A Few days ago, I added an email marketing case study featuring a McAlister’s Deli email piece I received. Overall, I considered this particular email campaign to be very good.
Today, I would like to share an email marketing case study on Qdoba that I consider to be very bad. This particular case study is a series of two emails that were directly connected- one being an apology for the other. Below are the screen shots from each email along with my analysis:
Qdoba Email Marketing
Distribution List- This was the ONLY good thing about this email. It was sent to people that subscribed, but then again it was sent to distribution lists at the wrong locations. Qdoba could not even get that right. Maybe this wasn’t good after all.
Email Subject Line- While this is attention-grabbing, I still have no idea what is behind the email or why I should open it.
Design- No design at all to this email. Simply text. Nothing stands out other than one link. It appears as if not much time was spent in planning this campaign. I am surprised I even read it.
Incentive- While this is a decent offer, it is still not enough to make me want to redeem any type of coupon. Then the follow-up email tells me this was accidentally sent to me and I cannot even use this special offer. HORRIBLE. Suck it up and honor the offer…it was Qdoba’s mistake, mine.
The Message- Probably THE most confusing email I have ever received. I am still not sure exactly what Qdoba’s intention behind this email was, but the whole email seems to be a mess.
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[...] Here is the original: Qdoba Email Marketing Case Study [...]
Hey Derek,
I actually got these same emails and had a similar reaction, but there’s a little back story too.
About a month earlier I received an email from QDoba that included a list of 454 email addresses in the To: field. I couldn’t believe it when I received it.
The next day I got the same email, this time with no contact spillage.
An hour later I received an Outlook “recall” email that once again listed all of those email addresses in the To: field. The message said “Jackie Knowles would like to recall the message, “2009 Qdoba Catering”".
Great, I thought. This time I emailed back and informed her that “recalling” a message doesn’t really do anything.
Shortly after she sent a new message to the entire list apologizing for the direct violation of Qdoba’s privacy policy.
That’s 4 emails!
You can imagine my thoughts as I read the message about the stinky brown bag. They had me there for a second… I was sure that Jackie Knowles intended to send that to her in-office list. After reading over it a couple times I realized it was actually a marketing message.
But then… another apology.
QDoba Fail.
Jack,
Glad to find out that I was not the only one wondering what the heck was going on. So confusing! I also had a personal experience at a Qdoba that week that pushed me over the edge into writing that particular blog post. Let’s just say they would not honor a coupon and accused me of writing in a different expiration date! Keep in mind I go there on a weekly basis and spend $7 on one burrito. I did not think twice about critizing their marketing efforts after that. Way to treat a loyal customer Qdoba!
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