We need more humanity in email, especially when unsubscribing | MarTech

Are empathy, sympathy and humanity bad? That’s what I’m hearing from some opinion leaders and government officials who say we can’t afford to be so soft anymore. I couldn’t agree more, and I urge my fellow marketers not to abandon these values.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how important they are. With the turmoil we experience every day, I believe it is more important than ever to put these human qualities into practice.

Ignoring them also takes away one of email’s superpowers: building one-on-one connections in the most personal of spaces: the email inbox. We need to show our customers that we know them and understand their needs and ambitions.

The most obvious connection point is in the email message itself, but that’s not the only place where we can give our customers some care and attention.

This article will be a little different than my usual ones, and I hope you’ll join in. I usually come to you with fully informed advice or commentary about the email issues marketers face. Today I’m working on an idea that came to me while following the digital trails my father and uncle left behind after they died within weeks of each other last summer.

What the mass unsubscribe has taught me

As part of my duties as executor for both estates, I had to clear out their email inboxes to make sorting the clutter easier. I could have done what most citizens do: delete all messages en masse and close the accounts.

I didn’t do that because I needed to find and process bills and close or switch accounts, so I searched every inbox and unsubscribed from every email list I could find.

During that process I came across dozens of unsubscribe flows. Some worked. A surprising number did not, especially those from major brands. I came across way too many 404 pages. By the end of my work, I could understand why some frustrated subscribers don’t even bother to unsubscribe.

(Remark: Before you read any further, test your own unsubscribe process to make sure it works. It’s the law, and you owe it to your subscribers and to the integrity and security of your email program to make sure this essential automation is working properly.)

I also learned that most brands don’t seem to care why I unsubscribed. I just clicked the unsubscribe button, maybe confirmed the request on the website and then, boom. I was gone.

That’s such a waste. We can learn a lot from our unsubscribes. These are the people who care enough to unsubscribe instead of clicking the “report spam” button. They don’t let emails pile up and then delete them without reading them.

We ignore crucial information. What broke the relationship?

Some companies gave me the standard checklist of reasons for unsubscribe (none included a “death” version). If a brand offered an open-ended “Other” option, I tested it by writing “This person has passed away” or “The subscriber has passed away.”

To date, no brands have responded to those messages. Maybe no one is monitoring that box, or they aren’t registering that someone has unsubscribed for that reason.

Which brings me to this question: Should we do more to recognize when someone closes an account or logs out because the account holder has passed away?

I haven’t concluded anything yet. So I’m sending you the following questions in the broader email world:

• Should we create an automated response to such a comment with a sympathy email?
• Is that something we can scale up?
• What would be the value for our brand?
• Is this just the right thing to do?
• We talked about brands and the need to become more human and empathetic in our customer relationships. Is this one of the solutions?

I’ll start the discussion here. Feel free to let me know what you think on social media.

Email marketing always involves a relationship between the brand and the subscriber. Yes, it is a commercial relationship. But many companies that are showing growth and great returns on their investments don’t treat email as just another advertisement, circular or commercial. They demonstrate the values ​​I mentioned above: empathy, sympathy and humanity.

Does it make sense?

Disagree? How do those birthday emails perform?

Email builds relationships because it reaches customers in the inbox. I receive those messages in the same inbox where I receive my personal correspondence, bills, alerts, and updates about my high school reunion.

From a brand perspective, recognizing changes in customer life makes sense because it recognizes that unsubscribers have maintained their side of the value proposition: unsubscribe rather than leaving their email address or clicking ‘report spam’.

For brands, there’s something to be gained by taking a moment to say, “We’re sorry for your loss. We’ll make sure you unsubscribe and stop receiving emails from us.” That reassurance, if I had gotten it even once, would have been nice.

What is the value for the brand now? It expresses your condolences to someone else. But could this also influence the acquisition?

Here’s why I ask: My father was an avid golfer. He and I played together regularly. In my quest to unsubscribe, I discovered new golf sites. Now I subscribe to them. (Thanks, Dad!)

No, I’m not suggesting this becomes a KPI. Only that sympathy can have a lasting effect that is not entirely bad.

An “we’re sorry” email can be an acquisition tactic. But as a human instinct, it is more valuable to say you are sorry and express your condolences. You may not get many new subscribers this way. But if you did, they could be valuable.

Who’s doing it now?

I don’t have any examples of brands responding to unsubscribes on behalf of email subscribers, but here are two brands that understand a similar brief. Is it a coincidence that they are both pet related?

Chewy is the first that comes to mind. The e-commerce pet supplies brand has made virtual millions from word of mouth for its customer service and appreciation. The way it responds to customers whose pets have died has become legendary in the e-commerce world.

Among the actions customers have reported on social media, Chewy has sent sympathy flowers and handwritten cards to customers who cancel their Autoship subscriptions or contact the brand about returning supplies after their pets pass away. The brand has also issued refunds and encouraged customers to donate unused food and other supplies to local animal shelters.

The company could have said, “Sure, send it back. Here’s a prepaid label. Sorry for your loss.” But they know their demographics and the benefits of being sympathetic and human.

Petplan is a British pet insurance brand that has mastered the art of humane copywriting. The messages acknowledge how a pet owner may feel when filing a claim. They are business communication models that infuse practical information with real understanding.

Here is an email sent to a customer who filed a claim after her pet died:

• “We were sad to hear of Maisie’s passing. We know this must be a difficult time for you and we really want to help you if we can.
• “If you would like to talk to someone who understands your loss, we have found that the Blue Cross Bereavement Service can help – so please give them a call [XXXX-XXX-XXXX]. Sometimes just listening can make a big difference.
• “We would like to inform you that you will soon receive a refund of €97.63 due to changes to your policy XXXXXXX.
• “We have sent the payment to your bank account ending in XXXX, which will reach you within the next three business days.
• “If you have any questions, you can always contact our dedicated customer service team via our web chat or by calling XXXXXXXXX and they will be happy to assist you.”

You use the information you have, such as the pet’s name, to personalize the message and then write the message as if it were a note to a friend. Only that one extra data field made the difference.

Yes, both emails are sent to paying customers, not just customers who may or may not have made a purchase during their cycle with your brand. But they show what’s possible with a little extra thought.

These expressions of humanity make a difference, especially when they are unexpected.

How can we make this happen?

Maybe this is an edge case. Maybe people delete the emails every day and move on. If they don’t provide a reason to unsubscribe, we won’t be able to contact you, and that’s fine. But what about when consumers offer that information? Isn’t it our responsibility to recognize this?

It’s easy to lose our sense of humanity in digital marketing, where we may never come face to face with any of our customers. During COVID-19 we learned about the value of authenticity, humanity and empathy. Can we apply what we have learned to a personal crisis?

As I write this, I’m starting to think that in this particular situation, brands need to take action, offer some acknowledgment or offer some reassurance.

How can we make this happen? Let’s take a look at reply handling. It may be possible if someone adds a reason in a reply to your message. Your ESP should be able to detect keywords like ‘died’, ‘deceased’, ‘deceased’ or ‘passed on’. Unless you use no-reply, you can email the prison directly.

Ask your ESP if you can capture those words in your response handling and automate a message from that recording.

The unsubscribe moment is a human moment

It’s true that the person just unsubscribed, so emailing again is generally not allowed. But in the US, CAN-SPAM at least gives you seven days to process the opt-out, so your only confirmation will fall under that timeline. You don’t sell anything and don’t ask for action.

Let’s talk about tapping into our humanity as marketers and as people and see if we can be more human to our subscribers instead of just making money off them.