The most important 100 or so characters you might ever write are the ones that encourage a new customer to opt in to your database. They set the scene for how your relationship will unfold and give your customers an idea of what they can expect from you. Get it wrong, and it can materially affect the percentage of customers who opt in to receive your marketing.
Depending on how you opt customers into your database, you may have only a few characters to work with, so make it count.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes and consider which of the following might be more compelling:
- Sign up here for promotional material via email
or
- Tick me so you can have a free burger on your birthday.
The first option basically says to your customer that you are going to send them material that they aren’t that interested in, and there is a good chance that they may mark it as spam. The second option lets the customer know that there is something in it for them and that you will use this medium to send offers to them that are about them and their relationship with your brand.
One TalkBox client increased their opt-in rate by over 10% when they made the message more customer-focused.
The Impact Data team worked with a customer who had low opt-in rates. When we looked at the sign-up experience, we realised that the generic message was something we could easily change. When the brand updated the message to detail why a customer should opt-in, the rates improved significantly.
Here are some things to consider when crafting your opt-in message:
- Would you sign up for the database, based on the message
- Keep it short and sweet – depending on your tech partner, there may be a character limit
- Try and inject some brand personality
- Lead with your key value proposition
- Create anticipation
- Test the end-to-end experience
- If you ask customers which channel they want to opt-in to, make sure that’s how you communicate with them ongoing.
Your sign-up message is one of the most important initial interactions your potential customer is going to have with your brand, so make sure it reflects your brand values.
If your sign-up process includes authentication or verification via mobile or email, how can you make that a seamless process? It must reflect your brand and the value you place on the relationship with your new customer.
Some ideas to improve your verification or authentication process:
- Create a dedicated support email or number that is monitored to allow immediate responses to customers having issues
- Include a link to an FAQs page that has detailed information and even videos for troubleshooting
- Make sure your staff understand the process. Ensure all staff sign up to your database to experience it for themselves.
