If you’re sending out a regular stream of email campaigns to clients and prospects, it’s a cold reality that errors are occasionally made. The way you respond can often say more about your brand than the initial planned activity.

Let’s face it, like most things in life, no matter how careful you are and how meticulous your planning, sometimes things just don’t work out.

If you’re managing email campaigns then this could mean that there’s a spelling mistake, a missing image, a broken link or even that the email has been sent in error.

What do you do?

Don’t panic

You need a clear head to understand what has happened, how serious it is, what impact the error has had on your campaign and what do you need to do to rectify the situation.

Take responsibility

If it’s serious enough to warrant a response, then make sure you own up to the error.

We’ve seen instances where email campaigns have been corrected and then reissued immediately to the same list with no acknowledgement of what has gone wrong.

For those that saw the first email – but didn’t spot the error – they can feel like they are being bombarded by your brand.

And, as we know, becoming too intrusive can encourage people to switch off or ignore you in the future.

Clients and prospects are much more likely to respect brands that are honest than ones which bury their heads in the sand.

Show some personality

Your response is a great way to showcase some brand personality.

Take this recent example we received from FreeAgent:

The tone of the email is very much in line with their friendly, supportive and approachable brand.

They’ve owned up to the error and provided the link that was missing in the first email.

It’s not stuffy or faceless but inclusive and endearing – especially with the use of ‘Feeling sheepish,” as the sign off – showing empathy with others who’ve been in the same situation.

Interestingly, the email also gives them a second bite at the cherry – with another opportunity to push the key message from the first email.

Which doesn’t seem overkill because this is clearly a different email to the first.

In summary:

Keep calm, put your hands up, craft an apology email and be swift in your response.