iPioneer: Mark Johnson's Blog

American Male Celebrates Themselves via E-mail

Theme: Targeted advertising works, but self-congratulating e-mails are spam.

Background: I've been getting my haircut from Carol at the American Male salon in Mountain View since they opened several years ago.  She delivers a great haircut and I like all of the pampering.  Instead of just a haircut, I get an experience: a paraffin dip, a mini facial, a scalp massage, and lots of head washing.  Yum!

Targeted Advertising: I'm on the American Male mailing list, because they sometimes send me great offers.  When they sent a coupon for $20 off a facial, I made an appointment for my first facial.  Because my face enjoyed it so much, I scheduled another (full-price) facial a couple months later.  I became a success story of the e-mail campaign, which had a goal of hooking salon-goers to the fabulousness of facials.

Self-Congratulating Spam: Today, I got an e-mail from American Male titled "CNBC Segment on American Male."  In it, I was informed that American Male will be featured on CNBC and "this is exciting news for everyone."  I'm not excited in the least.  I'm not going to watch the segment or send this e-mail to friends and family, as they suggest.  Whereas I'm glad that American Male's business is going well, this e-mail offers me nothing, tells me nothing useful, and serves only to annoy me. 

Conclusion: I've noticed this as disturbing trend recently.  The fact that you're one of Time's 50 Coolest sites (got an e-mail from Kayak about this) or the top Audi dealer in the Bay Area mean nothing to me if you're not introducing a significant new feature or offering me a deal on my next Audi.  Marketers should be careful about sending out spam, as users will either stop opening e-mails or opt out entirely.  Don't be fooled into thinking that something that's good news for you is good news for your customers.  If you're looking for an excuse to e-mail me, offer me something targeted that might inspire me to use your product.

Gold's Gym: Crappy Customer Service

I'd like to add some kind of Pinko flavor to this entry, but I haven't thought of it yet.  Maybe I'll be inspired as I write.

My story is one of bad customer retention and failed salesmanship.  I moved to San Francisco and needed a gym close to my house.  Since I'm currently a member of Gold's, I figured the Gold's on 9th Street was a logical choice.  No dice: since Gold's Gym is franchised, unlike the behemoth that is 24 Hour Fitness, the South Bay Gold's Gyms are in a separate holding company than the San Francisco Gold's (as if I, the consumer, could give a crap:  McDonald's are owned by many different franchise owners, but coupons work at any McDonald's).  The salesperson informed me that for only $200 and a $39 monthly fee, I could have the honor of using the San Francisco gym.  Huh?  My membership status at another Gold's gave me absolutely no special privilege over a random person off the street. 

I go to the gym 3-4 times a week, I've been a Gold's member for over two years, and I've convinced several friends to choose Gold's over other fitness options.  Instead of retaining a valuable member, they pissed me off enough to make me go look at other options.  After shopping around for awhile, I found a new gym that better met my requirements.  As an extra affront to Gold's poor customer retention, I even ended up paying a registration fee and a higher monthly payment.

Companies that don't make an attempt to retain their best customers don't deserve anyone's business.  No matter how good your company is, there are probably better options out there.  If you give your customers a reason to explore other options, then they might just leave.