Comments on: Mistakes happen. Are you prepared?

By: Stopping A Delviery And Using Segments To Send To Contacts Who Did Not Receive Your Message

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:23:20 +0000

[...] may not even notice it. If you are thinking of sending an apology email, I would recommend reading Mistakes Happen. Are You Prepared? on the best practices of sending an apology [...]

By: Kelly Lorenz

Kelly Lorenz — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 13:00:13 +0000

Great comments everyone.

Chris – I remember that! At least they got their point across ;).

Jay – It is key to catch mistakes before your customers, but if you can’t, providing an oops incentive could make up for any heartache your customers have. This is part of having that backup plan in case a mistake happens – you have to be ready to deploy a coupon, honor the mistaken deal (if it’s a better one), or the like.

SimplyCast – Agreed that getting the copy in front of as many people as possible is important. Another element you do not want to forget is the design and rendering. A lot of mistakes are made where the design prevents readability or renders terribly in the major email clients. That’s why it’s also important to send test emails out as well so you are hitting all facets of the email.

Thanks for your feedback!
-Kelly@Bronto

By: SimplyCast

SimplyCast — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 12:41:14 +0000

These are great tips. We always pass around our copy to many people but once in a while a typo still sneaks through. We always find it good to be up front and honest if someone points out a mistake. It makes us seem more human as a company. Of course doing it all the time is just bad for business.

By: Jay

Jay — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:39:21 +0000

Realizing that you have made the mistake before hearing from your customers (or not hearing from them, which is much worse) is key.

I’m a big fan of reading and rereading and maybe even re-rereading. Between typos, poor word choices, and just plain carelessness, it’s too easy to send the wrong message. Email fails may be unavoidable sometimes, but when laziness is the cause, there’s just no excuse.

By: Chris Blackman

Chris Blackman — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:59:28 +0000

With important e-mails or letters, always get someone else to check what you wrote before you send it.

As the advertisement in the Australian advertising industry magaizine B&T once said: “WANTED. POOF READER.”

By: Kelly Lorenz

Kelly Lorenz — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:19:21 +0000

Hm – I love that new gmail service. It’s great for that 3rd party to say “Are you sure? Are you really really sure?” to make you triple check before you send.

Janet – I think this is a great idea if it’s scalable. It adds that personal touch and 1-to-1 communication that most marketers strive for. I know I would respond positively as well if I got an email from a live person saying “Oops!” Great practice, thanks for sharing!

Thanks for your comments!
Kelly @ Bronto

By: janet quinn

janet quinn — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:12:06 +0000

All great info. Want to add…flubs like typos present a wide open opportunity to strengthen your brand with customers. When we goof up we generally hear from our fantastic customers…college students…pretty quickly. We respond to each individual who contacts us, hopefully with humility and humor. We acknowledge our goof up and work to communicate ourselves as human, real people who are passionate about our company and making a difference in the lives of our customers. They are most often very pleased and tend to stay in touch with us as a result.

By: Hm Chou

Hm Chou — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:32:26 +0000

This story relates to a Slate story on a new Gmail service internally called the “Gmail embarrassment reduction pack.” One of the services gives the sender 5 seconds after hitting the send button before the email is actually sent. Now, that’s obviously not a lot of time. But it may be just enough time to rethink sending an email out before checking it “one last time” for errors.

http://www.slate.com/id/2214733/?GT1=38001