I actually don't like red meat that much, but I do love Omaha Steaks. I like them for the food--specifically the sole stuffed with crab--but I like them even more for their extremely smart email marketing.
I know, I know: we all like to grouse about email being dead. But for those who really understand how to work the email channel, it's very much alive and well and probably making them some real money.
Back to Omaha Steaks, they first hooked me with a (gasp) direct mail letter. It contained a ridiculous offer for something like 40lbs of various meat products for $50, and they threw in a free one-handed salt and pepper shaker. Sold.
We loved the food and I loved what came after even more. Highly targeted email offers, each more enticing than the last until I was literally forced to order more steaks and sole, plus of course some twice-baked potatoes (can you tell I'm hungry?!?!). Then came the special dessert offer--free chocolate mousse cake for Valentine's Day orders, oh and more free burgers.
We took a break from the Omaha ordering when we moved to New York from Washington, D.C. a few months ago and I'm happy to say we're back. Here's the latest offer:
They hunted me down twice on this one and finally caught my attention with the LAST CHANCE subject line. The twelve free hamburgers are mighty enticing and they know I've ordered it before so there's a good chance I'll bite on this one (pun intended).
Another great example of their highly targeted email marketing is this $20 gift card example. I had totally forgotten they'd sent me a gift card and since they know I've responded to gift card offers before, they are smart to send it to me again. As a matter of fact, I'm ordering more sole right after I finish this post.
And one final great example--the private email sale. This is another classic tactic from the Omaha email masters. They employed a truly unique offer, plus free shipping, combined with a rock-bottom price ($19.99 for 8 sirloins, are you kidding?) and it's hard to believe I didn't order. In case you can't tell, I'm still mad I missed this one.
Notice Omaha Steaks uses text emails vs. images. It's a technique a lot of people talk about and it really works for them. I'm not interested in beautiful pictures of food--I just want these great deals!
My main point here is that while email may not always be sexy, it is a marketing workhorse when done correctly and generally cheap to boot. Ever since search marketing and social media came to town, poor old email may be getting the short end of the marketing strategy stick in your company. If so, maybe it's time to dust it off and take another look at how you are leveraging this still effective channel. There's nothing wrong with a little meat and potatoes after all.
Read more of Julie Rutherford's blog
Julie Rutherford is the Vice President of Marketing and General Manager for Email at Beliefnet.com, the leading online site for inspiration and faith. Prior to joining Beliefnet, Julie served as Marketing Director for WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), where she specialized in Web 2.0 marketing including social media, mobile marketing, widgets, feeds and SEO.
Before the Post, she served as Director of Electronic Publishing for the International Herald Tribune in Paris with responsibility for editorial, marketing, sales and tech operations for IHT.com. Previous experience includes marketing and management positions with several Internet startups during the 1990s.
Julie and her husband Brad live in Brooklyn with their two sons.
Contact Julie:
julie@julierutherford.com
Linkedin.com/in/julierutherford
Facebook.com/julierutherford
On Twitter: @jsr611
On AIM: jsr611
Related Stories: | Topics:Innovation, Leadership, Magazine, Julie Rutherford, Marketing Shift, advertising, Beliefnet, branding, Marketing, public relations, social media, Omaha Steaks International Inc., Omaha, Julie Rutherford, Beliefnet Inc., Culture and Lifestyle |
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Recent Comments | 3 Total
August 11, 2009 at 11:23pm by Shalini bahl
Hi Julie,
No doubt they have done a good job marketing their product to you and you have done a good job describing how effective their email marketing has been. My question to you, especially being VP of marketing at BeliefNet, which strives to be a source of inspiration and awareness, is how aware are you of the business practices at Omaha and their treatment of animals; what is the quality of their meat - do they inject hormones and what do they feed their animals; how aware are you of the effects of eating all that steak?
I believe everyone has a right to make their decisions but when people speak from a position of authority, as you are as VP of BeliefNet, there is a lot more responsibility they have to ensure that what they share is based on sound research and a bigger picture of what this entails. Taking your article as an example, you do a good job of describing how emails can be used to market effectively. A broader perspective would take into account what is the effect on consumers of the product itself, which is steaks in this case, is this the best company to use as an example, what are their business standards? The problems in business and our personal health has to do with the myopic vision we have, our tendency for reductionism. I would recommend, if you have not already, read the China study, Omnivore's Dilemma, and watch Food Inc along with so many other books that will bring more awareness about the food we put in our body and the business practices of these companies. I may be wrong about Omaha steaks but from the info they provide on their website I am not convinced that they are a company that the VP of marketing at BeliefNet should be writing about.
Mindfully yours,
shalini
http://iam-bc.com/
August 12, 2009 at 11:43am by Ian Markowitz
i take a different approach, i ordered a gift for my parents from them, and since then have been bombarded by emails and phone calls from them telling me about their new specials. Because they are US based and all sound like they could be my mother I refrain from hanging up on them and politely say no, until it got to the point where i just asked them to remove me from their lists because it got too overwhelming and as a college student with a limited budget, too expensive.
August 14, 2009 at 10:15am by Julie Rutherford
Thanks alot for your thoughtful comment Shalini. I will absolutely check out the information you recommend. As you note, I am not promoting Omaha Steaks as an ethical business, I am simply commenting on the efficacy of their email marketing programs.
Best
Julie