RESEARCH & MARKETING BLOG
How sensitive should brands be?
The trend of ‘op-out’ etiquette in consumer marketing.
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We’ve all noticed increased sensitivity by the gift market brands in their approach to national holidays and events. They are keen not to offend or anger their followers and consumers inadvertently and want to appear more in touch, more aware and as a brand that cares.
Opting out of seasonal messages
Do you want to opt-out of our Father's Day promotion?
The greeting card brands are perhaps where we’ve become more aware of a shift in approach. They are communicating the big dates on their calendars, such as Mother’s Day and Fathers Day, with a lot more sensitivity. Many are offering consumers the chance to opt-out of promotions for these occasion cards. This is a clear acknowledgement that not all their followers and customers have a mother or father.
This is astute, this enables their marketing budget to be more efficiently targeted at the consumers most likely to buy the products. Is there a bigger motivation though? By giving a consumer the chance to opt-out of communications that they find either upsetting or irrelevant, that consumer is less likely to unsubscribe altogether. The brand retains its database and can target the marketing budget more effectively. Win:Win.
How appreciated are brands for showing sensitivity?
We conducted a survey about this shift in communication from brands, and the results were surprising. Our survey concluded that the perceived upset is greater among those whose parents are still alive than those whose parents have actually passed.
Among those with both parents alive, 37% stated that they would be upset about receiving promotions on Mother's/Fathers' Day. However, of those whose parents had passed, just 12% answered that it did upset them.
Interestingly, 71% of all respondents felt that it was correct to ask customers if they wished to opt out, but a sizeable 38% felt that it wasn’t a big issue if brands didn’t follow this etiquette. Delving deeper, only 9% of those without parents actually found the communications relating to Mother's/Fathers' Day irritating.
Perhaps most crucially of all, only 4% of respondents with no parents felt that the communications would affect them to the extent they would buy from other brands. So perhaps the fears of losing a customer to a competitor or them hitting the ‘Unsubscribe’ link due to the odd irrelevant promotion are also more perception-based?