Messaging Strategies That Meet the Needs of Today’s Consumer

April 30, 2020

Bill Schneider

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, including how consumers want brands to engage with them. In times like these, consumers want brands to deliver experiences that meet their new needs with empathy, care, and concern.

And they don’t want just lip-service. They want brands to provide tangible support that helps their communities get through this crisis.

One of the ways brands can do this is by helping those who help others. According to new research from Edelman, 89% of consumers want brands to offer lower priced products to health care workers and other profoundly affected populations.

The people most impacted by the pandemic agree.

We surveyed nearly 2,400 people who the coronavirus has pushed to the front lines or impacted disproportionately, such as healthcare workers, first responders, teachers, and students. More than 90% of them said that receiving a personalized offer would positively impact their brand relationships.

Giving Consumers What They Need

When it comes to supporting these consumers, substance matters. According to our survey, they want personalized offers that make an immediate and tangible difference, such as free shipping, 20% off purchases, or free gifts. Offers that were more abstract, such as loyalty points, VIP experiences, and additional support held less appeal.

The good news for brands is that if they take this approach, consumers will feel emotionally supported and respond with greater loyalty. Nearly 70% said they would feel thankful and more than half would respond by shopping with the brand more frequently.

Better still, 61% of these consumers would promote the brand to friends and family, and 96% would share the personalized offer with others who were eligible for it. That’s powerful word-of-mouth marketing that carries a message of goodwill.

Want to see how your brand can hit the right note with your messaging during the pandemic?

You can gain more insight by watching an on-demand webinar hosted by CommerceNext: Tailoring Messaging in the Wake of COVID-19. You’ll learn how brands are engaging customers with successful messaging, and you’ll hear from FabFitFun whose recent personalized offer from medical workers was so popular it ran out in a single day!