For a long time, we’ve been aware that people tend to make decisions based on emotion rather than logic. We marketers continue to try to appeal to consumers’ emotions and optimize customers’ experiences with the aim of building brand loyalty.
What happened to the actual connection?
We’ve lost the opportunity to create genuine moments in the rush to try and grab the emotions of consumers.
When a customer has a genuine experience with a brand, it’s not just a transaction—it is more. A genuine moment between a customer and a brand representative or a personal message can be as simple and straightforward as an interaction.
These moments may only last a few seconds, but their impact is lasting. Genuine moments and marketing can enhance the customer’s experience.
Consumers today have a wide range of choices and expect that you will compete to win their loyalty. As attention spans become shorter, it is more important than ever to make a mark. Forging an authentic connection can be crucial to securing your customer’s loyalty.
Making an Authentic Relationship
To start creating authentic moments, think of your client as a close friend. You can celebrate your friends by empathizing with them and listening to them. You are showing them how much you value them. This will help you create genuine moments with your customers.
You, as a company, must act and be human.
It can be not very safe; after all, a brand doesn’t really exist. If the people who represent your brand behave like friends and humans, that is how customers will perceive you. They will defend you in difficult times, celebrate your achievements, and thank you as a great brand.
The problem may be related to data. You may be either a small business with little data or too few employees to use it or a large company with a lot of data and no one to act upon it.
No matter how big or small your business is, the key to a successful marketing campaign is to treat customers like friends.
Real Marketing for Better Customer Experiences
When you have so many options for customer interaction, you don’t need to wait passively for genuine moments. It’s important to be personal. Forty-four percent of customers said they would return to a company after a personalized interaction. Some may even expect personalization.
Create genuine moments with your customers by implementing the six steps below.
Brand yourself and live it.
Show others every day how you would like your company to be perceived by living out your brand’s values and mission. You’ll see a positive effect when your employees understand that your company’s values are a part of your day-to-day.
Treat your employees as you would like them to treat their customers. Listen to your employees and give them praise. They will reciprocate by treating customers the same way.
Take advantage of your team’s collective wisdom.
Create a team of strategic collaborators that will bring together different perspectives and data and discuss the relationships with the customers you currently have and those you would like to develop.
Start by focusing on those who have direct contact with customers. Customer Service, Sales, and Marketing are all full of feedback and insights from customers. All of us are customers of other companies, so let everyone in the team share their experiences with brands.
Know your customers’ journey.
Every business must develop a Customer Life Cycle Touchpoint Strategy. It may sound not very easy, but it is simply a strategy you create and implement to ensure you don’t forget important moments. From a warm welcome to a milestone celebration, this plan will help you avoid missing any critical moments.
Think about all the touchpoints that your customers will have before, during, and after a sale (ideally a mixture of business and personal moments) and plan ways to trigger them automatically as often as you can.
Celebrate the customer and not the brand.
Birthdays are a natural event in the customer’s life cycle and should be included in your strategy as soon as possible. Consider how you go about it. While many marketers have birthday offers or programs, they don’t take the time to create a truly emotional connection in this moment.
Do not make the customer’s birthday a priority with your offer. A birthday is a celebration that is -specific. You should celebrate your customer’s special day.
Celebrate birthdays and beyond.
Your customers’ anniversaries are a great opportunity to create genuine moments. You can acknowledge the past, show your appreciation, and wish well for the future.
Take every chance you get to show appreciation- thanking your customers for their business is always time well spent- or, crucially, offer an apology when necessary. The way a company treats its customers when things don’t go well can make or break their brand.
Remember to show sympathy. If a client shares that they have just lost a family member, have the right tools available to express empathy.
Reach out with Meaning
Make your customer interactions meaningful, no matter what the touchpoint. Genuinely interacting with customers is possible through social expressions, such as sending greeting cards that include a personal note.
You have the chance to acknowledge something about the receiver while mentioning something about you. Business letters, emails, banner ads, commercials, or direct mailers do not give businesses the same permission as personal contact.