As the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, now feels like a good time to discuss crisis communications. If your inbox is anything like mine, you’ve also been receiving emails from brands who are sharing with their audience how their business is addressing the coronavirus. Some emails are from businesses whose industries have been directly effected by the pandemic, such as the travel industry.
The image below is a snippet of a much longer email I received from Southwest. Airlines have been struggling as the public is discouraged from traveling in order to prevent contracting or spreading the virus. Southwest’s email outlines how their airline is going extra lengths to sanitize their aircrafts, likely in an attempt to make travelers feel safer about traveling with Southwest. The next section of the email talked about how they are changing policies to increase flexibility for those who are changing their travel plans, for example extending the expiration date of travel credits by a year.
Other emails are from brands that aren’t as directly effected, but they feel obligated to address the situation in some way. The example below is from a sleepwear brand called Lunya. In the email, they acknowledge the global pandemic and thank customers for their continued business, and encourages customers to stay positive and stay connected with one another during this time. Ultimately, this type of email sends the message that Lunya is a brand that cares about its customers and spreads positivity among its audience.
Other brands have also turned to social media to update its audience about how COVID-19 is effecting its business. For example, I was scrolling on Twitter today when I came across this tweet from ColourPop Cosmetics. They are closing their distribution centers in compliance with California health orders, which will cause orders to be delayed for an unknown amount of time. They use their message to communicate to customers that they will be honoring full refunds for any current orders. This shows the brand’s audience that they care about the customer experience as well as the health and safety of their own employees. The brand is also showing that they are making an effort to stay connected with their audience through social media, even when they aren’t able to conduct business.
Lastly, I’ve also received emails from brands that I haven’t transacted with in years. All this tells me is that they sent the message to every email address they’ve ever collected. While it may feel appropriate to send crisis communications to your entire audience, it’s really important to segment out your audience in a way that makes sure you’re only reaching out to your recently active customers. Inactive customers may be inactive for a reason and it would not be a good experience for them to see a brand pop up in their inbox that they’ve decidedly avoided for a long time.
Have you received any coronavirus-related emails from brands lately? Did they take an interesting angle? Provide any health tips?
If you want to read up more on the topic, here’s a great article I found from Fast Company: https://www.fastcompany.com/90479646/why-every-brand-youve-ever-bought-something-from-is-sending-you-coronavirus-emails
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