Ian Hall writes in:
Just ordered from Bodybuilding.com and got this follow-up and thought it was an interesting way of doing some post-order marketing and outreach to build community. Take a product and talk about it, direct people to more information, and recommend additional things they could use to see better results. Dunno if it’s terribly innovative but I thought it was neat, clean, to the point, and, at least in my case, communicated genuine interest and care.
Victor Amuso
on 24 Aug 10Interesting that they didn’t push real hard with the sales on the NO2. Normally you would expect a link on the plug they had there. Not saying it’s a bad thing. The advice and article mention were very subtle, but I could see this as being very effective at the same time.
Anonymous Coward
on 24 Aug 10I’m not sure I see where the genuine interest and care is coming from. It looks like a template email where recommendations are based on the product type purchased.
Do people actually say things like “Higher Power Micronized Creatine, 1000 Grams is awesome”?
Anonymous Coward
on 24 Aug 10Definitely a form letter. It’s close to being an instance of being “too clever.” I think it barely passes, but it’s close to being disingenuous.
But still, a follow up e-mail after the item should have arrived is a great idea.
Mark
on 24 Aug 10Funnier if you read that e-mail in the hyperactive voice of Brad Pitt from Burn After Reading
Tony
on 24 Aug 10I agree with Anonymous—it’d a good idea, but it doesn’t feel genuine. Especially with the full name of the product merged into the email.
I would have written it more:
“Hello Ian!
You should have received your order (#XXXXX) a few days ago, and we hope you’re happy with it!
Since you ordered a creatine product, you might find this article by Marie Spano useful: How Supplementing With Creatine Can Boost Your Bench!
Don’t forget that taking an NO2 (Nitric Oxide) product with creatine can give you even better results. We sell it here (link).”
If you’re going to send a form letter, but want it to feel like it might have actually been hand written, don’t give the opportunity for data (like long product names) to break the illusion.
I’d also say if you’re going to bother sending these emails, not linking to your other product doesn’t make sense to me.
Lou Ferrigno
on 24 Aug 10Just don’t buy Nitric Oxide. It’s not useful at all.
Nice job with the Creatine, though, it’s pretty much the only supplement with legit scientific backing behind it.
Jonathan
on 24 Aug 10I like the idea of a follow-up email on a sale, however of all the claims about the effectiveness of creatine are exaggerated and missing a dose is not that much of a deal. It seems like the company wants to misinform the customer about their products and not offer genuine help.
Assuming this is a form letter it will only get worse if the next time you buy protein powder and you get an email about how awesome the powder is for muscle building and how you shouldn’t miss to consume it regularly. The article is just preaching to the choir, since someone who has just ordered creatine doesn’t need convincing on its effects, otherwise he wouldn’t have bought it.
To me it seems like the company just wants to push the customer into buying more products (like the NO2) instead of really helping him achieve his goals.
Why not invite the customer to comment on the product and to write about his progress on the BB.com forum? This way maybe he finds a community of people which share the same interests and it will be much more likely that he will order again from BB.com if he posts there regularly.
In addition combining creatine with NO2 is nothing new and I’m sure that someone will suggest just that if the customer asks for advice on taking creatine on the board.
This seems like a much more interesting sales technique to me.
Brandon
on 24 Aug 10Bodybuilding.com does that with every order I place. The first time I got it, the email really caught my eye and I read it. Now I just skim the first paragraph, realize what’s going on and move on.
They also send other triggered emails based on sales or new (similar) product launches.
Great idea, and props for putting in the effort, but cookie cutter letters lose their impact as soon as they are figured out.
Here are some example emails:
Bodybuilding.com – Question About Order #XXX Bodybuilding.com – Follow Up For Bodybuilding.com – Question About Order #XXX Bodybuilding.com: About Your Order Of BSN NO-Xplode, 2.25 Lbs., Fruit PunchSo as you can see, they do a wide variety of upsells.
-Brandon
Anonymous Coward
on 24 Aug 10“Bobybuilding” should be “Bodybuilding” in the post title.
Darren Marshall
on 24 Aug 10Awesome post, it’s really smart for companies to keep the lines of communication open. Even better when it’s personal, 1-on-1 with a customer service rep that’s passionate about the product. Finding a balance; sometimes upsells are to properly match you with products and services you may not be aware of.
Mark
on 24 Aug 10Wow, based on that slew of auto-generated emails Brandon posted, that place would probably be the last place I would shop for supplements. The whole “sincerely” sign-off is especially irritating.
fix title boby building
on 24 Aug 10fix title from bobybuilding to body building.
Allen
on 25 Aug 10My skeptical woo-sense is tingling. “Pretty much guaranteed” should not be a phrase used in any legitimate copy.
Shawn Kelley
on 25 Aug 10As a business owner, one of my favorite things to do is to personally email customers after they have received their orders, just to follow up, thanks them and make sure that they were happy with their purchase. Getting the responses back is extremely rewarding (they’re often filled with encouraging comments) and occasionally will turn up something that needs attention or that we could do better. I just randomly pick a handful of customers at a time and write a brief email to them following up. I highly recommend it if you run a business/have customers.
Ricky
on 25 Aug 10You’ll get good results with Creatine, if you do the loading cycle properly. I can’t stand the taste of No-Xplode.
Gastropod
on 25 Aug 10What’s with all the meatheads reading the SvN?
Nick Ohrn
on 25 Aug 10@Gastropod – You’re not excluded from society as a whole just for lifting a few weights. If anything, I’d say a dedicated exercise regime is indicative of a more balanced life than most other programmers I know.
Dusty
on 25 Aug 10I agree with most of the posts. The bottom line is, at least bb.com is trying to stay relevant to EVERY subscriber who makes a purchase. In addition, they are absolutely staying top-of-mind in a non-intrusive way. And lastly, I am a frequent customer of bb.com and personally expect to receive the emails that drip post purchase and if they stopped sending them, I would think something happened!
I believe that over time they will evolve their program to better create a more genuine interaction. They will see a better return by incorporating web analytics data into their campaigns and cross-selling and/or up-selling like products or stacks.
Anonymous Coward
on 26 Aug 10typo is still there :p
This discussion is closed.