What happens when companies embrace empathy?
An email I received this morning is a perfect example of corporate empathy not coming off as forced.
Image courtesy Sincerely Media
First, here’s the email from Trade Coffee:
Hi Katie,
My name is Paul and I’m a member of the Trade Customer Experience team. As folks deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, we wanted to send you a note to let you know that we are thinking of you and hope that you, your family, and your community are safe.
Managing a subscription shouldn’t be on your mind during a time like this, so if you need to make any modifications please just reply back and let us take care of it for you.
Kindly,
Paul
Trade Customer Experience Team
Here’s what Paul + the Trade team did right:
Personalization. You’re already storing your customers’ personal data, so use their first names when you email.
Stationery. This email came through without a company letterhead or branded stationery. It looks like a regular ol’ email. Is it? Doubtful. Does it feel like a one-to-one, handcrafted message to me, the consumer? Yes.
No discounts. You don’t have to offer a percentage off of your product to extend a helping hand. Here, what Trade is actually offering is to pause or make changes to a customer’s coffee subscription for them, which means less money for Trade.
It costs very little, in terms of energy, for a company to share empathy for hardship.
Another company whose thoughtful move made an impact is Yardstick. When our infant was unexpectedly hospitalized for a week and we needed immediate care for our dog, we turned to the new-to-us boutique dog hotel Yardstick. Not only was our pup happy with them — which is the priority — but their team was rooting for us. When we picked up our dog after her week’s stay, the team also handed over a stuffed dog who looks like our own Mandy.
The point is that acknowledging your audience’s realities is most successful when it’s humanized. As all the Bravo reality shows continue to remind us, care of their stars’ soliloquies, there is strength in vulnerability.
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