Sure, companies need to be “on the mark” to make omnichannel marketing work. It takes an enormous amount of effort to orchestrate effective, integrated solutions. But what happens when marketing professionals get a bit overzealous?
Recently I received an email from a company (who shall remain unnamed) inviting me to explore their unique “experiential content” solutions. I must have given them permission to email me through some other source, though their name was unfamiliar to me. Curious, I clicked through. To my surprise, I received a follow-up call. The rep left me a voice message explaining that they knew I had clicked the link.
Wow. Good for them to know I would consider their solutions without even being aware of their company— that’s world-class marketing. They completely cut out the awareness step in the funnel and saved themselves time and money. Also, good for them to be tracking metrics that closely.
Yet, this was a turn off for me. Why? Quite simply, it came across as creepy! I felt as though I were being monitored, spied on from afar. (It didn’t help to learn that this company was similarly accosting my colleagues as well—we did acquiesce to a phone call but. they. just. didn’t. know. when. to stop.)
The lesson here? Don’t cross into “surveillance” territory—or at least, don’t openly communicate that to your prospects!