How brands can use fandom to reinvent customer experience

The strongest customer relationships are based on shared passions. Brands that have built equity in passion points such as sports or gaming can create a much deeper connection with their customers. If you want to convert fans into customers, you need to take CX to the next level by creating passion-point-centered experiences. You also need to understand how customer passions influence their buying behaviors and expectations of brands.

Today’s fans have unlimited access to their passions. We all know that gen Z spends significant amounts of their days flicking between social apps, streaming video, and playing computer games. They’re exposed to an overwhelming amount of content across a multitude of channels. This makes it increasingly difficult for brands to get cut through because they find themselves competing for attention with a tidal wave of passion-point experiences and content.

Fans struggle to trust brands they don’t already have a relationship with. They increasingly rely on recommendations from influencers within their passion space. And when it’s finally time to transact, brands had better be ready – because fans have short attention spans. They demand an immediate and seamless buying experience, so they can get back to what they love – playing video games and watching sport.

The future of CX

First and foremost, marketers need to think less about winning share-of-wallet, and more about winning hearts and minds. Customers don’t want to be advertised to. They want entertaining and high-value experiences. These experiences need to provoke strong positive emotions to increase brand attraction and involvement. This is why more brands are entering passion points like sports and gaming.

For brands to get cut-through in these spaces, they need to go beyond sponsorship and contextual advertising. This means CX planning requires deep understanding of customer passions and high levels of creativity and innovation.

Secondly, brands need to show up naturally in channels where customers are already fulfilling their passions. Metaverse, mobile apps and social shopping become increasingly important as they enable brands to merge commerce and entertainment, and create a bridge between digital and physical worlds. Conversely, brand websites become less relevant as commerce is increasingly integrated directly into apps and experiences, enabling customers to purchase spontaneously through a wider range of channels.

Thirdly, to win trust and show up authentically, marketers need an influencer strategy that connects them to customer passions. This goes beyond using influencers just to get reach, but as a red thread that reinforces every step of the customer journey. Influencer-generated content can be used through paid media, in product reviews, and even on product display pages to increase conversion.

Building cultural relevance through CX

The brands leading the future of CX are those that have the best understanding of fans. They also use CX to stay at the forefront of fan culture.

Take Nike: one of several apparel brands actively shaping fan culture by creating innovative and high-value customer experiences through sports and gaming. How?

1. Reimagining the app

For Nike, the app becomes a space to seamlessly blend entertainment and commerce. In the words of the brand itself, “the Nike App has everything you need to keep moving”.

The app has been designed as a one-stop destination combining “shopping, stories and experience”. It includes a range of entertaining fan content, including pro coaching sessions delivered by Nike athletes. Users are given personalized recommendations, access to exclusive product, and the chance to seamlessly buy direct from a marketplace.

2. Innovating in the metaverse

The brand uses metaverse tech to build an immersive and playable brand experience. Take Airphoria, Nike’s immersive world built in Fortnight. This virtual city is an homage to everything Nike and presents a new way for gamers to completely immerse themselves in the brand. Players can purchase outfits worn by Airphoria characters in the game’s item shop. A limited Airphoria-inspired collection of physical products has also been released.

3. Using AR to gamify shopping

Bridging digital and physical worlds, the Nike+ Snkrs app is aimed at sneakerheads. It guides them to exclusive drops and gamifies the buying experience. It does this by prompting customers to find images or photos in the wild, and then uses augmented reality to unlock a purchasing window within the app. Customers are then directed to a physical spot where they can buy a limited-edition shoe. 

Turning fans into customers

Marketers who are attuned to the needs and behaviors of fans are best-placed to reinvent the customer experience. Those who are leading in CX want to create more than just transactional relationships. They flex a deep understand of customer passion-points and use creative and technical innovation to immerse and entertain.

For brands that get it right, high-value experiences turn fans into customers and increase their relevance in culture. For fans, making a purchase from these brands becomes another way of expressing their passion.