I’m Ready to Move on, and So Are Your Customers

During the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers appreciated hearing more frequently from companies and felt that companies communicated with the right tone and content, but fatigue has set in and consumers are ready to move on and hear about something else now, Mitto, a provider of omnichannel communications solutions, found following a recent survey.

Forty-one percent of consumers are ready right now to hear from companies about topics unrelated to COVID-19, rather than next week, next month, or later this year.

The research found that 77 percent of consumers felt that the messages they received from companies in the past few weeks have made them feel like those companies cared about their well-being and 30 percent felt companies made them less anxious.

Additionally, 53 percent of consumers said they were hearing from companies more often in the past few weeks, and 73 percent also agreed that this increase in contact was appropriate. In fact, 58 percent welcomed communication about changes to the business that could affect them during the crisis. Very few (11 percent) said they were not interested in hearing anything from companies regarding COVID-19.

When asked which types of messages consumers wanted from companies during the crisis, special offers and coupons ranked highest over availability of services, product updates, and satisfaction surveys, indicating an appetite among many consumers to spend.

But, now consumers have had enough. Companies, they said, successfully built strong relationships with them, and as a result, they want and expect to hear from these companies during both normal and difficult times. 

"The crisis has been a challenging time for all businesses around the world, and marketers are required to be mindful of how, where, and how frequently they engage with their customers," says Andrea Giacomini, CEO of Mitto. "Fortunately, marketers have more technologies than ever before at their disposal to better understand the pulse of their customers and, as our survey showed, they have generally been quite successful with their communication approaches during such a complex period. As we move out of this crisis, brands and their marketers must not underestimate the value of building strong customer relationships during normal times that get tested during tough times."