“Last Chance” Marketing

What happens when you say - but don't mean - “Last Call” to your customers?

From February 3rd to April 21st, I've gotten 10 emails from the same brand with subject lines informing me this was my "Last Chance" or "Last Call" for a promotional offer.

That's roughly 1 email per week for 77 days.

If you ask me, it seems that these emails - on face value - are actually false. The email received on February 3rd was, in fact, not the "last call". The one that followed was, as it turns out, not my "last chance". And, despite being informed on April 21st that it was, once again, the "last call", I'm fully expecting a very similar email again in the next few days.

It's certainly possible that through years of testing, this brand has found that using this extreme level of urgency in their subject lines increases open rates, click-through rates, and/or conversion rates - so I understand how they might have landed here.

But the problem is, in the process of optimizing their emails, they've managed to destroy an incredibly valuable asset: trust.

Building a trustworthy brand is incredibly worthwhile. It unlocks permission through time. It builds affinity. It opens the door to suggestive selling. But when you lose that trust, you lose those things as well.

Just a reminder that when your brand says something, doing that thing will build trust. The opposite is also true.

Thanks for spending time with me in my workshop,

Eric