I’m fed up. I get too much. More than I can swallow. Please, just stop. Please, or I’ll unsubscribe. Maybe opting out is the only option for us right now. I’m just too tired, too exhausted. You overwhelm me!
Does it happen to you? Don’t worry; it’s not unusual, although marketers rarely find time and tools to notice it, name it and address it. The proper name? Marketing fatigue.
It’s a situation when customers are overexposed to marketing messages from a brand and can’t take it anymore. How does it end? One might opt out, another will mark you as spam, and someone else will just emotionally opt out. It means she will ignore your messages.
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Fatigue occurs in all channels. Also, in social media consumers tend to be fed up and bored with the similar brand messages. They came here to contact their friends, and all they see are marketing messages from brands. And even if they like the brand, still they can’t keep up with so many messages, so many ads.
Marketing fatigue is common today, but you can fight it. Here’s how.
1. Be relevant
Well, be relevant is today marketers’ omnipresent mantra. The problem? It’s too general, just like “Deliver value” or “Make sure your posts are of high quality”. Nobody breaks it
down to concrete actions.
A relevant message is:
– Of a good quality and it contains an attractive offer
– Tailored to the recipient: resonates with her interests
– Delivered at the right time
Make sure that all three conditions are met. Do you target ads in social media? Do you segment your database? Do you use 1-to-1 communication modes (banners, emails)?
Also, accept that buyer’s journey is no longer linear. Many marketers keep on spamming consumers with irrelevant messages because they believe in one fixed way a lead must go through to buy. Nothing could be more wrong! Now people find you and approach your salespeople in so many various ways! Sometimes a lead is almost ready to buy, so don’t force her to go through all the traditional lead nurturing.
Just drop the “one size fits all” approach.
2. Mix it up
One of the reasons for marketing fatigue is the fact that all the messages seem so alike. Buy this, buy that … Why open the message if you know what’s inside and you’re pretty sure that it’s not worth your time at all?
That’s why we advise to mix educational and promotional content. Educate and sell!
Cover different topics and use various forms:
– Blog posts
– Ebooks
– Infographics
– Interviews
– Podcasts
– Videos
– Quizzes.
Surprise your audience!
3. The role of blank spaces
When you design a landing page, you leave a lot of blank space, to make sure that nothing draws users’ attention away from your core message. It’s the same with your communication in general. Be sure to provide enough space for your messages. If you send the same every day, people will get fed up and won’t see the difference between them.
Less is more!
Also, in most cases the primary problem is quality, not frequency. If you send emails twice a day, you probably don’t pay attention to making each one unique, let alone personalized and tailored to the context.
4. Monitor symptoms of fatigue
When open rates drop down, it means that it’s high time to react. Very often customers themselves speak up. “I get too many emails!” they write. Do you draw any conclusions from such feedback?
Identify what indicates customers’ fatigue and don’t bury your head in the sand. Face the facts: your audience has a problem with your messages and will leave you unless you change something.
To sum up
Consumers feel fed up when:
– You send too many messages
– Messages aren’t customized and tailored to user’s interests and context
– Messages are monotonous
– You don’t respond to their feedback.
To avoid it:
– Target your messages in all channels carefully
– Use emails to segments and dynamic 1-to-1 messages
– Use 1-to-1 communication in other channels, like banners on your website or in RTB. You will do it easily with Marketing Automation
– Be critical towards your messages. Are they really valuable? Are they worth your customer’s time?
– Analyze your customer’s reactions
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