With advancements in technology, it is simple to send messages to your target audience almost immediately. You can reach them on multiple platforms such as email, mobile app notifications, text messaging and social media. However, too much can actually be a bad thing.
What is Message Fatigue?
Message fatigue is becoming more common in the world of marketing. It is when marketers begin blasting their target audience, clients, returning customers, and prospects on multiple platforms with the same — or a very similar — message. Communication with your audience is vital to the success of your company, but too much of it can be a deterrent for customers.
Statistics show that more than 100 trillion emails are sent every single year and an even more staggering 500 million tweets are posted every single day. Those numbers do not account for the social media posts on other channels, instant messaging, text messages, and other forms of communication that are being used constantly. Your target audience is being bombarded, and if you are guilty of communication fatigue, it can be damaging to your company and brand.
Tired Customers, Lower Response Rates
While marketers want to reach their audience and many platforms make it possible, message fatigue has many consequences. In particular, it can decrease your response rates. When many individuals begin to feel overwhelmed or they frequently see your messages, they begin to skip over them, meaning your response rates are low and your clicks and conversions are even lower.
Too much communication can also create a negative image for your brand. Many customers will become tired and bored of your campaigns, making it easy to delete, unsubscribe, or unfollow your email lists and social media channels. Push notifications are another form of communication that can be valuable for mobile apps, but can also become an annoyance and quickly turn customers away.
Tips for Capturing Customer Attention
Fortunately, you can avoid message fatigue and still receive strong marketing results. Here are a few tips to prevent wearing down your customers with your communication techniques.
1. Focus on a specific audience and create very personalized messages for these niches. This allows you to better address your audience and prevents pestering a large audience with the same message over and over again.
2. Focus on quality of your message, rather than quantity. If you are constantly sending out emails for instance, you can guarantee that your response rates are going to drop. People are going to look past them because they have become so common. If you are going to send out messages, make sure they produce some value, entice your audience, and are relevant.
3. Be diverse in your messages. If you have a small business, don’t just send promotional emails. Instead, request feedback, provide engaging content, promote your company’s blog, offer giveaways, etc. You need to give people a reason to open your text messages, emails, and read through your content.
4. Select the right communication tool. Try using a mass text messaging service to reach and engage your customers. So long as the content and frequency of your messages are in check, SMS can be very effective in cutting through the noise and capturing customer attention.
Message fatigue has many consequences for your business. However, by being creative and spending time on a solution, it’s something that you can easily avoid.