Are we over automated?

Newsletters are great! I subscribe to a number of newsletters on a variety of topics, from cooking to weight loss. Maybe if I subscribed to fewer cooking newsletters, I would not need to subscribe to so many weight loss newsletters. Hmm, food for thought…but I digress.

In one issue of a newsletter, the Author included a review of a series of exercise DVDs that looked pretty interesting. It sounded like something I would like to try, but I had some questions. I have bad knees, so I have to be very careful about the type of exercises I do, or I run the risk of dislocating a knee.

Because the newsletter was sent from an automated system that does not accept incoming mails, as most are, I looked for an email address to the Author in the newsletter. The only email address was to the automated system for subscribing or unsubscribing. I did not want to unsubscribe, I just had a question.

There was a link to the Author’s web site in the newsletter, so I went there. I poured over every inch of every page, but there was no contact information. The only email link on the site went to the autoresponder used to manage the newsletter subscription.

Unable to get the answers I needed, I went on with my life without purchasing the DVDs.

Automation, used properly, is a wonderful thing, but this person took the concept of automation to an extreme. Sadly, there are many who engage in this hands off style of marketing. Obviously, it works for them, to a degree. Enough that they continue to do it, but it begs the question, how much more business could they be doing if they added the element of personal customer care?

It makes little sense to go to the effort of writing a newsletter to build credibility and relationships with readers if the relationship only goes one way. Just like the relationships we build with our family and friends, it is a two way street. Marketing is no different in that respect. Our prospects, and our customers, need to feel their needs are being met, and that they are being heard, or they will eventually leave.

Automated systems, such as autoresponders, have their benefits. They make newsletter publishing a snap, and are essential for prospecting on a larger scale. But they do not take the place of personal customer service.

If you prospect online, or if you publish a newsletter:

Let your prospects and readers be heard.Give them a way to reach you. Set up a special email address for this purpose. An automated response to let them know their message was received, with an estimate of when they may anticipate a personal response is fine, but do respond to them, personally.

When prospecting, take the time to send your prospects a personal note from time to time, just to say hello, or to ask them if they have any questions. They will appreciate knowing they are not just another number to you. Enlist the help of your family if your list is large. Make a point of personally emailing ten per day, or as many as time allows. Plan on sending a personal note to prospects, aside from the automated follow ups, once a month.

If you do not already have one, set up a separate Facebook or Twitter account for your business, and ask your readers and prospects to mark you as a friend. Get to know them. Respond to their entries now and then. Let them know you are paying attention (remember the two way street).

Take an interest in your prospects and customers, and your business will grow.

Automated systems can make building business easier. They save a tremendous amount of time, and are great for organizing prospects and customer’s email addresses. Most offer analytical tools that help us define which campaigns are pulling the best response.

Used properly, they are very effective. Just remember, they are tools that enhance our marketing methods. They should not be the method, itself.

For more information on automated email systems, please visit the Tools section of this site.