What is it to be ‘thoughtful in marketing’?
With Father’s Day coming up, we’ve all received numerous emails promoting cards, gifts and mementos to demonstrate you care.
But what if you’re estranged? Or they’ve passed away? These promotional tools could then become constant, and potentially painful, reminders of something that you’d rather forget.
This is just one of many calendar days that could be difficult for people to celebrate, which thoughtless marketing could only serve to worsen.
Companies, which are often oblivious to this level of detail about their customers, could inadvertently be sending out insensitive marketing messages to their client databases, which could create upset.
In order to become more considerate to their customers, online florist, Bloom & Wild, launched opt-out of Mother’s Day e-mails in 2019, which it has expanded to The Thoughtful Marketing Movement in 2020. It describes this shift as “an effort to make marketing a little more thoughtful”.
Reaction to The Thoughtful Marketing Movement
Bloom & Wild reported that the positive response to this was “surprising and overwhelming”.
Those who chose to opt-out of the Mother’s Day emails last year, will not receive any communications this year and, when logged in to their Bloom & Wild account, will also not see any mention of it.
Quite literally, it is putting individual customers first, which is not something that can’t be said for every retailer, especially in an online-only environment.
The movement also got a mention in parliament, with Matt Warman MP recognising its benefit. He said: “If other companies were to follow suit, the dread – and I do mean dread – around this day might be mitigated for many people.”
Growth of the movement
With listening being the key factor in the movement, other companies were quick to realise the potential of simply listening to their customers. Bloom & Wild’s gesture was quickly followed by Wagamama, Paperchase, NEOM, Papier, The Telegraph, Matalan to name just a few.
Aligning yourself with The Thoughtful Marketing Movement has the potential to show your customers you are human and that you are treating them with respect, appreciation, and sensitivity, which can go a long way in the sometimes impersonal world of online retail.
Marketing in a world of uncertainty
As we find ourselves in a world that has taken an unexpected pause due to coronavirus, adopting a more thoughtful marketing approach might be a way to take forward learnings from this tumultuous period.
By following the initiative of The Thoughtful Marketing Movement, customers are put in control of what they receive, and what they do not.
This approach ensures that a customer’s experience with a brand is not only thoughtful but personal and innovative and demonstrates that the brand cares about their world.
At a time of widespread uncertainty, now more than ever consumers need to feel that their favourite brand is a safe haven, where they are prioritised and recognised as an individual, and not a database number.
In a world which has changed substantially, consumers, their shopping habits, and needs have also significantly shifted. As such, brands must adapt to this new consumer frontier sensitively, or get left behind.
If this initiative is something you are interested in joining, you can register for The Thoughtful Marketing Movement here.
If you require any marketing or communications support during the Coronavirus pandemic, please get in touch.