What is the Thoughtful Marketing Movement?

Brands regularly fill our inboxes with content and promotions linked to special occasions, but what if you find these days difficult? For some, sensitive occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day can be upsetting.

That’s where thoughtful marketing comes in. In 2019, online florist Bloom & Wild gave their customers the opportunity to opt-out of Mother’s Day emails, and the Thoughtful Marketing Movement was born. This grew to offering opt-outs for other occasions including Father’s Day and Valentine’s Day. The campaign was mentioned in Parliament too, where Mark Warman MP suggested “if other companies were to follow suit, the dread…around this day might be mitigated for many people.”

Now, brands can sign up to join the campaign and commit to giving customers the option to avoid potentially upsetting content. Brands who have already joined the movement include Paperchase, Wagamama, The Telegraph, Matalan and many more household names.

Why thoughtful marketing matters

There are lots of reasons why an occasion might be difficult for someone. But at a time when many are separated from their loved ones due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, it’s even more important for brands to be sensitive when marketing big calendar events.

A key part of thoughtful marketing is to still communicate with customers who choose to opt-out. As Bloom & Wild suggest, “Tailor your marketing messages to your opted-out customers instead of going silent on them when these occasions approach.” Don’t neglect the opt-outers, but instead provide them with engaging content which won’t trigger negative emotions.

By allowing people to opt-out of certain marketing emails, a brand can show that it is considerate of its customers’ feelings around sensitive dates. In turn, this can help build trust in a brand by truly putting the customer first.

How to implement thoughtful marketing

It’s easy to offer your customers the option to not receive email reminders for special occasions, either via an online form or, as Bloom & Wild have done, with a customer preference centre. When a customer opts-out of emails around a specific occasion, segmenting your email database will allow you to protect them from sensitive subject matter and send them alternative content around difficult dates.

Thoughtful marketing treats the customer as an individual, not a number in a database. With the COVID-19 pandemic placing a greater focus on wellbeing and mental health, thoughtful marketing is a good place to start for the brand which wants to have a positive impact on its customers.

Unity Online can support your business with all aspects of email marketing, including segmenting your database and creating online forms to capture customer preferences. Get in touch to find out how we can help.