The promise premise

I rang Sky TV the other day. I wanted to upgrade to their new MySky service. Sure, they said. We'll be round on Wednesday.

How exciting. Wednesday was perfect. It meant I could watch John Deed and record Ashes to Ashes. sadly they came on Thursday. I was so upset I told them not to bother.I guess what I am saying is, if someone makes a promise, then keeping that promise is as, if not more significant, than the actual substance of the promise.

There is an email parallel. When you sign up for marketing emails or newsletters, you will (you should) receive a welcome message which tells you what to expect in terms of service as a subscriber. Frequency, volume and subject matter should all be covered.

That is their promise to you, and if they fail to keep it, you might well unsubscribe. Emails received too often, or not often enough. Too many, or too few. Content which fails to live up to your expectation.

Using email to communicate with customers or stakeholders needs holistic planning.Work out what you have to say. Plan when and how to tell them. Tell them what, and when you are going to tell them. Then tell them. And they will be happy!