The email which I am going to evaluate was sent from the company ASOS which was received from being a previous customer.   According to Mohammadi,m (2013) in 2008, the digital marketing association said email marketing returned $45.06 to every $1 spent.  This information identifies email   as a very lucrative stream, in terms of return as a form of marketing, and as such it is vital for a  company to get things right.

The email ASOS sent me was titled ‘mens wear’ this allowed a quick identification as to the relevence of the email to me as it shows personalisation, as my gender was identified.  The email its self was constructed in a format which helped reflected that of their website, which helped give some what of familiarity to the email and consequently relaxed me into reading the context.  Links to social media sites were clearly displayed (by use of their icons) this can been shown below in the screenshot.

The email was split in to two sections, each displaying different promotional offers.  The first thing which leaps out at you is the countdown clock which is situated above the title of the offer (as shown above).  This clock, apart from being rather clever, shows the individual how long is left to the offer expires and as such may get people to act more quickly as they may be scared of losing out.  The model’s image used had animation of lighting bolts which flashed on and off, although this was effective at drawing my attention towards the picture, it very quickly became irritating.

The second offer sent (as shown above) was smaller, and less attracting than the first offer, this was because there was no animation or countdown clocks accompanying it and therefore drew less attention.  However it was just as informative as the first post, and like the first allowed a easily visible link to be seen to access the website.

Overall the email had some good traits such as; the countdown clock, clear display and easily read information of offers, the links to the website were also displayed clearly.  Using a similar display as the website helped give a familiar feel to the email, which consequently helped to give a quick sense of security.  Further more ASOS allowed user the option of opting out of the email, although this was presented in the fine print at the bottom, it was easily found given some reading.  According to Mohammadi,m (2013) it is important to allow the customers to opt out of recieveing emails, this was part of a list needed to create a successful marketing email.

There were also some negative aspects to the email, firstly the lack of personalisation.  Although initially Asos had identified my gender correctly there were no further efforts made, such as my name or shaping the offers towards my previous purchase history.  Other negatives included the animation on the picture of the model, as it didn’t seem necessary.

References:

Mohammadi, M., Malekian, K., Nosrati, M., & Karimi, R. (2013). Email Marketing as a Popular Type of Small Business Advertisement: A Short Review. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences,7(4), 786-790.