, we created a comprehensive list of tasks that guarantee a successful, error-free email send.
It is overwhelming to keep up with different aspects of the tool you use. So, make a checklist, and involve other team members in the approval process so that errors are prevented. Use a systematic workflow that defines the roles of different team members and notifies the concerned authority if any approvals are pending.
Path to Recovery From Your Email Marketing Error
For some basic B2B digital marketing mistakes, the Mavens prescribe a four-step plan:
- Everybody Makes Mistakes, Everybody Has Those Days: You must accept that mistakes happen and get ready to focus on a recovery strategy.
- Own Your Mistake and Fix It: Assess the gravity of the situation and respond quickly. Taking ownership of your error can go a long way in building a trustworthy relationship.
- Analyze the Issue at Hand: Now that disaster management has taken place, analyze why the mistake occurred in the first place. This is the time to look back on your actions and figure out the root cause to future-proof your marketing efforts from similar mistakes.
- Get Back Out There: Stay connected to your audience and keep working on better ideas and plans to engage with them, and keep marketing with the right intentions.
Sign up for our newsletter below for the latest trends in marketing and tips around enhancing your B2B marketing game. If you have any questions about email marketing campaigns, please reach out to us at maven@mavencollectivemarketing.com.
