SURVIVING THE UNSUBSCRIBE REVOLUTION

© 2015. All Rights Reserved.

1 // THE UNSUBSCRIBE REVOLUTION

Today's modern, digital consumers are more selective about the marketing communications they receive.

Meanwhile, companies have been pushing marketing communication volumes higher and higher.

As customer sensitivity and message volumes both increase, brands risk creating a tidal wave of unsubscribes.

2 // PERSONALISATION IS ONLY ONE PART

Brands can use consumer data, actions through to preferences, to reduce subscriber churn through personalized communications.  And not doing so can be detrimental.  

For example, over two thirds (69%) of consumers in the UK cancel subscriptions due to poorly targeted email marketing, with similar results internationally.  

But brands also need to address how, when and where consumers want to receive marketing communications, as a second part to remaining connected.

3 // DEFINING THE DELETIST

Aimia's 2014 digital research has identified a hyper-sensitive subset of consumers who are more than twice as likely to unsubscribe if marketing messages are too frequent, lack personalisation, or do not align with their value.

These are The Deletists.

By identifying this segment within your own subscribers, you can enact strategies to reduce their likelihood of disconnecting from your marketing.

4 // VOLUME SENSITIVITY

Our global digital research shows that factors such as nationality, age, and ownership of the latest technology can influence how likely a consumer is to be a “Deletist”.

With this in mind, we have developed a volume sensitivity score, which indicates how likely a subscriber is to be highly sensitive to an overload of communications.

By applying this algorithm against each of your customer profiles, you can segment your subscribers to identify those that are sensitive to high volumes versus those that are less adverse.

5 // DIFFERING SENSITIVITIES

Somewhat surprisingly, a high sensitivity to volume of communications is not linked to a willingness towards disclosing personal information.

This gives marketers an opportunity to collect useful information about their subscribers to calculate a volume sensitivity score without risking an unsubscribe.

What data are consumers most willing to share?  The answer is: location information.

And the data that they are least willing to share is providing access to smartphone microphone, camera and apps they have installed on the device.

6 // USING THE INSIGHTS

Once you are able to identify the individuals with this sensitivity towards over communication, you obviously want to make sure you can cater to their sensitivities.

Some actions you might consider include: 

• Testing campaigns with a wider audience first, and only send high-performing content to the high sensitive segment. 

• Taking a long-term view towards testing different promotions with this segment, looking at what they respond to over only a few campaigns deployed within a 6 month period. 

• Giving them something extra that shifts the relationship beyond information - VIP access, event invitations, etc. 

7 // THE MILLENNIAL IMPACT

Deletists and consumers with high sensitivity to communications are more likely to be millennial – a group that wants to love brands and can become powerful advocates.

Separate Aimia research looked at the habits of millennial consumers in the US, Canada, and the UK (Born This Way: The Canadian Milennial Loyalty Survey, 2012). We found that if consumers feel they are getting something in return, almost half of those aged 19-29 are willing to promote a brand through their personal social media accounts.

Millennials are not as simple to understand as some would suggest.  But with smarter marketing, you can turn these prospects into passionate fans of your brand and minimize the risk of them turning off your brand early on in their spending years. 

8 // BEYOND MARKETING

In the same way Deletists are selective about how they receive their marketing, they are selective about which brands they choose to buy from.

This group of consumers want brands to match their values, and covet experiences and social connections.

It is vital your marketing is a true representation of your product or service.  Avoid making these consumers feel misled or disappointed, or you will feel the backlash.

9 // THE STEAKS ARE HIGH

A quick example on creating experiences that result in advocacy.  

In 2011, Morton's Steakhouse responded to a joke tweet form a frequent customer asking for a steak when his flight landed by actually making this a reality.  There was steak to be had for him upon his arrival!

Morton’s follow through and responsiveness created one of the greatest customer service stories of all time through:

• A reactive social team • A fully-featured CRM • An effective loyalty scheme • Recognition of the customer's communication channel

of choice 

To break through consumers in the unsubscribe revolution, marketers need to pay attention to consumers’ sensitivity to volume of communications.

For an extended view of our perspective, see The Rise of The Deletist Consumer on Aimia Institute at

www.aimia.com

© 2015. All Rights Reserved.