Full disclosure: Chili’s restaurant chain isn’t an emfluence client. That said, they got our attention with their sign-up process and we couldn’t help but comment.
Best-practicing email marketers know a valid, opted-in, interested email address is worth revenue to your company, so you should absolutely be providing value to the subscriber in return for their opt-in. Sure, you could offer a coupon. Or maybe you could go a bit further? Chili’s sure did.
To start off, we commend Chili’s on their symbiotic email + social media sign-up process (see last month’s post for more on this). When you find Chili’s on facebook, they invite you to sign up for emails and on their email sign up process, they invite you to “Like” them on facebook.
Here’s what else they got right: When you visit their website – Chilis.com – they offer you a somewhat standard “free queso for signing up” for their email newsletter (+1 pt). Bonus points because they also promise to donate $1 to St. Jude’s for every person that opts in for their emails (+5 pts and some good karma). It’s a short, sweet and to-the-point sign up form (+2 pts) that asks just enough personal information to create personalized emails (+2 pts). They break up the registration process over two screens so if new subscribers only want to give name and email, they capture that first (+2 pts).
The next step stirred up a little internal debate at the emfluence world headquarters. They offer you an additional coupon – free brownie sundae – if you give them just a bit more personal data. They ask for the last 4 digits of the credit card you use most often as well as the last name on the card. This will help them associate your email activity and your future purchases at Chili’s: a marketer’s dream conversion data! (+5 pts/or -5 pts?) They reassure new subscribers at each step that they won’t share this sign up information in any way, nor will they use your credit card info for anything sneaky. (+0 pts; this should be a requirement for anyone collecting sensitive and valuable data!) As a marketer this data is very valuable. As a consumer, it could be a bit difficult to swallow. Err… How much am I really paying for this brownie?
When you’re all signed up for your awesome deals, they ask if you’d like to be a rockstar friend and share Chili’s good word with other friends, promising to deliver them a coupon for free queso as well (+1 pt). Again, they reassure you that they’ll only send your friends one email asking if they’re interested and promise not to spam them after that (+3 pt; this easy-to-add reassurance should be included more often with Share With Your Network options).
The cherry on the sundae, if you will, is the final page, which confirms you’re opted in, confirms your friends will be getting their invites soon (if you sent any invites) and asks you to get involved in the fun on their social media sites, Facebook and Twitter, too (+2 pts).
Whew! That’s a lot of email marketing brownie points (and a lot of food metaphors in one blog post).
Here are our suggestions on how to make great even better.
Tip #1: Send the awesome rewards (free queso, free sundae, etc.) to your new subscribers at their email address. This will ensure they give you real email addresses at the point of sign up and will encourage them to check their inbox right away to make sure you’re getting delivered. After all, they’re probably willing to check the spam folder for free queso.
Tip #2: On the email sign-up confirmation page, give them a heads up on what email address their coupon (and future email deals) will come from. NOTE: they do this on the Facebook email sign-up tab, but not in the confirmation email or on the confirmation page.
Tip #3: Use the cross over with social media, specifically Facebook, to the fullest advantage and make sure you’re collecting the same data as on your website email sign-up form. The webform at Chilis.com asks which Chili’s is closest based on zip code and leads subscribers to expect targeted email offers for that location. The form on the Facebook sign-up simply asked zip code, which may match several nearby locations. It may end up being difficult to segment later if the two processes collect data differently.
Overall, if you’re a fan of the credit card step, then it’s 4.5 stars to the team at Chili’s for a great example of a sign-up process that (a) incorporates the viral nature of social media (b) offers value in exchange for valuable information and (c) makes you hungry for chips and queso!
If you’re thinking that gathering credit card info is likely to lead to a high dropout rate in the sign up process, then it’s 3.5 stars, peace of mind, and one less brownie for you.
Check out screenshots of the process here or sign up for Chili’s emails at Chilis.com
Betting that asking for the CC info is taking it too far. And why not put that at the very end instead so that you still have your social and forward to a friend engagements opportunities before what is most likely a very steep drop off point in the sign up process?
Nice review and great tips for potential improvement at the end.