I intended to buy a rather expensive item. I researched what was available, read the brochures, and, with girded loins to protect me, I invited my chosen company to send a representative. She left without me having signed on the bottom line and my reasons provide learning points for email marketing.

Unknown to me the company had special offers, some of which were quite near my preferred selection, but not quite there. One that was nearly perfect had an item that precluded my choice of option. I could have gone for my specification, but it meant a price increase over the ‘not quite’ one.

It is axiomatic that the greater the choice the better. A plethora of options means that we can always get the perfect product for our needs. We will be totally satisfied. From the point of view of those on our email marketing lists, reality is somewhat different.

We need to fulfil the expectations of our customers but the way of doing so is not to allow them to specify a product down to the finest detail as the default option. It goes against the basic premise of an email marketing campaign; speed is of the essence. Subscribers want to click and go. 

An option that might appeal to your email marketing list subscribers is an offer of a value-for-money basic product, preferably one that you want to move. Ensure the specification is one that will appeal to the majority on the list but offer a ‘spec it yourself’ landing page for those who don’t mind increasing your profit margin. They can click boxes to their hearts’ content. The rest of us can avail ourselves of the bargain item with just a couple of clicks.

There is an added bonus, at least according to research. A buyer who has multiple choices when buying a product is much more like to be critical as they expect perfection. When they receive the item they will probably wish they’d chosen something slightly different. Those who buy the bargain product normally do not expect it to fulfil their needs precisely.