How long should you wait before you begin sending an email to Ms. Jones?  Let’s use a real world example to help clarify the position we should take.

If you ever want to have fun simply type into any search engine and begin the “How long should..” phrase ending in something.  You will get some  funny and disturbing results in regards to what Google, Yahoo or Bing was most searched with that phrase.  This phrase is really fun though:  “How long should you wait to call a girl?”.

The appropriate response, from my Google search which can be found here, was to wait until the next day so you don’t sound so desperate.

How does this apply to sending email to Ms. Jones?  It is exactly the same.  Ms. Jones was kind enough to trust you with her email.  As spammers and junk mail in boxes have proven over the years an email is much more sacred and revered than even the home address or phone number.

As marketers and as a marketing company, we would never suggest doing something that puts your name out there unless there is a big enough sampling and there is at least a chance of initial results.  For instance, sending out a direct mail to 30 people would not drive home the results that one would expect for the investment.  Email is not the same.

We as marketers and retailers owe it to Ms. Jones to begin emailing her the moment she trusts her personal email with us.  Just telling her she is going to be receiving special offers, design tips and other various offerings you have at the store level is not enough.  Show and reward her for her faith in your retail operation.  She may not buy right away, but she will appreciate that you lived up to your end of the bargain.

She might only accept the call once–keep her from hanging up.