Tactic: New Merchandise and Email Marketing

Here are the recent email campaigns from a brand most of you know:

• Hundreds of New Items Added to Clearance!
• I've Traveled Over 100,000 Miles With This Bag - $125 Today Only
• Flash Sale
• 30% Off Site-Wide Ends Tonight
• Catch This Sale Before It Floats Away
• Sink Or Swim 30% Off Ends Tonight!
• Need New Luggage? We Can Help, Luggage Is 30% Off Today Only
• Finally This Best Seller Is Back In Stock - It's Also Up to 40% OFF Today Only.

Admit it ... this is a tepid pile of mediocrity. They're excited about new items added to clearance? That's a catastrophe! That means that the merchandising team just dumpster-fired stuff they previously cared about, and you are supposed to get excited about that. Then 30% off, then 30% off ends, then it's 30% off again, then after you've bought stuff at 30% off they offer you a best seller at 40% off (if it is a best seller, why discount it more deeply than everything else)?

Instead of spending three weeks (above) begging customers to purchase something at a discount, why not promote your new merchandise at full price coupled with a credible story? What do you have to lose? It's common for 1 in 700 recipients to buy something from an email campaign, so there's essentially zero risk. Zero! If you fail and 1 in 800 recipients buy something, almost nothing has happened. If you succeed? You've learned something.

A credible Marketing Management System cares deeply about New Merchandise, and cares deeply about the intersection of Marketing and Merchandising. Make every one of your email campaigns about promoting (via story - not discounts) the new merchandise that your Merchandising Team cares deeply about. Period. Educate your customers, don't gravel for business.

Again, you have nothing to lose. 1 in 700 buyers is not success.