From: MobileMe
Subject Line: MobileMe account notice: update your credit card
Date: Monday, February 8, 2010

Technology is not my friend today. It all started at 6:30 a.m. with this email from Apple MobileMe. Apparently, my credit card on file had expired, so they needed me to update it on my account. Okay, no problem. But, um, how about a link to my Mobile Me log-in page? No? Too much to ask? Just a button? An underlined word? Heck, I'd even settle for a clickable logo. I found some small links at the bottom, but none of them specifically said 'GO HERE TO UPDATE ACCOUNT'. Making your subscribers do the work is not the way to get them to spend more money with you. Especially with a service-oriented feature like Mobile Me, which is supposed to make my life on the go easier. Sorry, Apple. This one was a major miss for me. On a positive note, I love the headline and the body copy. It's short, sweet and friendly.

Follow-Up Note: Stefan Pollard, our resident strategy genius, offered some interesting insight that I think is important to share. (See below) One thing that's interesting is that AT & T includes a button in their "your bill is ready" emails, so I guess it really is about the individual company and what they're comfortable with.

"Some financial institutions will provide links to "sign in", others are afraid to do so. What often makes the difference is the brand and the likeliness of being attached by phishing and fraud. The bigger the brand, the more likely they become a target and many FI's will include language that says they will never ask you for information or to log in directly, but rather simply remind you to visit their home page. This works well if you provide a URL that isn't tracked by your provider so it is fully branded. Consumers have learned to mouse over images and links to make sure the destination matches the target for protection."

From: Barnes & Noble
Subject Line: Nook: The World's Most Advanced eBook Reader
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009

The real secret to a successful product is having people use it. Barnes & Noble truly understand this and use an automated message after purchase to make it easy for first time users to learn the ins and outs of their top selling holiday product, the "nook". After the receipt, this secondary transactional response focuses on how easy it is to use the product you just purchased.

Notice how this message starts with a thank you but immediately re-enforces the benefits of the product. Then, it moves right into a simple three step guide on how to get the most from your new nook (complete with a link to a short video tutorial). Rounding out the perfect activation message, Barnes & Noble include a simple yet subtle CTA to their eBookstore. I can quickly add the newest Alex Cross eBook by James Patterson to read while I sit at the airport during my Christmas break. Now, I won't mind so much if my flight is delayed for the third time cause I can just sit back and lose myself in my new nook.

From: Williams-Sonoma
Subject Line: Order Confirmation #092857855452
Date: Monday, October 12, 2009

If you're looking for the right way to do transactional messaging, this Williams-Sonoma Order Confirmation message is a bastion of best practices:
(1) The smarts start with the subject line, including the order number for folks who quickly need to reference it, perhaps while on the phone with a customer service rep.
(2) The ease of use continues just beneath the navigation area, with a order number stacked above the customer service telephone number.
(3) I love that the "You May Also Consider:" items (and what classy language!) are actually related to the item I purchased, which isn't always the case on these "enhanced transactional" message types. A bread box buyer might just like a Classic Bread Knife. Wüsthof knives really are awesome, although I'm now partial to Global knives, since those are the kind the contestants draw on "Top Chef" ;).
(4) The WS team observes the 80/20 rule of thumb: no more than 20% promotion in a transactional message. They also adhere to the guideline that promotional items be kept to the right and to the bottom of the primary transactional message.
(5) It just plain looks good. Neat and sleek. Not designed by a database system output script or something. You can have beauty and brains after all.

From: Hotel Max
Subject Line: Your Stay with Us
Date: September 1, 2009

From: Hotel Max
Subject Line: Thank You for Visiting!
Date: September 2, 2009

Last week, I was up in Seattle for a meeting and stayed at the Hotel Max. After checking in at the front desk, I went up to my room and got online to catch up on my email. Amidst the regular cast of characters in my inbox was an unexpected surprise. Apparently, the minute I checked in, scratch that, the SECOND I checked in, Hotel Max sent me a welcome email. Talk about timely. Signed by the hotel manager, the email was personal and helpful, plus I have to give them kudos for taking the opportunity to plug the restaurant that's attached to the hotel.

To round out the customer service experience, they also sent me a follow-up email asking for feedback about my stay. I won't go into the details, but I did have some feedback and decided to send it in. I got a prompt personal email from the hotel manager letting me know what they were doing to fix the snafu. The only puzzle in all of this is that the first email I received welcoming me to the hotel lists one guy as the hotel manager, but the personal email I received was from a completely different guy who also held the hotel manager title. My guess is that there was a personnel switch and no one updated the emails. Oops. Now that's the perfect example of why it's so important to make sure the content in your triggered messages is up to date.

From: Twitter
Subject Line: Reset your Twitter password
Date: Wednesday, August 26, 2009

It's super-easy to overlook or "dial in" your transactional messaging. Twitter does it smarter with their "password reset" email message:

"Can't remember your password, huh? It happens to the best of us... login and change it to something you'll remember."

The copy is straightforward, cute, "human." Very Twitter.