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Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

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Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#171

Post by lowdose »

encom wrote: post #81
eatingCake wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Perhaps American culture is more receptive to this As an American I don't think people like corporations feigning social intimacy either.

But it happens all the time (according to my tiny sample size). A tong time ago, I was in an American coffee shop (probably Starbucks, I guess), and they asked for my name. I found that very strange and weird. You would neither be able to spell or pronouce it, so let's just go with James. This trend is beginning in Denmark as well, and I don't like it. It'd be easier for everyone if you just assign me a number and an…

Just tell them your name is Big Dick. They always bring your order immediately by foot without name calling.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#172

Post by wenc »

dspillett wrote: post #167
wenc wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure that it is that common. I mean, wouldn't it seem strange to take on the moniker of Takeshi while travelling in Japan, or Juan in Mexico, or Alexei in Moscow just to be able to order at Starbucks? p.s. I should add the caveat that Starbucks baristas in Japan do not ask for names. It's culturally inappropriate there so Starbucks doesn't implement their names policy in Japan.

> I'm not sure that it is that common Anecdotal evidence to the contrary: I'm in the UK and have known a few people from parts of Africa over the years, they've all had made up simple short names because they tired of people but being able to deal with their real names (either not being able to pronounce it, or making a big thing if it sounding strange). And it wasn't just a short nick-name based on their name that t…

Yes I agree this is common for folks who live in the country long term. But I wonder, for tourists though? And a tourist going to a country with a non-Indo European language?

It’s hard for me to imagine an Aloysius adopting a Chinese name while visiting China for a few days say. Would he use a derived nickname like Loy? I wonder.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#173

Post by jonshariat »

mattigames wrote: post #117
jonshariat wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

None of our opinions matter though. We are not the target market usually. If the change in tone drives more business then it works. Now you could make the argument that ethically this mimicry (I like that term you used) is morally wrong. Its interesting because when you go to a coffee shop and they act friendly and helpful we like it and dont think about if they genuinely are our friends. I think if the tone is paire…

Coffee shop employees can act overly friendly but never say things like "So the absofreakinlutely BEST thing you could do right now...", instead they use very short sentences and almost all of them have an utilitarian purpose like asking about your order; and if you entered it means you already decided to purchase something there unlike e.g. being approached by a sales person on a sidewalk or getting a sales email.

Agreed. Some of the examples were cringe worthy.

Since the user is receiving an email they have shown some intent. To continue the example: its the barista being nice and suggesting add ons with a big tip jar right in front.

Now, this is also not the only strategy out there, even for the same group of users. Before committing to a strategy like this you should do user research to understand your users, run A?B tests, and make sure it plugs into your overall brand strategy.

IMHO a business that puts the business first will always come off as fake and unattractive to users (so companies will succeed until a competitor comes along who treats them better).

A business that puts its users first and business goals as secondary to that, thrive and when the business shows a value and its actually backed up with past actions, its effective.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#174

Post by wtracy »

zingermc wrote: post #144
wtracy wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally strongly agree, but I want to point out that HN is not a remotely representative sample of email users. Study marketing a bit, and you'll find loads of things that email power users loathe that still get an overall very positive response from the general public. Know your userbase. Cater to them, not some random people on the internet with strong opinions.

By "positive response", are you saying that human "from" names yield a higher click-through rate?

That, and feedback that they genuinely enjoyed things that the rest of us hate.

Microsoft heard from hundreds of users who were heartbroken when Clippy was removed from Microsoft Word.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#175

Post by _b8r0 »

wenc wrote: post #160
patmorgan23 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When traveling in a foreign country its not uncommon to invent a name on the local language to make interacting with locals easier.

I'm not sure that it is that common. I mean, wouldn't it seem strange to take on the moniker of Takeshi while travelling in Japan, or Juan in Mexico, or Alexei in Moscow just to be able to order at Starbucks? p.s. I should add the caveat that Starbucks baristas in Japan do not ask for names. It's culturally inappropriate there so Starbucks doesn't implement their names policy in Japan.

White, British here. Name has syllables that aren't expressed in Turkic alphabets, so in Turkey and parts of the middle east it's sometimes easier for people to call me Selim or Said instead of Steve.

If you're spending proper time somewhere it makes sense to make it easier for people to communicate with you. If you don't they'll just use a name they can say to refer to you anyway.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#176

Post by bonoboTP »

xapata wrote: post #154
bonoboTP wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While friendliness and happiness can be positive, I think in sales it's often emotional warfare, for example with door-to-door sales. A vacuum cleaner salesman will try to manufacture a personal connection with strategic taps on the shoulder, asking about the kids/grandkids and the spouse, but ultimately this is so that rejection becomes emotionally difficult for the untrained and unprepared customer. I see these ema…

There's a difference in intent which isn't obvious from the atonal text medium. Humans are pretty good at spotting fake in person. Thus the desire to shake a hand and look in the eye. Over email, I think many people have developed a decent sense for it, but it's much harder to distinguish the two.

> Humans are pretty good at spotting fake in person

I doubt it. People can be really really talented at being convincing but fake.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#177

Post by dagw »

wenc wrote: post #172
dspillett wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not sure that it is that common Anecdotal evidence to the contrary: I'm in the UK and have known a few people from parts of Africa over the years, they've all had made up simple short names because they tired of people but being able to deal with their real names (either not being able to pronounce it, or making a big thing if it sounding strange). And it wasn't just a short nick-name based on their name that t…

Yes I agree this is common for folks who live in the country long term. But I wonder, for tourists though? And a tourist going to a country with a non-Indo European language? It’s hard for me to imagine an Aloysius adopting a Chinese name while visiting China for a few days say. Would he use a derived nickname like Loy? I wonder.

I don't make up an entirely new name, but I do mispronounce my own name differently in different countries to make life easier for everybody. I also know several person that either uses their middle names or shortened versions of their 'real' name when traveling in English speaking countries.

Re: Lessons learned from onboarding emails with no HTML styling

#178

Post by xapata »

bonoboTP wrote: post #176
xapata wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a difference in intent which isn't obvious from the atonal text medium. Humans are pretty good at spotting fake in person. Thus the desire to shake a hand and look in the eye. Over email, I think many people have developed a decent sense for it, but it's much harder to distinguish the two.

> Humans are pretty good at spotting fake in person I doubt it. People can be really really talented at being convincing but fake.

Define "pretty good" how you'd like, but to me both statements can be true.
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