I recently saw a great example from Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill showing how to request a boatload of subscriber information in a seemingly unobtrusive and gentle fashion. The key is to make your subscribers feel needed, appreciated, and welcomed when they read your emails and when they divulge their personal secrets. In the case of Rubio’s, they did not even have to give me a coupon or discount to encourage my participation. (I would note that offering a discount can be helpful in other situations, though.)

Rubio’s sent me an email asking me to join an exclusive panel where I could share my opinions and advise the restaurant on what they are doing right, what they are doing wrong, and what they need to be doing better. This in itself is a great idea and goes well beyond the typical subscriber survey.

Once I clicked through the email I was sent to a page where I updated my demographics, answered a bunch of questions, and joined the panel. The questions went well beyond the typical demographics such as date of birth, gender, and location. They also asked my marital status, eating habits, education level, how many kids I have, how large my bank account is, plus much more. In other words, they asked me enough questions to make the US Census jealous!

The end result for me was that I did not feel like I was being hounded for information. And who knows, it might be kind of fun to see where this advisory panel idea goes. Rubio’s is doing something different in email marketing. Even the subject line – “An Exclusive Invitation for You” – was well thought-out, taking the approach of offering value (improved customer experience) rather than asking for something.