How to build a brilliant brand with meaningful communications

Kim Johal (senior retail lead, Infobip) discusses how brands can create meaningful customer-first connections and what you need to do to achieve this

There was a time when exclusivity was a key selling point – a one-size-all-fits approach where marketing made customers feel how special the product is.

However, the tables have now turned: it’s not exclusivity that sells, but inclusivity. To build a meaningful brand, businesses need to be customer-first, bringing on the need for inclusive marketing and conversational design, reimagining the one-size-fits-all approach.

Being customer-first

The experiences that brands create for customers determine their loyalty. Yes, as a brand you can market offers, products, freebies, etc., but these are all perks. To be customer-first you need to build meaningful experiences. Experiences are the daily interactions customers have with your brand across all your channels.

And these experiences are the opportunities that help you create meaningful connections with existing customers, acquire new ones, prevent churn, and win new subscribers.

Factors that make you customer-first:

• Personalization: Data-driven interactions leading to personalized offers that convert
• Proactivity: Using customer data to send informed messages at the right time, and on the right channel.
• Consistency: Omnichannel enables consistent messaging across all channels.
• Value: Increase cross-selling and upselling by successfully answering queries and helping customers at every touchpoint.
• Empathy: Being there for your customers with always-on service, on every channel without them having to repeat themselves. Making them feel understood and valued.

An omnichannel communication approach has become an integral part of the customer experience puzzle. However, to do that it is important for businesses to understand where customers stand today and their brand perception.

Omnichannel brings out the meaningful connection

Overwhelming digitization means businesses need to up their emotional quotient and go back to the basics of customer communications – the human connection.

Customers have reshaped the way they communicate, forcing businesses to go back to the drawing board and rethink their messaging strategies. The pandemic, coupled with lockdowns around the world, has made customers seek contactless human interactions, resulting in increased usage of digital channels – be it chat apps, email, SMS, or video calls. Digital channels have also taken over as the primary interface of your company, replacing the friendly face of in-person staff, leading to the need for personalized, omnichannel customer engagement.

Getting there can be just as challenging as it seems. In fact, according to our Customer Engagement Report, 74% of customers find business messaging lacks a personalized, human connection. Missing that human touch can alienate more than half of your customer base, with 54% of surveyed customers saying impersonal, generic messaging annoys them.

Amidst the fast pace of digital transformation, the emotional connection with customers may have gotten lost.

Why a one-size approach doesn’t fit all

Working out what’s relevant to customers is a constant battle for brands, but it’s a must if they want to treat people as individuals, rather than taking a one-size-fits all approach.

Ultimately, those that understand relevance are best placed to match the right communication, with the right channel, for each and every customer.

That ‘right communication’ must be one that aligns with people’s wants and needs and contains the right content. 31% of people said they were more likely to engage with businesses that understood their desires when it comes to goods and services, while a similar amount (32%) said receiving communications that chime with their personal interests and preferences would have the same effect.

None of this can happen without the ‘right channel’ though, which is pivotal if businesses are to succeed.

And these channels aren’t simply for execution either – our research showed people were more likely to engage with businesses if they acknowledged their feedback (30%) and didn’t overcommunicate (26%) with them, highlighting why businesses need to understand how and when to use each channel.

With communication preferences varying significantly among consumers, it is up to businesses to understand their customers and proactively react to their behavior. To do this, they must take a personalized approach across a variety of different channels based on people’s preferences.

Most importantly, this ‘personalization’ shouldn’t just be limited to content – it should also determine the best channel, timing, tone of voice, and message for every interaction. Brands need to know the key moments when their customers want or are happy to hear from them.

These findings help focus our understanding that sending the right message on the right channel forms the basis of a successful lasting customers relationship and ultimately building a meaningful brand. And reminds us that the quality of omnichannel communications is key to brand building.

It’s time businesses started thinking about how they combine the right tone, the right message, and the right channel. It comes back to responding to people’s preferences, rather than sticking to tactics that annoy them, or focusing too much of their communications on channels that might suit the business, but not the customer.

Why brands must learn the right moment to change channels

Our research, combined with recent events, tells us businesses that are relevant, timely, and make the effort to be personal – by understanding their customers, and reacting to their behavior proactively - are likely to see better results in the long run. It varies across generations, but ultimately customers want to be valued and treated as individuals.

This pushes businesses to identify the right way to establish and grow connections. Communications need a human touch - they must ask themselves: what channel is right for each interaction I have with my customers?

While it will be different for each company, sector, and communication, at the heart of a lasting relationship, is the ability to offer personalized engagement across whatever channel the customer feels is appropriate, in a consistent manner, and at the right moment.

This means adopting an omnichannel approach to customer experience that harnesses the growing acceptance of digital means of communication to reach customers on their terms.

The current trends back the original purpose of most digital channels and that is connecting the world. So, brands who are looking to build meaningful connections will need to make a choice about how they will use their platforms. Some brands will continue to maintain business as usual, but those who want to leave an impact will choose to leverage communication platforms to pursue communications that’s greater than their bottom line.