Worse, instead of the 2 percent attrition rate from my prospect list that I had anticipated on a monthly basis, I lose 5 percent of the list within a week of sending out the email. My problem was that I had spent all my smarts on the marketing plan and forgot to pay any attention to the user experience once people arrived at the site. My site sucks. The search function is flawed, sometimes showing too few results, sometimes too many. The pathway to purchase is bumpy, with confusing twists, turns, and diversions.
Customer support is thin, offering too little and too late.
The list goes on and on and on. The application of permission-based marketing to a flawed site is a waste of your time and a waste of your customers' time. In the vernacular of dating, it's like finally getting to invite that person of your dreams back up to your apartment, without bothering to tidy your somewhat squalid bedroom first. Old pop cans, food-encrusted plates, and piles of dirty washing strewn across an unmade bed are going to lose any permission you might have had pretty quickly. So when you're looking to apply principles of permission marketing to your e-business, before you make that investment, make sure you get your site in order first.