Opt Out is Not the Only Option

"Get out of my inbox, Joseph!"

That's what I found myself saying after a few months what seemed like an endless barrage of emails from Jos. A. Bank. It felt a lot like that climatic court room scene in Miracle on 34th Street, when the mailmen march in and dump piles of mail on the floor. Except these weren't heart warming letters to Santa, it was annoying spam.

Let me explain. A while back I bought a few things at Jos. A. Bank. I had been told that they constantly run sales and specials, so I went down and picked up a few shirts and other items. It turns out that the word on the street was true, I found a lot of good deals. I saved a few bucks and I received excellent customer service to boot. Awesome. 

But then I did something out of character. I gave them my email address while I was checking out. I always hesitate when a sales person asks for it because I know I am opening the floodgates for more junk email. But this guy was nice and really helped me out, so I broke down and gave him my email address.

Sure enough, for the past few months I have been overrun with emails.

Buy Two, Get One Free!

Buy Three, Get Two Free!

Save on select sports coats and blazers!
Pants, Pants, Pants!!!

You're Invited to Our "VIP Only" Sale! (Is this the only way I get on a VIP list? Uhg.)

I am not sure what the actual frequency of these emails are, but my perception is that I get them all the time. At least two or three a week. Whatever it is, perception is reality and my perception is that it is WAY too much. I simply don’t need that many suits, ties and jackets. I mean really, how many weddings and funerals can one attend?

Today I finally had enough and instead of just deleting the latest email, I decided to opt-out of their mailing list. That’s when Jos. A. Bank impressed me. When I went to unsubscribe, I was also given the option to lower the frequency of the emails. Wow, you hardly ever see that. What a great move on their part.

Sure, I was getting sick of the constant barrage of emails, but I did like knowing about sales once in a while. So for me, this was perfect. Email me once a month, or maybe just every other week. I want to be kept in the loop, but I don't want to be stalked.

Email lists are so hard to build and even harder to maintain. These days, people seem to pay less attention to your message and more on the amount of times you contact them.  Many of them want to hear from you, just not so often.

I have no idea how many people change their mind from opting out completely and simply lower their frequency, but you have to give Jos. A. Bank credit for making an effort to retain the right to contact their customers. 

It doesn’t have to be “All or Nothing” if you give me a “Not So Much” option too.

Have you checked your inbox lately?