SMA May/June 2007 Newsletter

Database Marketing in Practice:
Why does Lancome.com miss so many opportunities?

     I purchase mascara online at Lancome.com on a regular basis. They have my email address. What should their database be telling them, to turn me into a more profitable customer?

1. How frequently I purchase - IF they are capturing the date of each purchase I've made with them. They could compute time between orders, and send me an "It's time to reorder" email maybe 3 weeks before my regular reorder period, to ensure that I don't run out while waiting for their typical two-week turnaround on orders. A subject line of "It's time to reorder", coming from lancome.com would get opened - and likely speed up time between my orders, generating revenue faster.

2. What products I've purchased. (I've not yet purchased anything other than mascara from them.) Why not use that "It's time to reorder" email to also introduce me to other Lancome products? If I just keep buying mascara alone, my average order size will stay low.

3. How long I've been a customer to date - IF they are maintaining Date of First Purchase. (I've been purchasing regularly from them for about a year). Lancome has never sent me any kind of communication for any other product, nor have they ever asked me any simple, but highly useful targeting questions, like:

      What are your favorite makeup brands for:

                           Foundation
     Eyeshadow
     Lipstick

      The answer to this simple question will tell them:

            1. Whether I'm a premium- price (department store) makeup buyer or a lower-priced drug store makeup buyer
2. What they might potentially say in an database-driven email to me, the GloMinerals Foundation and Chanel everything-else buyer:

                  "Our decidedly French lipsticks, now with SPF 15. . . " (Lancome and Chanel are both French premium-priced department store brands)

"If you're tired of concealers that don't actual 'conceal' . . . (Lancome has a waterproof concealer, Chanel doesn't)

     Lancome.com: consider testing some efforts to convert your high-frequency (but smaller average order) customers to more profitable customers. The ROI on TARGETED customer communications is almost always overwhelmingly huge, compared to that of acquisition efforts (where, I suspect, Lancome spends the bulk of their marketing dollars). I'll be waiting . . .

Database Missed Opportunity #2: Mikasa.com

     I first used the Mikasa.com gift registry over a year ago, to register for some glassware. (My family asked me what I wanted for Christmas 2005. Why not crystal?)

     Christmas 2005 came and went, resulting in a number of pieces of crystal making their way into my china cabinet. But I didn't get everything I registered for.

     Sometime in 2006, Mikasa decided to close their only store in San Diego. MAJOR opportunity to contact all of their registered names in San Diego County, to drive them to the Mikasa store. They have my email address, and my home address. Did I receive any notice of the store closing from Mikasa? Not one.

     To date, my gift registry on Mikasa.com still indicates incompleted quantities of some items I registered for. And to date, I've never received any type of communication from Mikasa, to encourage me to complete the purchases.

Nice Feature, Wrong Product: Drugstore.com

     I've purchased a number of times on drugstore.com. And I receive regular emails from them, offering various specials. Normally, the subject line pitches a particular percentage savings - and if I don't have any immediate purchase needs, I usually delete the email without opening it. (That's a problem with sending purely promotional emails - easy to delete if you're not "in market." So the advertiser completely misses an opportunity to talk about new products, cross-sell, and generate some brand interaction.)

     Today, I received an email from drugstore.com, alerting me to a recalled product that I had purchased. The subject line indicated: notification of recalled product. When I opened the email, they advised me that one or more products I had purchased had been recalled. "To protect your privacy," they included a link to allow me to view the specifics of my account.

     Great service - I thought. Until I clicked on the link and viewed the product they were advising me had been recalled. It's a product I've never purchased.

     I have frequently purchased contact lens solutions and eye drops on drugstore.com. But I use particular products regularly. So what happened here? Drugstore.com seems to be categorizing product purchases within its database, rather than maintaining information on individual products purchased. So they sent me an email, alerting me to a recall for some contact lens solution I've never purchased.

Comments? Have you noticed any good or bad database marketing examples lately?
Email Karen at info@SMAresource.com.

What are your favorite makeup brands for:
	Foundation Eyeshadow Lipstick
The answer to this simple question will tell them:
	1. Whether I'm a premium- price (department store) makeup buyer or a lower-priced drug store makeup buyer 2. What they might potentially say in an database-driven email to me, the GloMinerals Foundation and Chanel everything-else buyer:
		"Our decidedly French lipsticks, now with SPF 15. . . " (Lancome and Chanel are both French premium-priced department store brands) "If you're tired of concealers that don't actual 'conceal' . . . (Lancome has a waterproof concealer, Chanel doesn't)