A few weeks ago, I bought a Power Plate. Everyone else is buying Pelotons, I know. But I want to put my Benjamins on an exercise device that suggests I can essentially relax my way to optimal fitness using targeted whole body vibration.

Before I bought my plate, I was all over the internet researching this thing. And seeing the ads served to me in my Facebook feed.

I was pretty well decided that this was going to be the next addition to our home gym and I had my dad order one for me at Costco.

If it is good enough for Sting? It’s good enough for me.

Three days later, my Power Plate arrived and I went back into research mode. But now, I want to know how to use this thing and what accessories I need, so I hop on the Power Plate site.

Not too long after I left the site, I get this email in my inbox and right off the bat I was confused by the subject line and concerned by what many consumers would label as red flags:

For about twenty years, Power Plate has been serving the professional athletic community as well as being a device used in clinical settings. Their top of the line machine costs more than my first car. And my second car. Combined.

So it is understandable that they have a very B2B vibe in their emails.

But they are making big moves into the B2C space and that requires a very different tone.

I want to say kudos to the Power Plate showroom rep for reaching out to me…but there are so many missed opportunities in this email that I wanted to break it down and suggest some copy improvements to strike the right tone for the B2C home fitness market.

While their home Power Plate models are quite a bit less expensive than their professional models, their price point is still quite a bit higher than their competitors in the space so as a consumer who has just made an expensive purchase, I want to get information on how to get the best results…because this thing isn’t even going to make a good towel holder in the bedroom.

I want to be reassured that I made the correct buying decision. From the right company.

Fitness right now is all about building community around your device or your method.

The revised email is so simple but it welcomes me into the next phase of our relationship and tells me that I don’t have to keep going back to Google - all alone - to figure out how to proceed on my health and fitness journey.

You’re here for me. We’re on this fitness journey together.

The company’s interactive signature is great for those people who want to go their own way from here on out but for the people who want a personal touch? Asking an engagement question to get deeper into a relationship primes them for making future purchases or for becoming one of your most effective unpaid salespeople.

It also allows you to assign tags in your system so they get the most customized experience you can design for them.

Of course, I reached out to the Chicago showroom when I got the original email. So I know they have a customer relationship management tool that knows where I ordered my Power Plate and that I was looking at the accessories page for my model on their website…so if Power Plate wants to cut right to the chase to make an accessory sale in their first email to me?

I know copy like this would be more warmly received. I know most people realize that their every move is being tracked online but they would appreciate the illusion that isn’t the case.

Adding a sentence like:

“If you’ve got your eye on any accessories, by calling the Chicago showroom direct at (312) xxx-xxxx, I can offer you a special unpublished discount that is only available to new Power Plate owners.”

That would probably land better than suggesting you’re spying on me.

All in all, this is a great company moving into the the home fitness market where a B2B tone isn’t always as warmly received. Some simple changes to the customer email experience will leave everyone with nothing but good vibes about this budding relationship.

B2B Isn't the Right Vibe When You Go B2C