Exactly what I Want

I recently ate at Noodles & Company, I walked into a packed house and stood in line trying to figure out what I wanted. There were so many options – not counting the option of creating my own dish. (For those who know me, it’s a struggle for me to decide on the “perfect dish” – I often order more than one and/ or eat off of Reagan’s plate.)

I ordered one of their standard options, Indonesian Peanut Sauté, but with a few tweaks. I sat at a table overlooking the kitchen and watched their eight employees – two cooks, two cashiers, two busing tables and the other two running food. I wasn't the only customer who was impressed, their employees were so helpful, offering suggestions and helping people choose their meals. Almost everyone ordered something customized, which wasn’t a problem. Once the order was placed, they handed out order numbers but got your name and greeted you when they delivered your order. It was a wonderful dining experience, superb food, excellent service and tons of variety.

Their personalized touch is a lesson for email marketers. Typically when I first sign up for emails from a company there’s a sense of curiosity about the offers I’ll receive, the more targeted and personalized they become, the more I like it. I love for the company to personalize, to interact regularly and dive deeper through surveys.

Overstock.com does an excellent job on making offers relevant to your past browsing and purchases – their offers are tied to their web analytics so when you visit a category on their site, the products included in the email are ones you’ve viewed. The more you click, the more they know, purchase data is added into the mix and you’re coaxed to create O-Minders – reminding you of special events (that include gift suggestions.)

Other companies are on the opposite end of the spectrum, I signed up for emails from a coffee company after purchasing three of their blends. I filled out the paper survey (included in the shipment) telling them which of the blends I liked and didn’t. Unfortunately, I don’t think the results were incorporated into their marketing mix, because I still get the same emails targeting their top blend (which I liked the least)… why ask if you aren’t going to use the information?