BMI's Online Service
Saturday, December 09, 2006
We all love a cheap flight. And I'm signed up to receive email updates from pretty much all of the airlines that fly out of Dublin! There is one, however, that has been niggling me all year, and has just compounded that irritation by sending me an email about how they've improved their service.
I signed up to receive cheap flight info from this airline, yet this year I reckon about 50% of the emails in my inbox have been trying to sell me car hire, hotel accommodation, and insurance. This is not what I want, but unfortunately, there's no way for me to filter the content I receive from them.
This airline is guilty of the cardinal sin of email marketing: it is abusing the permission I have granted to be marketed to by sending me info on stuff I don't want. I'm sure the online marketing manager is delighted to be achieving on his or her marketing objectives - "increase enquiries about ancillary services by 30%". Unfortunately, he or she is just about to be faced with a major increase in unsubscriber numbers.
My advice to BMI is to offer people a choice in the information they receive. And if they choose not to receive info on ancillary services, respect that and leave it out. When you look at the latest email, you'll see what I mean - it's an airline, yet all I'm seeing at a glance is hotels and car hire....view BMI Christmas 2006 Email Marketing campaign.