In this day and age in which we can easily segment our customers, you should always look to tailor your messages to these segments instead of sending blanket messages to everyone, which is usually far less effective.
Recently, Amazon sent an email to all guest members of Prime that said, “You are currently enjoying Prime’s fast, free delivery as an invited guest of a Prime member through the Prime Invitee program. We want to inform you that this program will end on October 1, 2025, after which you will no longer have access to the shared Prime shipping benefit.”
I was confused by this message because I am an Amazon Family member. My initial interpretation was that Amazon was ending the family memberships and that I would no longer have access to Prime unless I started my own subscription.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only person who had these thoughts, as three days later, Amazon sent a clarification. It said, “This email is to provide more information about a recent email you received regarding the Prime Invitee Program. As you are currently an Amazon Family member, your current Prime benefits will continue uninterrupted. No action is required. We apologize for any inconvenience or confusion our previous message may have caused.”
What Amazon should have done was either send the initial message to subscribers who weren’t already Amazon Family members or send a separate message to Amazon Family members with the intent of keeping them apprised.
For example, a software I subscribe to sent me this message about a recent update: “We’re introducing usage limits for our public APIs and Webhooks, starting from your next renewal date following October 18th, 2025. Based on your current usage, this update won’t affect how you use [software] – we’re reaching out just to keep you informed.”
So now I’m aware of these subscription changes, even though they don’t affect me today, because they could someday.