Great email series from Alice.com gets me to buy

If you haven't heard of Alice.com - you're missing out.  I first heard about them back in July or August of 2010 at a networking event here in Minneapolis.  Sounded interesting enough - they allow you to buy household items (that you're buying currently at Target or Wal-Mart, probably)  from them online and they ship the items directly to your door - free of charge.  I checked it out - remember telling a few people to check it out and that was about it.  I was impressed - but I didn't make a purchase. That all changed a few days ago...and it started with one email.

Email #1
It was the first email I had received from Alice.com in a while...and the message resonated with me for some reason.  Actually - that reason was it showed a picture of someone pushing a shopping cart through a snowy and windblown parking lot.  A sight I was becoming rather familiar with since moving to the Twin Cities from Texas.

Oh, and the subject line..."Avoid the Winter Weather and Save with Alice" - the weather has been rather, lets say, chilly lately.  I think my car reported a bone chilling -18 degrees a few weeks ago, so even if this just saves me one trip I would be thankful.

There is a picture of a young woman opening a three-color printed box with the Alice.com logo on one side and the slogan ("everyone needs an alice") on the other.  I wondered if the box really looked like that when it showed up.  The rest of the email was beautiful and simply designed...I knew exactly where to look and what I was looking at.  

I clicked through the email and browsed the website (its nice and clean as well).  I took note of some prices and which products appeared to be on sale.  But, I still had yet to make a purchase.

Email #2
About six days later I got another email from Alice.com...this time they were talking savings...and limited time offer.  20% savings for about 4 days.  "Okay...let me take another look" I thought - and I glanced over and noticed the empty paper towel tube on the holder.  

So - I know I have to make a trip for paper towels (the first item promoted in the previous email) so I figure - lets give this a shot.  I ordered a few items...six - which was the minimum to have a delivery ship out.  They automatically applied the discount to my account - no promo code to enter - and they emailed the confirmation, and let me know they would be sending me a free gift as well and to be on the look out for it in the box.  Awesome.

I went from logging in to their website a few times to making a purchase based on a few emails...the first one drawing me back in - and the second one making me an offer I couldn't refuse.  Well played Alice.com - well played indeed.

The Delivery
Delayed at bit due to the massive winter storm (obviously no ones fault) my box arrived - and indeed it was the same three-color printed box shown in the email.  How about that?  I imagine the cost of those boxes isn't cheap - but I appreciate the details.  Oh, and the free gift?  A bottle of Propel Zero water, tucked neatly into a nice Alice gift bag.  

Footnotes
It's clear Alice.com really cares about customer experience and branding.  They had a great email campaign that engaged me at the right time, a super-easy to use website, and a great experience all the way through to product delivery. I'm a fan.

Learn More
Visit Alice.com
Learn more about Alice on CrunchBase
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