In this period in which the attention threshold of users is very high and connection habits have exploded, communication through email and social channels with its customers must be adapted to the current situation.
But what features should it have?
- Timely: today's consumers, also thanks to smartworking, are increasingly connected and attentive to digital communications so it is crucial to choose the right timing and adapt each message to the changing context;
- Reassuring: now more than ever it is essential to give guarantees to consumers, communicating transparently and with the right tone of voice to inform them of active services and the security measures implemented in order to transmit reliability and trust;
- Solidarity: a good strategy can be to use storytelling to tell users how the company has activated itself to support the fight against Covid-19, taking advantage of multi-channels and inserting a clear CTA - Call to Action at the end of the message;
- Innovative: communication can leverage creativity to promote innovative services useful to satisfy the current needs of consumers.
Another key factor to consider is certainly the concept of communication, which must be re-examined and focused on new issues, such as the house, a place that has taken on a central role during the quarantine period, becoming a point of sale authorized to finalize the act of purchase.
Let's see some examples of communication by large LSD players, one of the sectors that according to Nielsen has been recording a double-digit positive trend since March compared to the same period of 2019: + 16.4% in the second week alone (source: Nielsen.com). This sector has decided to suspend the distribution of paper flyers to focus on online communication.
Companies such as Lidl, Corriere Della Sera and PayPal have tried to use reassuring communication by leaving the word to their CEOs in a storytelling perspective.
Other brands such as Carrefour and Alì instead wanted to reassure their consumers by providing useful service communications such as extraordinary closures and openings of their physical stores, enhancement of delivery services, customer care, return methods and creation of alerts in case of delays in the delivery.
Esselunga and Conad have enhanced their promotional initiatives, also reorganizing their distribution logic, proposing an extension of the collection of points in the loyalty programs and discount vouchers in case of delays in delivery. The problems related to delivery have in fact significantly limited the exponential growth of online sales.
Aldi, Crai and Iper have been able to take advantage of special occasions of this period such as the arrival of Spring, Easter and Mother's Day. For these events, they shared not only values but also provided advice on the use of their products / services for these days.
Many brands then pushed on solidarity communication through the promotion of fundraisers and donations both via email and through social channels, involving their customer base and inviting users to participate, such as U2 Supermarkets, Tigros and Alìper.
There are also those who have focused on engagement, such as Despar through Casa di Vita, entertaining consumers with new contents that capture attention and give added value to the service, such as the proposal of physical exercises to train from home or the invite to post photos of your dishes. Esselunga and Nestlé have instead promoted sweepstakes by giving away shopping vouchers and discounts to be used for the purchase of their products.
Finally, some have started to adopt a long-term strategy, working in a post-emergency perspective and promoting discount vouchers to be used in the store following the reopening or fixed-cost promotions such as in the case of EasyJet airline tickets.
E-Business Consulting is by your side even in this lockdown period and can help you redefine your communication strategy in a multichannel perspective to reach new targets in order to start together stronger than before! Contact us and we will be happy to help you.