The day after the tragic earthquake in Christchurch, Expedia made the epic blunder of emailing its Australian database to promote cheap holidays in New Zealand, and illustrated the offer with a large image of Christchurch Cathedral’s spire, which was of course destroyed in the quake.
A sincere apology was delivered to the same subscriber group from the General Manager of Expedia Australia and New Zealand the following day.
Subject line: Hurry! New Zealand 72hr Sale Ends Soon
Subject line: Apologies from Expedia
Apology emails are never an easy campaign to pull together. However it is an effective way to quickly, correct a mistake in an earlier communication or apologise for any disruptive online or offline issues. And on a positive note apology emails can actually turn out to be some of the best performing campaigns due to the cut through they create.
So what makes a good apology email?
- Speed – send the apology as quickly as possible, but do take the time to make sure there are no issues or mistakes with the content!
- Make it clear you are apologising in the subject line – creating the vital cut through mentioned above.
- Guys give flowers, companies give free shipping, discounts, etc – an offer is generally not required with apologies to communication mistakes, more with downtime to a site or anything that has been detrimental to your customers.
- Use humour appropriately – this may be appropriate with minor mistakes, however with sensitive issues such as Expedia’s faux pas, humour is not recommended.
- Sign off from an Executive when apologising for any major issues.
Other examples:
Subject line: We’re So Sorry!
Subject line: Email Error – Duplicate Send
Subject line: A message to all our customers
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