Crooked teeth – when marketing automation goes wrong!

As a Marketing Director, I am obviously pro-automation platforms. In fact, I don’t believe you can successfully activate your marketing across all channels without a solid automation platform. However, there are times when I just need to facepalm and wonder what the hell people are thinking!

I have crooked teeth… They are awful and I have lived with them my whole life, so of course, my vein and selfish dream is to one day have straight, white teeth (aw, the thought of it)!

One day a couple of months ago, I saw an attractive ad online and – against all my usual discipline – I decided to look into it. It was a teeth-straightening procedure and it even came with a free whitening kit which was a fantastic hook for someone like me. So, I happily went along to the appointment and was amazed by the process and technology involved.

However, I just wasn’t quite ready to dive right in due to a pesky root canal that needed to be treated first. As a result, I explained my situation and off I went. All was good.

Then the horror began…

I started to receive an email, a message aaannnnddd a text message on a daily basis. This happened for about two weeks, and yes, I did try to email and explain the situation – I mean, I like to think I understand the marketing logic here?

After reaching out to the company, I still received copious amounts of emails. This was when the doubt started to kick in. Perhaps the product isn’t actually that great if they are willing to give me not one but three further discounts, and maybe they are that insecure about their product that they have to continue bothering me each day with these messages about Dr Fabulous who has endorsed their product.

Finally, after roughly three weeks, I received a call. Great, I thought. I can finally get this sorted. We ended up having a good chat, and I was able to explain my situation to which I was advised that it would all be noted. “Have a great day!”.

Relief washed over me as I contemplated my new freedom from the automation horror. I could finally have my life back.

But guess what? The emails started up again. This time, I diligently went through and unsubscribed to everything and alas, things started to slow down.

One month had eventually passed and I thought I was in the clear, but just like any horror movie, the villain is never quite dead. It had started up again…

I want this to be a warning to others. Marketing automation is a very powerful force and it always features on our marketing activation plans. But like anything, too much of a good thing can be deadly and, in this case, it was. The company unknowingly turned me from an advocate into the complete opposite. I won’t go near them again. Why? Because they have positioned themselves as desperate and insecure, and that makes me nervous when they want to mess with my teeth.