If you've read our Field Guide to Triggered Email, you're probably already pretty familiar with automated confirmation messages. This 1 to 1 marketing species is one of the easiest to automate, and subscribers all-but-expect an instantaneous response to actions like newsletter or event registrations.
Yeah, especially me.
If I don't get a triggered confirmation email about two nano-seconds after I take action on a website (especially if it was an action that required me to submit payment information), the cold-sweats begin. Did my registration go through? Is my credit card number just floating out there in cyberspace?
I recently began taking a few classes through the Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis, and they've been great. Wonderful people. Quality content. And I can't wait to get more involved with an organization so dedicated to helping people in disaster. So when I stumbled upon their email marketing newsletter opt-in, I figured "Why not?"
Within my two nano-second timeframe, a triggered confirmation email popped into my inbox. Wonderful! Though I normally just file these messages away without much thought, I made an exception for this one. The wording just seemed a bit strange:
"Thank you for contacting the American Red Cross of Greater Indianapolis. We will forward your e-mail to the correct department for response. If you need assistance because of a disaster or are in need of military assistance, please contact the chapter 24 hours a day at (xxx) xxx-xxxx to speak with a Red Cross representative."
Yeah, see anything about my new subscription? Me neither. Wouldn't it be better to customize the copy for an eNewletter confirmation so it references...the newsletter? Just saying, if I wanted "military assistance," (who knew we could request that, by the way?!) I probably wouldn't have tried to get it by filling out an online newsletter form.
It can be tempting to save time and just create one blanket confirmation email for all online activitites -- but it may leave your visitors confused. So take the extra few minutes to customize your copy to the action taken.
Because right now, I'm not sure if I requested a newsletter in my inbox....or a Sherman Tank at my front door.
Nicole
Marketing Communications Associate
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