When it comes to creating buzz, no one does it better than Apple and Steve Jobs. They are famous for simple, but highly inventive marketing ideas that keep people craving their products and rushing to the stores on launch day.
It was business as usual with the recent release of iPhone 4…well, almost sort of. Antenna issues aside, this time there was a unique ingredient added to the email marketing mix. Quite a few lucky customers who contacted Apple about the new iPhone received a “personal” response from the celebrated CEO, Steve Jobs himself!
Source: http://news.cnet.com/i/bto/20100216/stevejobsseated.jpg
Whether this was an intentional marketing tactic or not, it had a major impact on the viral buzz and seemed to increase Apple’s mystique (is that possible?). Either way, Jobs must have known that at least some of these messages would get shared with the help of a few awe-struck customers. And that’s exactly what happened. Many of those emails have been published all over the web. Even The Huffington Post wrote an article about Apple’s CEO responding to emails from customers, titled “Steve Jobs’ 11 Snappiest Emails”. They gathered favorite messages from Apple users, took screenshots and published them here for the world to read.
The whole thing seems to me like a carefully planned email marketing campaign. Seriously, who of us wouldn’t like to get a reply to a simple question from the guru himself? This is a great example of personalization that can be used by large companies with a brand “face” who can sign the emails with a real name. Or by smaller companies who use a popular spokesperson, like a sports personality or well-known entertainer.
So now there’s a big discussion going on whether Steve Jobs replied to these emails himself. But I don’t think that really matters, does it. Even If it wasn’t the “man” who took the time to read and reply, receiving email from a CEO is quite exciting and it worked! This simple tactic can increase trust and loyalty, and strengthen the relationship with the company/brand. However, I wouldn’t recommend doing it too often as it might appear like a pompous marketing scam, and deliver the totally opposite effect.
On the other hand, with a few minor modifications, you could start using this technique in your campaigns and newsletters today! And it doesn’t have to be from a CEO. One example is Expedia CruiseShipCenter, “who” sends customized emails as if they were sent by real agents to their contacts. This is the same as what Apple did, but in a more day-to-day format. They send five primary alerts and a newsletter, which include:
- CruiseShipNews, a monthly travel newsletter.
- CruiseShipFlash, an alert email that offers last-minute deals.
- CruiseShipWeekly, which offers deals and promotions. They segment by Alaska, Europe Exotic and Caribbean editions.
Each of these emails is carefully customized and includes the agent’s:
- Photo
- Email address
- Phone number
- Reply-to address
Expedia says that clients who receive these customized emails from “personal” agents respond with:
- 5.5% higher open rates
- 23% higher CTR
So you can see that this approach works. It’s just another form of personalization, but one that perhaps we don’t use often enough. Use it to create short-term buzz as in Apple’s case, or higher response rates over time as with Expedia.
Customers today don’t like to deal with faceless brands and generic emails. So don’t forget that email is first and foremost about people, not selling. It’s the commitment to conversation and engagement that will bring you sales. Call it email good karma!
