• by June 8, 2009

In a channel as new as email, we have the privilege of constantly testing and discovering best practices. We get to watch -- and participate -- as the "rules" of the industry evolve and change. That said, we also operate under the domain of tried and tested rules of the business world.  In their book "Death to All Sacred Cows: How successful business people put the old rules out to pasture," David Bernstein, Beau Fraser and Bill Schwab challenge us all to think beyond "Sacred Cows." As they use the term, a Sacred Cow is a "saying, motto or aphorism about how business should be conducted that is widely assumed to be unassailably true."  While "Sacred Cows" stem from observation and success and are therefore usually useful, our always-changing environment calls for constant reevaluation and fresh thinking, and this is nowhere more true than in the world of email.

Below are five of the authors' "Sacred Cows," and how we can think past them:

Focus on the numbers, and the rest will take care of itself. In this section, the authors discuss the example of Sunbeam, which hired a man known as "Chainsaw" Al Dunlap when its stock was plummeting, its numbers low. Dunlap "encouraged a variety of shortsighted sales tactics that artificially inflated profits without actually leading to real, long-term profits" -- and the company suffered.

It's especially important to consciously step back from this Sacred Cow in this climate of economic uncertainty. Marketers across industries are in danger of sacrificing the long-term health of their email programs by making moves based on short-term data. Such risky maneuvers include oversending, which can result in higher unsubscribe and ignore rates and spam complaints. Because subscribers may opt out of your list prematurely due to your oversending, you risk hurting your reputation and lowering the lifetime value of your email contacts.

Other shortsighted behaviors include engaging in risky list-growth tactics and adopting looser permission practices, as well as neglecting your human capital. Spreading your email team too thin makes it difficult for them to deliver strongly performing emails.
 

Success breeds success. The authors argue that it's "a mistake to work from the assumption that just because someone or something has been successful once, he or she or it is more likely to be successful again." Good email marketers are always looking for ways to evolve their programs to respond to the changing behaviors of their subscriber bases. For example, while Nordstrom emails have long since played up its high-end, seasonal fashions, the brand has lately tweaked much of its messaging to highlight value. Email marketing teams are more likely to experience long-term success when they keep constantly attuned to the subtly shifting needs of their subscribers.

The goal of marketing is to sell a product.  The authors argue that sales are an effect of the real goal of marketing, which is attracting customers. Thinking about your job this way helps you remember that your email program should add value to your customers' lives. You need them to both opt in and keep reading. The authors say, "In the age-old debate between 'Attract' and 'Sell,' we come down firmly on the side of attraction." Brands that include non-salesy elements in their emails, like Urban Outfitters' submessage about its blog and REI's expert advice, offer their customers a value beyond their products. In addition, brands deepen their relationships with subscribers by supporting special causes and/or calling subscribers to do something other than buy, as Anthropologie did in its Earth Day email.

Learn to multitask. With so many communication technologies at our fingertips in an ever-faster-paced business world, the value of multitasking is increasingly emphasized. In email, with preheaders, top-promos, right rails, layercakes, recovery modules and more, we are making our messages do more and more things at the same time. In most cases, adding submessaging helps emails apply to wider audiences and boosts ROI. However, there's definitely a point of diminishing returns, when cluttering your message will take away from the overall impact. In addition, there are many types of emails, including some sale messages (see this example from Victoria's Secret), welcome messages (like Barneys New York's) and apology messages (like Cusp's) where simplicity works best. As the authors point out: "Isn't the idea behind any business endeavor to successfully complete said business endeavor? And if that's your goal, shouldn't you focus on getting that one job done as well as possible before moving on to the next one?"

Business should be serious. This is the easy one. Let's throw this out and have some fun! Especially in our emails. The authors give an example of one of the (many) things that make them love Apple: "Buried in the long, incomprehensible, and mind-and-eye blurring mini-print in the legal disclaimer for the original iPod shuffle is the following warning: Do not eat iPod shuffle." People love Apple emails because they have personality. Lightening things up is always good, and it especially helps you grab the attention of people sifting through crowded inboxes.

The big takeaway from "Death to All Sacred Cows" is that we should be thinking about the reasoning behind each choice we make. We need to consider whether our long-held wisdom is useful in every situation, and adapt our thinking -- and our emails -- to changing times and requirements.