Email: Isn't It About Communicating?

The global financial meltdown reminds us again how important good communications are in our societies.

In 1929, the United States experienced a major stock-market crash, which precipitated disastrous bank runs – thousands of account-holders descended on their local financial institutions, demanding their life savings in cash – and contributed to what we now call The Great Depression.

As news spread over the last few weeks about potential failures in the financial markets, the specter of the bank run rose again as people talked again about withdrawing their hard-earned money before it disappeared.

But it didn't happen and isn't likely to happen in most countries throughout the world. I believe we will avoid failure because of the systems and protections enacted throughout the world to avert these runs and because of the instantaneous nature of communications.

While TV, radio and the Internet alerted people to the financial-system meltdown, customers could go online and read press releases from the affected banking institutions and government bodies and be reassured that their savings were either insured or protected.

Where does email come in to play? I personally have direct relationships with three financial institutions (not including credit-card issuers, mutual funds, etc.). Only one of them has reached out to communicate with me about the market turbulence in the last few weeks.

This company has sent me three separate emails, all meant to educate and reassure me about my accounts and status of the financial markets.

One of the other institutions is, in fact, a well-known bank that has been in the headlines in the last few days as pieces of the bank will be sold to another bank. But nary a communication from them. Nothing. Zilch. Nada.

As marketers, we spend most of our time talking about things such as customer acquisition, conversion rates, average order size, revenue per email and other short-term top-line-oriented metrics.  But, at its core, email is still a communications channel from consumer to consumer and between businesses and consumers.

The emails I received from the one financial institution recognized that we had a relationship and sought to strengthen it through timely, candid and reassuring communications.

My point here is not to talk about the quality of crisis communications but to make us think about all the ways to use email beyond the typical approach of sell, sell, sell.

For most businesses and consumers, email is still the most efficient and quickest way to communicate. When developing your email program and communication cadence, build in the aspect of basic, value-added communications: keeping your subscribers and customers up-to-date on both good and bad news.

It might be as simple as a notice that a popular product is out-of-stock, a bulletin that seminar registration is full, a Web site will be down for maintenance, or you have to add a fuel surcharge because of higher jet-fuel costs.

At its core, email is a communications vehicle, not a just billboard for your latest free-shipping offer. Use email for all it can be.

Comments

[Margaret Farmakis]

Great points. These marketers are missing a huge opportunity to connect with their customers and address what has surely become the “elephant in the room,” especially for those institutions that have found their financial and legal difficulties splashed across the headlines.

We all know that times are tough, and will probably only be getting tougher. Why not use email to strengthen and build relationships by directly addressing customers’ financial concerns and fears? One of the many great things about this channel is its ability to immediately engage with subscribers while providing numerous opportunities for feedback and interactivity.

Financial services companies have typically been slower than other vertical markets to embrace the relationship-building power of email, and have often taken a conservative approach to customer communications. What better time than now to humanize the market crisis and send email that is truly relevant? Chances are, as your post suggests, customers are actually anticipating this and waiting for the institutions they rely upon for their financial planning needs and - to a degree - their financial security, to show that they are as concerned as their customers and are doing everything they can to right any wrongs.

Rather than continuing to send email as though it’s “business as usual,” now is the perfect time for these companies to connect with customers at an emotional level, and give them exactly what they want and need: the truth.

[Loren McDonald]

Clint - My comments weren't intended to be specific to banks, but you are correct - the postal mailbox does seem to have a LOT of messages from financial institutions. In my example, I or my wife have online banking accounts with all three institutions - so how tough would it have been to send an email from the CEO, branch manager or someone - meant to educate, assure and calm fears?

[Clint Steiner]

agree - banks could be way better about collecting emails and communicating information.

I still get direct mail junk in the mail but very little email.

[Loren McDonald]

Tamara - Absolutely. As marketers we tend to be so focused on trying to get recipients to respond to our messaging and goals - we sometimes forget that consumers also have a number of reasons of when and what they want to hear from us.

Loren

[Tamara Gielen]

I couldn't agree more with you Loren!

Email marketing isn't only a direct marketing channel, it's a channel that is also used by PR and spokespeople to talk to their stakeholders, by HR to talk to employees, etc

Us in the email marketing industry typically only focus on the direct marketing part when we talk about email but we shouldn't forget that that is only a part of what email can be used for.