What makes junk mail junky?

The junk email I get about replacement windows, oil change coupons, and life insurance doesn’t really bother me.

Somehow I got on a list of millions of people who own a house, own a car, and can still fog a mirror. 

These emails go out in bulk and luckily my spam filter traps most of them. 
 
Are you talking to me?  Really?

What does bother me though is the inappropriate email I get that isn't sent out by the millions.  It's the ones that come out from a real person who somehow thinks I'd really be interested.

I get several of these every week from PR people who want me to talk with their client who’s been named “something or other of the year,” or who thinks I ought to do a blog post on “Promotional Products Work! Week,” whatever that is. 

A few weeks ago, someone sent me a press announcement about changes to tax law in Idaho.  Huh?

These emails are friendly enough, and I’m certain that a new tax law in Idaho is very interesting to someone… but not to me.

Anyone who's spent any time trying to figure out what I would really be interested in would know that.

I’m not asking folks to do a lot of work here.  Thirty seconds on my website or LinkedIn profile will tell you everything you need to know.

Junk email is bad for SaaS marketing

So other than a rant about junk email that finds its way to my inbox, what does this have to do with software-as-a-service (SaaS) marketing?

For one thing, this kind of inaccurate marketing costs time and money.

Some marketing or PR person spent at least a little bit of time putting together the note... though obviously not enough time to figure out whether I’d really care about whatever it is they're promoting.

And if they follow up the note with a phone call, it’s even more time-consuming and more expensive.

If you're using poorly targeted email to market a SaaS solution, you're wasting time and money.  And the SaaS business model doesn’t leave much room for that. (See "SaaS customer acquisition: Feed it or starve it?")


Junk mail costs trust

The bigger cost though is credibility and trust.  And for SaaS businesses, that means a lot.  

Remember, SaaS marketers are selling a promise, not a product.  They are promising to deliver some benefit over the life of the subscription. 

Before they buy anything, the prospective customer needs to trust that the vendor will deliver on that promise.  (See "Winning customer trust.")

Establishing that kind of trust first requires that the vendor spend a little bit of time finding out about the prospective customer.

• What kind of tasks are they responsible for?  
• What challenges do they face?  
• What kind of solution might help them succeed? 

How do you find that out?  Ask.  (See "Listen to your SaaS customers," March 2014)

Wrong mail to the wrong person = wrong result

When a SaaS marketer sends out an email to a prospect before they know anything about the prospect, they’re off to a bad start.  It’s tough to start a relationship with someone when you haven’t bothered to find out anything about them.

All you’re likely to do is waste time and money and annoy the prospective customer. 

Rather than respond to your email, the prospect is likely to wonder:  “What in the world was this person thinking?!”