We’re all flooded by offers from companies we do business with for unrelated products. Like the airline that wants to sell you a credit card.
It’s easy for the company to think they’re making easy money by selling these ads, but I think it’s a mistake:
- Consumers will only accept so many offers/communications. You get X chances to sell them something. Why would you waste that opportunity selling someone else’s product instead of your own?
- Every irrelevant communication results in unsubscribes. It’s dumb to lose your ability to email someone forever to get a quick buck from a sponsor.
- Customers stop listening. To avoid sales pitches, your own customers start filtering out everything — including your important, relevant messages.
- No one trusts your brand. I gave you my money, my business, and my trust. And you sold it to someone else.
A particularly bad example from a major airline: