Re: Direct Marketing: Snail Mail vs Email

From: Maria Helm <mrs_helm_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Wed 26 Jul 2000 08:46:21 -0400

DALENE STANDER <entco_at_cis.co.za> WROTE:
> We see ourselves as not spamming as we customize every
> e-mail to the exact address of the company on our
> database.

Unless you have had previous contact with these
companies, I believe it still qualifies as spam/UCE.

> The main question is how does the corporate
> world perceive the less personal e-mail to a personal
> letter.

I have received quite a few letters for services which
sound like yours. All have been in print form, so I
can't compare my reaction to email form. What I CAN say
for sure is that if you are sending an email to the
address gleaned from their website, you are LESS likely
to reach the actual intended recipient in many cases.
Here's why:

When our company receives snail mail, each piece is
directed to a specific person by name or by "best
guess" of subject matter matching department. If upon
opening a letter I think it is better suited to another
department, I put it in their mailbox for them to
decide if they want to keep it or throw it out. If I
(Web Admin) get an EMAIL about, say, "payroll
services", I do not forward it on to the payroll
department. I know that they did not request it, or
they would've given their OWN email address, so I
delete it as spam.

The email addresses on our web site are directed to
customer service/marketing personnel. They are intended
for use by our customers, and the people checking them
have a mission to serve customers. I have very little
confidence that a solicitation coming through one of
those channels would be forwarded on. Most likely, it
would be viewed as spam, and totally irrelevant to
their mission. We don't have anything on our site that
says "if you want to sell us something, email to this
address". Maybe we should...




Received on Wed Jul 26 2000 - 07:46:21 CDT