As marketers, our prime focus should be on those numbers – conversions, clicks, likes. Endless KPIs vie for the attention but consciously or subconsciously, we don’t account for the critical marketing element – People.
In terms of success, marketing is about that “Connection with People”. A brand that dispenses that human connection in becoming a part of their customers’ lives ultimately gets forgettable.
The social separation that has induced voids in our lives let’s put this on catastrophic pandemic for creating the craving of ‘Being Social. This resulted in increased demands for that human connection; the same is expected from brands to take stands on what matters.
By the way, why brands can’t be human? At least they should; that’s what is expected while business demands to adapt the brand voice and advertising. It drives connections and conversions; keep it empathetic and passionate.
The journey from Connection to Conversion
Backed by Nielson, consumers are more loyal to brands that create customer experience on authentic notes. When brands feel like humans, 80% of consumers will likely buy their products/services. Plus, ads produce that effect.
For human-centered marketing, there is a bottom line value, a shift to consumer experience from traditional approaches big time, and an update on conversational and connective approaches. Develop a new playbook and new rules to engage your consumers.
Humanized CX Strategy –
Brands should acknowledge that some global events or crises loom in the background. They can’t press that ‘off’ button on advertising in a sudden manner. Best for this, Keep it Simple and Sincere. Follow em’ –
Acknowledge customer pain points and solve them through products and services.
Inculcate and communicate your added value to your highly segmented audience.
Be in your customer’s skin. Pay attention to the communication. Be updated on current events to maintain the right tone.
Cater for the persona in a sense that makes your consumer feel that the solutions are tailored for them.
3C’s of customer communication that every brand should align –
● Connections –
Manage lifecycles and harness segmentation to convey the right message at the right time with the right customers.
● Clarity –
Be in front of your offerings. Don’t be a scapegoat.
● Consistency –
Empathy and compassion transcend all borders. Your brand voice should be reflected in your marketing messages. This will allow you to build trust across all channels.
Infusing emotion into customer lifecycle management
Marketers have relied on their intuitions and data about their audience to create their marketing messages in the past. This approach is not practical in today’s market. It’s too wide-ranging and slow. More than 70% of consumers respond only to personalized messages. Marketers need to develop a new brand marketing strategy backed by technology to create human-driven, personalized messaging on a large scale.
Because most modern marketing strategies focus on personalized messaging at the right place and time based on customers’ past behaviour, purchasing history, or demographic data. Marketers typically use less than 5% of data to make decisions. This means that messaging is often ineffective at building relationships with customers. Marketers must also consider how consumers feel about brands, as over half expect them to connect with them.
Marketers can now use new technology to enter their copy into AI software that will evaluate the effectiveness of the message in eliciting the desired emotion. Marketers should not guess what to write for each segment, however well-informed that guess may be. Instead, they should consider the emotions their customers are feeling.
Marketers can enhance a strong segmentation strategy, human-centric marketing approach, and new software and technology to humanize their brands in real-time in a way that feels authentic and leads to powerful results. According to research, 70% of people who felt intense emotional reactions to advertisements claimed that they were “highly likely to purchase a product.” This is a significant difference from 30% who experienced a moderate reaction.
Putting the ‘human’ back in marketing
The targeted messaging that succeeds today has an emotional component. Consumers are more likely to trust brands that feel more human in communication across all channels.
Mobile apps that allow you to check in with your target audience and add a fun element or surprise can be a great example of emotion-driven marketing campaigns.
Humanness is essential when it comes to your customers and your bottom line. You must understand your customers and their emotional drives. This is the key.
