Brands need to listen to online chatter

For weeks now, I've been complaining about getting e-marketing spam from Land's End. I tried to unsubscribe. Each time to no avail and every time I failed to unsubscribe, I posted a message on Twitter. I just couldn't stop them from coming. It was brutal.

Fast forward to Thursday of this past week. I opened up mail on my macbook pro and there it was, yet another Land's End email. That was it. That was the final straw. I posted a message to Twitter and I posted this video:



Then, a short while later, I get a Twitter message from @mymo that brings me closer to a resolution:

@bigguyd DM your email to @LandsEndChat They will get you unsubscribed. LE isn't perfect but we are on twitter. :)

Cool. Seconds later I get this message on Twitter from @daddymacWI:

@bigguyd @HappyHourBoston Lands' End is listening. We do not want to send unwanted email. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.

Well, if that was the case, I'd be able to unsubscribe. The options weren't that clear. Trust me. I tried. Thus, my various rants.

I pinged them with my email address and said basically that this was the last straw and that I was going to go postal if there was no resolution ASAP.

A short while after the Twitter exchange, I get this email:

Thanks for the feedback Don. I have unsubscribed your email address. You may still get an email tomorrow and/or Saturday, but they should be stopped after that. I apologize for any unwanted email you have received from Lands' End. We listen to customer comments and value your input.

Thank you for reaching out via Twitter.

I did end up getting one more email, but so far, during the past two days, no emails from Land's End. Thank goodness.

What's the lesson here for consumers AND brands? People are listening. The power of social media is amazing and there's no better way to interact with a brand than through Twitter. It's one to one communications. Brands that are not using Twitter should. If they aren't, they are missing a big opportunity to improve their customer service. If the brands are listening, i.e. a company executive or marketing/PR exec, then their agencies should be. That's we do at MS&L. We build it into every program. It's THAT important.

So thanks to Land's End for listening and taking care of my e-mail unsubscribe problem. Nice to know people are listening and taking action.