True or Not
by Tom Anthony on Jul.22, 2009, under General Posts, Personal
My daughter is home schooled, so from year to year I buy various text books and computer programs as part of her curriculum. Sonlight Curriculum Ltd. out of Littleton , CO has always been a dependable source. They specialize in courses with a Christian focus… and I have to believe the following is 100% true. But true or with a slight marketing spin, the following is one of the best email marketing letters I have received recently.
Subject: Explanation of how to get $25 off your Sonlight order (for a very limited time)
Dear Tom,
I am deeply embarrassed. Yesterday afternoon, in preparing my letter about five reasons to order sooner rather than later, we accidentally attached the wrong subject line to the email you received. I had prepared that subject line for a different email headed to a group of people who had never purchased from Sonlight before. I wanted to see if a special offer might help these non-customers place their first order.
The subject line for that email offered $25 off the recipient’s Sonlight order. The email these non-customers received specified a time limit on the offer, as well as a minimum order total of $250.
This morning I discovered we sent that subject line to everyone who has bought anything from Sonlight in the last two years!
Yikes … NOT what we had intended! Talk about expensive mistakes.
But I talked with John and Sarita, who said, “You gave your word. You must fulfill your promise … Since you’ve got lemons, do what you can to make some lemonade.”
So we’re going to do something we pray doesn’t completely swamp our computer system and warehouse crew. I can imagine it may slow our ability to process orders for a few days, but…
We have decided to honor the promise of my last email to you in the following manner:
Since you’ve ordered from us before, we’re extending the offer (originally intended for families new to Sonlight) to you for a very limited time. Place your order worth $250 or more (not including shipping) no later than 11:59 p.m. (MDT) tomorrow (7/23) and you will receive $25 off. That’s in addition to any Sonlighter Club discounts you may receive.
Just enter PRXDY in the box marked “Special Offer Code” at Step 2 of check out.
I hope this little bit of “lemonade” is a blessing to you.
Sincerely,
Tim Heil
Customer Relations Manager
Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
