Marketing with Compassion in the Age of Coronavirus
With a large percentage of the world’s customer base quarantined, whether on their own accord or by government mandate, we are in uncharted territory as humans.
We are working from home, caring for and helping teachers to educate our children, and stocking up on supplies as we face a collective uncertainty about what’s to come.
We’re being laid off, furloughed, or let go, applying for unemployment or navigating the world of small businesses grants and loan deferment, and talking to mortgage companies about freezing payments. We’re stocking up at the grocery stores, pharmacies, and home repair stores and trying to fill our days with things that take our mind off of what is really going on.
Some of us are still going to work, from healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic to those helping to further large construction projects throughout our cities and states.
Fitness professionals are offering virtual classes to help with overall mental and physical well-being, taking time out of their days to livestream workouts or answer questions about the transition to staying active at home.
Some of us are caring for loved ones who have contracted the virus or are dealing with other, long-term illnesses. We’re trying to convince other loved ones to stay home, especially the most vulnerable.
During video chats, we invite people into our homes and private lives. Some show who they “really” are behind makeup, accessories and expensive clothing that they’d typically wear to the office. We open up to one another and become vulnerable about our current individual and collective experiences and fears. We crave human connection more than ever, and we are placing more value on relationships and experiences than things.
Collectively, we are realizing how important our authentic connections and communities are to not only our daily lives, but to our overall mental health.
There’s a shift in consciousness that’s happening on the individual level, which will permeate the collective consciousness the longer we are home. Our economy is built on the consumer feeling that they don’t have everything that they need or are not good enough as-is. What happens when that myth fades away?
As soon as the quarantine mandates began, our inboxes became flooded with emails and ads from companies. The subject line of choice? “How we’re handling the coronavirus outbreak.” I have received hundreds of messages from companies large and small, and I have to tell you: by and large, the small businesses are the ones who are getting it right.
Receiving an email from a small business during the COVID-19 outbreak is typically like talking to a friend. Many are sending personalized letters from the CEO or sole proprietor about their own personal experiences, from depleted revenue and canceled projects to adjusting to work life at home with the kids. They are showing vulnerability and empathy, knowing that a significant part of their customer base is likely going through the same thing. They are marketing their services by being human, being of service, and helping others by donating products or services to other individuals and businesses. They are figuring out ways to pay their employees, even without knowing where their next dollar is coming from.
Big business, by contrast, has been approaching messaging from a detached place; outlining the products and services that remain and discussing sanitary practices at factories. Some dive deeper into what they’re doing for communities and people during this time, but it has been fewer and farther between.
For example, articles have been released in the last week which outline a mortgage pause of up to 12 months for those affected by the coronavirus. When individuals finally get their mortgage representatives on the phone, many are surprised to hear the “fine print” of the offer—from freezing payments only with a refinance, to allowing their customers to freeze, only to have to pay the lump sum at the end of the deferment period.
I’ve also heard from hospitality managers who say that their (International) companies have slashed their salaries in half, revoked the option for employees to take vacation or sick time or work from home, and scheduled them for 6 days per week. They are diligently promoting to-go orders, scrubbing restaurants, and generally still being overworked, despite low demand for orders. The messaging to the public, however, is “we are here for you during this crisis.”
The companies who come out on top, all things said and done, will not be the tone-deaf corporations who send out regularly-scheduled emails and stick to their current messaging. The companies who “win” at marketing long-term will be those who:
Audit current messaging and offerings
Develop a strategy to change or tweak that messaging in light of current events and future uncertainty
Decide how to best offer virtual or new products or services to their customers
If possible, create community between your customers and build up your digital presence
Execute a messaging, positioning and customer relations strategy that leads with empathy and shows the vulnerability of the individuals that make up the organization
As a professional marketer, lifelong student of marketing, and a customer in a capitalist society, I understand that the normal approach is to tell customers why they need what you’re selling. As an empath, I know that that messaging is not going to help heal the collective consciousness right now.
People’s “needs” are dwindling and priorities are changing. If we as marketers recognize that—from a human standpoint—and put human connection and experience before profits, for the time being, we will be better off in the long run.
If you’re looking for a positioning audit, get in touch with me!