The Good And Bad of All Those COVID-19 Emails (told in MEMES)

We’ve been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic for what seems like…ages. And many businesses have not been shy to reach out via email and let me know how they’re making policy and product changes to keep me safe. These communications have an impact on my customer experience with the brand.

Soooooooooo many COVID-19 emails. Hotels. Airlines. Doctors. Cruises. State and local government. Even wineries. Some genuine. Some not. Some make sense. Some don’t.

So, what can we learn about the customer experience from these communications?

A few examples…

I give this one a…

It’s customer-centric. It’s not over the top fluff. They hit the highlights. They were concise in what changes they are making.

I give this one a…

Long. Formatted like a novel. Directing me to an outside link if I want even more info. And the “part of the United family” is totally cheesy and bit disingenuous. Oscar wanted to “personally reach out.” Ok. I’m sure he also personally drafted that email and personally hit send.

I give this one…

Intriguing this was signed from the SVP & Chief Marketing officer and not the CEO. I mean, Gary Kelly signs the intro article in Southwest’s onboard magazine. Overall, this one is on brand and I took it as genuine. As Southwest has always made “family” and “caring” key components of their culture. Though I like the level of detail, and how they spend 6-7 hours every night cleaning the planes; I could’ve gone without Southwest saying they only do that once a day!

I give this one a…

Though I did get several text emails from American Airlines, they choose to do video updates to my inbox as well. And they spread it around. I got video updates from the CEO and from their SVP of Customer Experience. The one from their SVP of Customer Experience was, naturally, heavily focused on AAadvatage policy changes and updates geared toward frequent flyers. You can see all their updates on their website. Nice use of customer data to segment their communication updates. However, having to watch a video instead of a quick glance at concise changes and updates, eh. And some people just don’t convey the right “we’ve got you, we get you, you matter” feeling via video.

I give this one a…

Yeah, it has that “reach out to you personally” thing again. However, it remains customer focused. Not all about Hilton and how great they are. Concise. Action orientated. Includes a part on loyalty points so I don’t need to read another email or search for how I’ll be impacted. From my experience with the brand, they have always been very customer focused; and as stated in the email, that is one thing about Hilton I have come to expect. And I like the forward-thinking part at the end.

I give this one a…

In this instance, Marketing should not be sending emails of this nature. The tone from the onset is more all about “how great are we” instead of “how great are our customers and we hope you’re ok.” It also lacks details and concise specifics on changes and updates. Shame. I rent from Hertz quite often for business travel and I’ve rarely had any customer experience issues.

I give this one a…

Full disclosure, I’m a brand enthusiast of Celebrity Cruises and fan of their leadership. However, that hasn’t prevented me from providing them improvement feedback in the past. In this instance, I think this is a very well done and on brand email update. Yes, they have a page with all the COVID-19 travel info and updates. So, I was happy to get an email that was so customer – and employee – focused. It was also genuine, interactive, and engaging.

I give this one a…

I like supporting local businesses. Especially family owned and operated. And I like wine. And it doesn’t hurt that I have some pretty good wineries near my home. I’ve been a fan of Old Westminster for some time. They make great wine. I miss spending a relaxing afternoon at the winery with family and friends. But I digress. The email. Authentic. Concise. Appreciative. Clear on updates and changes. Oh, and one thing not the email. They even began delivering for free locally.

Humor aside, customer communication matters. Of course content matters. Tone matters. Authenticity matters. Alignment with brand and values matters. Especially during times of crisis and uncertainty.

Have you received any emails from brands you do business with? What did you like and what didn’t you like? Anything pop out at you that makes you want to continue to do business with a brand? Anything pop out at you that made you not want to continue to do business with a brand?

About Scott Span, MSOD, CSM: is CEO & People Strategist, Communications and Change, at Tolero Solutions. He supports clients to engage and retain talent and wow customers, achieving success through people, creating organizations where people enjoy working and customers enjoy doing business.