3 Tips to Help Answer the Question “Should I Send This Trigger-Based Message?”

Sending the right messages at the right times is something marketers are always working on — communicating in a way that connects uniquely with the person receiving that update, offer, or communication. This is particularly true for trigger-based messages that are automatically deployed after an individual’s abandoned action, recent customer service interaction, disruption in a conversion path, or other high-value customer signals that invoke an immediate response. These sorts of marketing tactics are all part of the growing trend toward more contextual, customer-activated experiences. Sometimes these trigger-based messages are delivered through email, or through someone’s mobile device. Regardless, the question I always ask marketers is, are you taking into account the individual person and the context they find themselves in as you’re about to respond to something they just did (or didn’t do)?

Here’s are some examples of what I mean:

• A person puts a product in his cart and doesn’t buy it after 12 hours. Should you send them a reminder? Of course! What if that person is part of your top 1,000 customers, should you still remind them? Maybe not.
• Someone walks by your shop who has your app, and you capture their information through a beacon at the entrance of your shop. Should you invite them to check out a new collection? Of course! What if this person walks next to your shop at 3 a.m., should you notify them? Of course not.
• A person showed some interest in buying a surfboard on your website. Should you follow up with an offer on this board? Yes! What if the board is out of stock? Not yet. And what if this person already bought a comparable board on your shop in the last day? Double no.
• A person hasn’t practiced a sport today or reached their daily physical activity goal. Should you send them a reminder nudge to go exercise? Yes! What if they live in a city facing a heat wave? Maybe not.

So here, let’s sum up the three tips that reside in these examples. Before sending any trigger-based messages:

1. Take into account what the person you’re about to message did recently, and, of course, who this person is.
2. Take into account the time it is before sending the message.
3. Take into account the place where a person is and what happened or is happening in this place.

If you do this, you may send fewer remarketing messages, sure. Some will say that means you’ll then lose chances to get a conversion. And they’re right, but you also will be much less likely to annoy or alienate your customers or recipients. And in marketing, annoying someone is punished by the push of a “report spam” button or the click of an “unsubscribe” link. In an environment where acquisition is getting harder and marketers only have a few seconds to catch and keep people’s attention, these risks are not to be underestimated.

Just because we can send all types of triggered messages doesn’t mean we always should — so understand the new technology at your fingertips, then decide how to best apply it to your business in a way that adapts to your customers’ behaviors and practices.

Brands that spend time optimizing their content personalization and making sure they answer the question “Should I send this?” will win over their customers for a lifetime.

If you want to learn more, read about the triggered messaging capabilities using Adobe Analytics and Adobe Campaign or watch some of our Adobe Campaign customer success stories.