Fly on the E-Commerce Cyberwall

The Importance of Immediacy
Earlier in the year, I started a preferred customer program for a client. I ran regular broadcast messages that would announce discounts for those who signed up. The program was a disappointment, though, that got put on the back burner until Christmas got nearer.

Well, that time has come and I went back in to adjust the welcoming message. I was embarrassed by what I found. The autoresponder message I had originally set up made no mention of an immediate discount available. It merely thanked them for signing up and told them they would receive discounts in the future.

Here were people who had just signed up to receive discounts and I'm essentially telling them to wait until we're good and ready to send them one. Duh. Think that might have had something to do with why we got such a poor response?

The Internet is a medium of immediacy. Visitors are always one click away from a thousand other possible sites. The time to seek action is always now.

I've fixed the problem with that client's preferred customer program. Now, hopefully, we'll see how it was supposed to work all along.
Jeff