I recently tried to place an order online with one of the major home improvement warehouse stores. I discovered that they had a very clever way of building up their email marketing list, and getting me to become part of their email marketing database. I happened to be using my mobile phone to surf for what I needed. When I added my merchandise to the online shopping cart, I was asked to download the mobile app to my phone, which I then did. I quickly learned that using the mobile app on the phone was far easier than using the website through the browser, so I switched over. I was asked for personal preferences, including my home store location and other bits of information. Next, I checked out easily and simply.
Since I am in the middle of a big home improvement project that will require many trips to the store, having this app right on my phone is great. I can search for what I need quickly, and immediately know if it is located at my preferred store, or if another store in the area happens to have it. Now that I have joined the email marketing list, I am receiving periodic emails, probably a couple per week, about specials, and I received a $10 coupon, just for downloading and using the mobile app.
With so much discussion about how to build up an email address database, it seemed to me that this was a foolproof way for this company to get a ton of email addresses for the email marketing database. The regular communication has been great, and I certainly appreciate the discounts. I have definitely become more loyal to this company and will continue to start there when I am in the market for any home improvement merchandise. Food for thought, as an Internet marketing specialist, because it seemed so simple for me to sign up, it seems that all companies should be working this strategy into their plan!