Spoiler alert! There are a million different ways (educated guess) I’ve researched this in some depth and discovered a route back to branding. This article offers suggestions to consider, the results are tested too.
LOVE YOUR CUSTOMERS
It’s the ‘Age of the Customer’, the era of the ‘Internet of Me’. Brand names and physical footprints are no longer the decision-drivers they once were. Consumers have turned their trust to whatever they can pull up on their smartphones, from peer reviews to best-selling item rankings.
Trends like these have triggered seismic shifts in the brand-customer relationship. For example, a brand must now demonstrate its care and commitment to the consumer before the consumer will commit to the brand. And what criteria do consumers use to determine that “this brand cares about me”? The benchmark is being set by brands like Amazon, Uber and Starbucks that excel at using technology to recognise individual customers and apply their knowledge of each person to deliver experiences that are personalised, connected, and easy.
1. 72% of customers say they only consider brands that show they understand and care about “me.”
Old thinking: Brand marketing aims to change consumer perceptions and behaviours in order to make people care about the brand.
New thinking: A brand must now demonstrate commitment to the consumer and make the consumer feel wanted before the consumer will commit to the brand. When returning customers interact with a brand, they expect to be instantly recognised and receive a customised experience based on their prior brand interactions. The payoff for the brand: over half of consumers feel more loyal to brands that show a deep understanding of the consumer’s priorities and preferences (54% UK).
2. 85% of customers (aged 24-45) all brands against the yardstick of mobile experience leaders like Amazon and Starbucks.
Old thinking: A brand’s competitive set is other brands in the same category.
New thinking: Consumers now evaluate every brand experience against their best experience across all product and service categories. “Best” is defined by customer experience innovators like Amazon, Airbnb, Uber and Starbucks, Specifically, consumers say the best brands make their lives easier, exceed their (already high) expectations and push the boundaries with product and service innovation.
3. 89% of UK based customers believe mobile enables them to make better purchasing decisions.
Old thinking: A great customer experience doesn’t have to involve any mobile tools.
New thinking: It’s virtually impossible to measure up to the “best” brands without a fast, intuitive mobile website and app. A great mobile tool needs to integrate seamlessly into an omni-channel brand experience that includes other devices and physical venues. The brand thereby proves its commitment to the customer at every human, physical and digital touchpoint.
“Your brand holds much more value than the price you pay.“ To demonstrate this, “How does [the phone you use/the car you drive, the supermarket you shop at/walking into a fine dining restaurant/a dive bar] make you feel?” How does your brand make your customers feel? Let’s find out together.
If you are ready to answer your own question, “how to win more customers?” then contact me and I we will work together to present your business and love, to your customers.
Thank you for reading.
A.