Over the years we’ve run a number of our own competitions and are often surprised by the reactions we get from winners to news about a win. Some are effusive about receiving good news whilst others seem less so. Some don’t even know they’ve won as emails are ignored. We’re often amazed how many times people don’t reply to news of a win. We use email and our PM system on Loquax to notify users – but quite often they’ll be ignored. It seems like some people enter competitions and then never bother to see if they’ve won! Thankfully some people do reply.
It’s A Little Disappointing
Everyone likes getting a bit of praise so the kind comments we get from winners do make an impression. It’s nice to hear that people are happy to have won! However something as small as a “thank you” can go a long way. But, some replies we get from winners are simply their name/address sent in reply. No hello, thanks, or how’s your father! Yes, it does the job but it’s a bit blunt. You can bet that the same people then don’t even acknowledge that they’ve received their prize. It’s a little disappointing! OK a “thanks” isn’t obligatory but it did occur to us that if this is what we see, then perhaps it’s also what other promoters see. And if we feel a little disappointed by some reactions then they too must feel the same. That surely can’t help the impression that some corners of the internet have about compers?
Our Suggestions For Thanking Promoters
Firstly, keep a closer eye on your emails and your junk mail boxes. Perhaps as a New Year’s Resolution look at setting up some filters on your account to pull out anything that says “win” or “winner”. You might get some spam emails in there but you might not lose a prize. Secondly, it you do get a Winning Email (WEM) then remember that a “thank you” costs nothing and it takes an extra couple of seconds to send it alongside any details a promoter has asked for. There’s often another person at the end of the email, so a little acknowledgement is nice. Finally if you have the opportunity (or you remember) let the promoter know that your prize has turned up. Perhaps this isn’t needed for small prizes, but it’s worth considering for bigger and more expensive items?
A Comping Challenge
At this time of year some compers will be thinking about starting a “2012 Challenge” to spur them on over the next 12 months! Well, our proposal is let’s try and get compers seen in a better light! A “thank you” might not be able to change a great deal, but it could make a lot of difference to how a promoter feels about running future competitions.