Coronavirus and Marketing Automation: Let's Be Careful Out There

I'm no stranger to writing about disaster preparedness and crisis management. I live in an area where we get hit with a hurricane every few years. And while we're in uncharted waters here with the COVID-19 Coronavirus, there are some things that marketers forget about doing in times of crisis.

I will leave up to the medical professionals to discuss what needs to be done to protect yourself from the virus, other than to say it’s a very fluid and dangerous situation, so please take is seriously.

That said, marketers and business owners, here's a list of items you need to review:

1. Let’s talk about your tone: I received the below emails last Thursday (March 12), and they are completely tone deaf. The subject line for the email I got from Spirit Airlines says it all, "Never A Better Time To Fly." And while I certainly understand that Spirit still needs to fill seats on its planes, maybe it could have come up with a better subject line considering the times?
2. In my favorite gaffe email of the day (and I'm not taking political sides here; in fact, I get emails from both parties), our president literally invited me to dinner.
3. Which brings me to point No. 3. Please take a look at your marketing automation campaigns. It may be time to cancel some, tweak some of the copy in others, add some new ones, etc. We tend to set-em-and-forget-em, but unless you want to put a negative ding on your brand image, have a look at what you're sending out — especially in these unprecedented times.

I hope these concepts help. I wrote this quickly given the fluid situation surrounding COVID-19; there are many more things you can do as a marketer in times of crisis. Please be safe!