Ralph Lauren extends customer service via unprompted thank-you email

Thank you email from Ralph Lauren

U.S. lifestyle label Ralph Lauren is thanking customers who opt-in to receive brand emails by offering a 10 percent discount, likely in an attempt to bolster loyalty and drive online sales.

The spontaneous email was sent earlier this week and with the simple headline “Thank you for signing up to hear from us.” Upon opening the email, consumers received a code to receive a 10 percent discount on online sales until today.

“When a customer shares their email address and gives you permission to email them, they are holding up their hand and asking you for more,” said Nick Heys, CEO of Emailvision, London. “There is no better moment to send an email than when you have just been asked to share information about your products or services or promotions.

“Incentives can be a very helpful motivator in email marketing campaigns,” he said. “However, to achieve success, just as the topics of your email campaigns need to be relevant to your customer, so do the incentives.”

Mr. Heys is not affiliated with Ralph Lauren or its email campaign, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.

Ralph Lauren was not able to comment before press deadline.

Puppy love
Ralph Lauren cut right to the chase with its simple headline that shared what was inside the email.

The rest of the email message was simple. It stated that the brand was glad that the recipient signed up and that there was a 10 percent discount at check-out until June 25 when consumers entered the code “JUNE12528836.”

Under the message was a picture of two golden retrievers wearing Ralph Lauren ties.

Thank you email from Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren stays consistent with the emails that it typically sends out, including a section on what is inside the brand’s Web site right now. Features include the 2012 London Olympics, the Hamptons and a style guide.

“When timely and effective welcome emails are sent, open rates of over 50 percent can be achieved,” Mr. Heys said. “In addition, the revenue earned from a welcome email can generate 10 times more than the revenue from a normal email campaign.”

E-greetings
Quite a few luxury marketers are using email to boost customer experience and to incentivize click-throughs with special offers.

For example, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is enticing consumers on its email list to book summer travel by giving a free night or hotel credit.

The brand sent an email last month that leads consumers to an international summer travel site to book packages at hotels where the offers are valid on properties in New York, Miami, Hawaii and Cairo in Egypt. Guests can choose to receive a free night after a certain number of paid nights or a credit depending on the hotel (see story).

In addition, Michael Kors gave email subscribers a special video, link to its ecommerce store and map of New York to drive sales to its new store on Madison Avenue in Manhattan (see story).

Emails sent to an opt-in fanbase can help high-end brands gain loyalists because it shows a kind of personalization unique to the luxury industry.

Indeed, an unprompted “thank you” email by Ralph Lauren brings the brand to consumers’ minds and the discount helps to drive purchase. It also reinforces how valuable Ralph Lauren thinks its customers are, the ultimate form of customer service and experience.

“Welcome emails, when developed properly, have the potential to serve as your highest-performing email and are a low cost way to start new relationships off on the right foot,” Mr. Heys said. “Brands should also plan a series of emails that satisfy the objectives of the campaign, keeping each email to two or three objectives at most and define the timing and sequence for these emails.

“Also, brands should put metrics in place to measure the overall welcome performance each month so that you can consistently improve performance,” he said.

Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York

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Tags: Email, email marketing, EmailVision, Internet, luxury, luxury marketing, Nick Heys, Ralph Lauren