Is your unsubscribe process working for, or against, you?

So, a consumer wants to unsubscribe from your email communications. How is this handled at your company? Does your process immediately unsubscribe them, or are they first presented with alternative choices?

by Helen Leggatt

return path logo.jpg According to recent research by Return Path, 11% of the 45 companies involved in the study emailed subscribers more than 10 days after confirming an unsubscribe request. This failure to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act can cause untold damage to a company's email reputation, often leading to emails being reported as spam to ISPs.

"There's a huge opportunity in the opt-out process that I was surprised so few marketers are leveraging as fully as they could," said Bonnie Malone, director of strategic services for Return Path, via Direct magazine. "And the fact that some marketers were mailing after that 10-day window was rather shocking. These are not small companies, these are well-known brands. And that's not a new rule. It's been around for several years now."

Many marketers fear that, by having an easy-to-use and prominent unsubscribe process, consumers will use it and leave in droves. However, hiding or complicating the unsubscribe process only serves to frustrate and annoy consumers, often leading to the use of the Report Spam button, damaging the reputation of the sender.

Ways in which you can make the unsubscribe process more robust, and to catch any unsubscribers who may be open to revising how and when they are communicated with, include:

- As part of the unsubscribe process, provide consumers with options to tailor their email experience in terms of frequency, format and content of emails.

- Give consumers the opportunity to change email addresses and personal profiles so that consumers aren't forced to unsubscribe in order to subscribe with new information. Just 11% of companies in Return Path's research provided this option.

- Ensure unsubscribe details are immediately added to a suppression list and that subscribers are immediately flagged unsubscribed.

- Don't make the unsubscribe process more than a few clicks away. A lengthy process will put consumers off completing the action, especially when one click of the Report Spam button works just as well.

"While email marketing may have a small influence compared to the overall digital and traditional marketing campaign reach, email is a very direct, one-to-one interaction with customers and potential customers. Even a single negative email experience can lead to a poor overall brand image for consumers," added Malone.