Email Alerts for the Companies I am Following

I am following Google, Amazon and Tesla currently.  They are pretty helpful emails if you want to know what is going on with each company on a daily basis.  However, I wouldn't advise following anymore than three because it can get cumbersome and rather annoying to see the emails if you are not reading them.  They will just pile up and whatever is there might no longer be current the following days.  I would say they do a pretty good job of updating you on stock values and current news.  There are a bunch of news related articles in the daily email I receive for the alerts.  This could also be because I picked three popular companies that are incredibly innovative.  What I like that they do with the articles is that they give you the option to share the story on various social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.  This is very appealing!

"The CAN-SPAM Act requires that you don't use false or misleading header information, don't use deceptive subject lines, identify the message as an ad if applicable, tell recipients your valid postal address, offer an opt out option, abide by the opt out email request and monitor if others are in charge of your emails." (CAN-SPAM Act, 2009).   What I really like about the alerts is they are blunt with the subject line indicating the name of the company and alert following it.  So there is no question what you are receiving.  The only thing I would say that they are missing in the alerts is their valid postal address.  I do not see it anywhere on their emails.  There is an email opt out option on the bottom of all the alerts though.  

As far as the email strategies go I would consider prioritizing the alerts though.  If the articles were prioritized based on priority opening the email and seeing so many wouldn't be so overbearing to look at.  They could prioritize the articles based on popularity with social media and on important news.  I know I wouldn't want to go through and analyze all ten of Google's articles that they send me on a daily basis.  Although the number can vary based on how relevant they are in making news, it still appears to be a steady amount of articles.  

The website I am following is Amazon.  They do an excellent job with marketing on their website.  They are using it to their full advantage.  They have so many different links to get your attention on their main page.  It also changes on a daily or hourly basis, which makes it very appealing to me.  I can relate this to a restaurant menu.  You want to continue going somewhere because the ambiance and customer service is on point, but the menu remains the same.  Everything is mundane and dull to you because the food choice is not different.  I would say this happens often in the restaurant industry.  If you ever watch Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine does an excellent job innovative their food selections.  The same applies to websites, you need to make it creative and appealing to the audience.  Amazon does this.  I know Google does a great job with it as well.  Tesla keeps it simple and direct.  They know you will go to their site for their vehicle or solar power.  Tesla creates their value with the customer that values solar power and knows they don't need any fillers to motivate them to check out what they offer.  They do an excellent job with the clean and direct look.  This differs from Amazons because Amazon sells more products and needs to compete for customers with Walmart.  Amazon also creates value for their consumers by customizing their page to previous shopping selections or things that you might like.  

A company that uses the strategy elements of direct marketing on their website is Chick Fil A.  I would say their target audience is the average working parent that wants to make healthy choices with their life.  I love how bright and appealing it was to me when I went to the site.  It was a picture of one of their salads that encompassed the whole screen.  This would indicate their desire to pursue healthy eating habits.  If you have great digital marketing elements, you encourage someone to stay on your site as long as possible.  The salad and brightly colored page encourages me to do that.  If you scroll down you see pictures of their chicken sandwiches.  It is very intriguing to want to order from them because of the pictures of food on the main page.  Then to further confirm their target audience, they have a picture dedicated to kids with a table of splattered paints and crayons with items they have catered on top of it. (Home of the Original Chicken Sandwich). This is marketing toward children and their catering options.  The website is dedicated to their target audience and does a great job appealing to them.  They know that the average parent values nutrition and children and it is evident.  They have created value for the consumer and illustrated their digital marketing strategy by keeping the consumer hooked on their page.  Their website also gives you the option to share through social media.  You can order food right at the top.  This is digital marketing because it convinces you to come back to the site to order.  When you come back the picture might be different intriguing you to try something different next time.  


CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business. (2009, September 01). Retrieved May 18, 2017, from https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business

Home of the Original Chicken Sandwich. (n.d.). Retrieved May 18, 2017, from https://www.chick-fil-a.com/