[TheBirdDog]

Hi all. I usually try to keep my posts pretty positive and optimistic but I have to criticize this time. I just received the following email from BlackBerry:

I am tempted to click to unsubscribe only because of the very poorly designed message. How thought out was that? It really seems like an ad to get more people to unsubscribe. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate how easy it is to cancell my subscription but why not give me something a bit more with that message? Why not tease me with other premium features coming to BBM? Why not a 'thank-you' for paying for something that is somewhat of an over-priced loyalty membership?
BlackBerry, get your marketing act together! It's way overdue!! I'm going to keep my subscription going another month even though I am so tempted to cancel it based on this message.
Like I said, I am an optimist. I'm hoping that BlackBerry will offer more with this premium subscription like they said they would. Perhaps BBM will regain more popularity and I'll be happy that I kept my custom pin locked down. They need to stop sending messages encouraging people to stop subscribing to their services though.

Posted via my BlackBerry Passport

[bhrgvr]

That's something which does not look nice. I totally agree with you on the poorly worded email. Looks like it was written without any thoughts by a 2 year old

Posted via CB10

[Bla1ze]

They need to stop sending messages encouraging people to stop subscribing to their services though.

Right, so they can have people complaining they never got a reminder and were charged for and want their money back. I agree the email could be better designed, but I actually applaud the reminder. My Flickr Pro account just renewed at $25/yr and I had no reminder and as such no recourse for a refund of the services I no longer use/want. Why? Because I was never sent a reminder like the PIN one.

[bhrgvr]

Right, so they can have people complaining they never got a reminder and were charged for <insert # of months here> and want their money back. I agree the email could be better designed, but I actually applaud the reminder. My Flickr Pro account just renewed at $25/yr and I had no reminder and as such no recourse for a refund of the services I no longer use/want. Why? Because I was never sent a reminder like the PIN one.

The email does need to be better designed of course. I think that's what the OP was talking about

Posted via CB10

[FrankIAm]

Most the auto-renewal messages I've ever received have been mostly plain text and a logo..

[NtotheK]

People will complain about anything and everything. Wouldn't you be more agitated if you never received the email at all? I like how BlackBerry is keeping it simple and straight forward. I look forward to receiving my email in a few weeks time haha

Posted via CB10

[TheBirdDog]

People will complain about anything and everything. Wouldn't you be more agitated if you never received the email at all? I like how BlackBerry is keeping it simple and straight forward. I look forward to receiving my email in a few weeks time haha

Posted via CB10

I'm not complaining... I'm trying to illustrate a missed opportunity in marketing. Even if I already am a customer, if they are going to send me an email, it should have more options listed than 'to unsubscribe, click here'.

Now, I've never worked in marketing, nor have I ever took any courses on it. However, in basic customer service strategies, I would never just give a customer the opportunity to cancel their subscription without offering other options. It's like bringing an item into a store and having them just give you your cash back with no questions asked. Sure, some people might appreciate that but it's not the best for business. Usually, a good strategy would be to offer them an exchange.

I'm not saying that BBM should be offering an exchange to my subscription either. It's just a great opportunity for them to show some of their other offerings and ways that they are trying to monetize BBM but really, the only 'clickable' part of this message is to cancel the subscription. Very poor customer retention strategy, in my opinion.

Posted via my BlackBerry Passport

[birdman_38]

I get what the OP is saying. In the hotel industry, when a customer makes a booking they send a confirmation email with links to details about the property, nearby attractions, etc.

But really, how many marketing people does BlackBerry have remaining? Do they even have any for BBM?

[anon(9188202)]

It is true that marketing is not something BlackBerry appears to excel at and hiring a couple of really good marketing gurus might be a darned good way to invest some of their recent profits...

[onlybuggin]

OP you are 100% correct. While there is nothing technically wrong with email, if you think about it for half a second, it delivers an unintended message. Sellers should always be driving and pushing for sales. The first and most present option should be to renew, pay, or even pay for multiple months. And yes a reminder of the premiums of the customer pin, with the unsubscribe buried in small print about why the email was received. In this there dies med to be a paradigm shift at BlackBerry.

The message should demonstrate in its word and construction that BlackBerry believes and expects that you will re-up.

Posted via CB10

[TheBirdDog]

It is true that marketing is not something BlackBerry appears to excel at and hiring a couple of really good marketing gurus might be a darned good way to invest some of their recent profits...

I think this would be such a great use of their resources. Marketing doesn't have to be super expensive these days. It has to be clever. Superbowl ads are not the only way to get your product more recognition. There are area many much more affordable ways to reach the market. BlackBerry just doesn't seem to want to invest anything there anymore.

Posted via my BlackBerry Passport

[RubberChicken76]

I am tempted to click to unsubscribe only because of the very poorly designed message.

While I agree that the message wasn't anything special, that seems like an extreme reaction. Sometimes I wonder if the guys from BlackBerry keep a tally of craziest "Screw you, BlackBerry!" messages.

My fav of all time was around the time the BlackBerry Style (was announced). Like others, I thought it was kind of odd looking, but this was when BlackBerry was released 8 or 10 different models in a year so I didn't think anything more of it.

But one of the posters saw the photo and had this crazy reaction. I'm paraphrasing, but it was something like, "OMG - that's the ugliest F*$#ing phone I've ever seen. Screw you RIM!!! That's it!!! I'm going to Android!!!!"

It was the amount of venom I'd expect if someone's personal device had crashed in traffic or something, not because someone didn't like the look of a particular phone.

[AnimalPak200]

They probably figured no one would actually fall for the scam that is Custom PIN, so that unsubscribe email would never actually be read by anyone.

My only hope is that it only cost them about $500 to implement this whole waste of an initiative. With about $5 going to the intern that made that e-mail.

Posted via CB10

[TheBirdDog]

While I agree that the message wasn't anything special, that seems like an extreme reaction. Sometimes I wonder if the guys from BlackBerry keep a tally of craziest "Screw you, BlackBerry!" messages.

"OMG - that's the ugliest F*$#ing phone I've ever seen. Screw you RIM!!! That's it!!! I'm going to Android!!!!"

"I am tempted to click to unsubscribe" is a bit less extreme, isn't it? I think you're focusing on the wrong part of the picture. And I, of course, am the fool for keeping it going...



Posted via my BlackBerry Passport