What is the cost of sending an unpersonalised and untargetted email once you:

1. collect the data from them
2. give them a taste of tailoring in action

While working on my currect project which involves working for a large IT supplier the question above struck me.

What the client initially got excited about I’m sure was the ultra-personalised nature of the campaign they were pitched. All the way down to the imagary used reflecting the character of the account managers and customers. While driving the customers to give them descriptions of their appearance they also ask for information about their interests (relating only to their purchasing habits). This data could later dictate what information the do and more importantaly don’t receive. At the moment though the logic is not being added to the mailing tools that could alert the senders to the fact they are about to blast someone with information they’ve already declared a non-interest in.

This will assure the sales people continue to behave as they always have rather than give them information to alter their behaviour. I think its almost like “the boy who cried wolf” and I am still pondering what the average clients threshold is for “wolf cries”?