Agility as seen by our Belgian clients

Agility as seen by our Belgian clients

The health crisis as seen by our clients

Generally speaking, as we have already mentioned, consumers require special attention and expect, even more than before, to be kept informed of the ins and outs of events that have a direct impact on their consumption habits and customer journey.

Physical distancing but not social distancing

At present, the day-to-day work of marketers is being disrupted by the Covid-19 health crisis, which has led to lockdown measures and the closure of a large number of businesses and shops. So, naturally, consumers are asking questions: what about physical and online shopping? What will happen to orders placed before the lockdown was imposed? What new ways of contacting businesses and making purchases have been developed in response to these quarantine measures? What about customer service?

Physical distancing is certainly the order of the day, but social distancing is not. So, naturally, every marketer has had to demonstrate agility and inventiveness in order to maintain relationships with their customers.

Here’s a brief overview of the best communication initiatives launched by our clients using Actito’s marketing automation.

Stay in touch with your customers, just like Caméléon

Amidst all the measures and changes linked to the health crisis, customers are also wondering what their shopping options are. As Caméléon has done, maintaining a relationship of trust with customers by sending them email campaigns that allow them to find out more about what’s happening within the company’s teams helps to provide complete transparency on the situation.

Indeed, keeping consumers informed is essential, and Caméléon has understood this very well: by sending out an informative campaign about the change in opening hours introduced in the first half of March – just a few days before the official announcement of the national lockdown – Caméléon demonstrated its commitment to and trust in its members. Just four days later, Caméléon had to deal with the announcement of shop closures and the lockdown imposed across Belgium. Every member therefore received an email in their inbox informing them of the complete closure of private trading posts . The message highlights the civic-mindedness shown by the Caméléon teams, who recognise the importance of complying with the measures imposed by the government for the good of everyone, including Caméléon members. With an open rate of around 30 per cent, the campaigns did not significantly affect unsubscribe rates, which remain below 0.5 per cent.

In short, there’s no secret to it: stay in touch with your customers and trust them. By emphasising the human touch during such unusual times, your readers will understand that these communications come not just from brands, but also from people who, like them, are affected by the health crisis.

Adapt your communications and offer inspiring ideas, Colmar-style

Can’t talk about the new in-store promotions? Why not broaden your communication by addressing topics related to your core business and highlighting your brand values and the human side of your company?

The Belgian restaurant chain Colmar has opted to develop its cross-channel communication via email campaigns and posts on its preferred social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram. The aim? To inspire their customers to continue discovering new dishes from the comfort of their own homes. From recipes to try at home, to ‘Colmar’ playlists, and even lists of handy tips for staying in touch with grandparents, Colmar has highlighted its ‘customer-focused’ DNA – a ‘family-run business for families’ – by sharing messages tailored to its audience, despite being unable to continue serving them in its restaurants.

By breaking down its key messages into smaller communications in dedicated posts, Colmar ensures a consistent presence on social media and ongoing interaction with its target audience. For Colmar, the aim was to boost its social media presence and maintain the frequency of its email campaigns via Actito.

Being present wherever it’s relevant, and continuing to inspire and encourage people to stay connected to your brand, allows you to maintain customer relationships despite the pause in your business activities.

Informing and raising awareness amongst readers in a smart way, as seen by the Belgian Red Cross

For the Belgian Red Cross, the spread of the coronavirus across Belgium disrupted the daily lives of all team members, including volunteers. Following the introduction of the lockdown, the Belgian Red Cross centralised information relating to the virus on a dedicated page. This page was then used as the main information hub to which every email communication linked, enabling readers to access all useful information relating to Covid-19.

Communication during a health crisis such as the one we are currently experiencing has expanded the Red Cross’s communication initiatives. Whilst continuing to use its main channels – namely its website, email campaigns run via Actito and social media posts – the Red Cross primarily called for donations and volunteers, particularly via online forms. The impact of these forms has been such that calls for volunteers have had to be put on hold, as the influx of volunteers has far exceeded all expectations!

Furthermore, because this is an unprecedented situation affecting everyone’s daily lives, readers feel the need to find out more. This is why the Belgian Red Cross has opted for transparency regarding the situation faced by its teams by launching a ‘Covid-19 Mission Log’, enabling Red Cross first-aiders to bring their daily working lives to life through log entries made available to readers via their newsletter.

Not about over-communicating...

… but rather, the right message at the right time. Of course, this message is important. This has not prevented the Belgian Red Cross, for example, from maintaining its usual mailing frequency (namely, once a month). Combined with campaigns targeted at more specific audiences (volunteers, in particular, who are in much greater demand than usual), in order to encourage the audience to make a donation, the marketing initiative remains informative and helps to maintain contact, whilst asking for donations without cluttering up the audience’s inboxes or overwhelming them with a flood of poorly targeted information. Caméléon follows this same principle by staying close to its audience and maintaining a human touch in its communications – thanking them, highlighting the solidarity required in such a situation, and so on. Similarly, Colmar is continuing to post its quirky content on social media to maintain the customer relationship it has built up whilst waiting, like the rest of us, for life as we know it to return to normal.