In the first blog post of the series, we spoke about defining your brand’s purpose and sharing it with the world and why that’s so necessary in the digital age. Customers want to know why they should choose you over the hundreds of other companies with similar products pushing ads in their faces on a daily basis.
So what happens when the customers believe in your purpose and decide to choose you? How do you continue to market to existing customers? Cue principle número dos:
Be Customer-centric
To maintain successful relationships with your customers, you need to consistently meet their needs and wants. That may sound obvious, but you’ll only know this by asking for feedback and communicating with them consistently- which is something a lot of brands neglect to do. The key word in this post is service. Your customers don’t exist to pay your bills or fund your vacations. Rather, you exist to serve them and make their lives better with your products. There are countless stories from successful entrepreneurs, who noticed positive changes to their revenue and brand reputation once they stopped thinking of business as how they can make money from their customers and started thinking about how they could make their (customers) lives better instead.
Focus on service and the money will come.
So what does customer service have to do with marketing in the digital age?
Well, consumers are more powerful than ever in the digital age. One bad experience with your brand and they can ruin your reputation instantly with a simple tweet,post, comment, etc. So, though this shouldn’t be your only motivation, you really have to be on your A-game when it comes to service.
Love it or hate it, you have to adapt, and in the digital age it’s all about creating the most amazing customer experiences possible. Because if you don’t, they’ll definitely go elsewhere.
Here are a few ways that you can maintain a customer-centric brand:
Know your customer so you can meet their needs:
Your product isn’t for everyone. No product is. Sure, in some cases it may solve a universal need but that doesn’t guarantee that customers will buy from your brand. So you need to define who your customer is based on what value you’re providing. The more specific your customer definition, the better. For example, let’s say you make crochet stuffed-animals. Your ideal customer would look a little something like this:
Mother of children between the ages of 1-5 years old.
-She has disposable income.
-Values getting material gifts for her children.
-Lives in Kingston, Jamaica.
Now let’s say after serving this customer for a while, you learn that a common factor among these mothers is that they work late days and don’t always get to spend quality time with their children before they get put to sleep. So you’re list would develop to:
Mother of children between the ages of 1-5 years old.
-She has disposable income.
-Values getting material gifts for her children.
-Lives in Kingston, Jamaica
-Works long days and misses quality time with her children.
Based on your developing customer definition from getting to know their needs over time, you would then be able to develop your product to meet those needs more effectively. So you’re product could develop from crochet stuffed-animals to crochet stuffed animals that have an inserted playback device that allows mothers to leave special messages for their kids when they can’t physically be there. That was a mouthful, but you get the picture :)
Of course, your ideal customer won’t be your only customer but they will be your core (target) customer that will be the main contributor to revenues. So it’s essential that you define your customer and do it early.
2. Communicate with customers effectively:
First, learn how to utilize a positive ‘you-attitude’ when you’re speaking to your customers. A you-attitude will solidify for your customers that you are committed to serving them and that they are your focus. Let’s be real, your customers primary focus is their needs being met. So flip the script!
For example, if you were communicating with a client via email, instead of saying “We will ensure that the package is delivered by 12 this afternoon.”, you could say “Your package is on its way. You will receive it by 12 this afternoon.” . Now, obviously as creative brands your emails to customers will be lighter and filled with energy, but I wanted to use a simple example to show the difference between the two attitudes. When you practice writing from a consumer’s perspective, it will not only reassure customers but it will also help you and your staff empathize with, and consider, them more. The example used may not have been life-changing but understand that once you start to use this attitude in the simplest of exchanges it will help set the foundation for the overall goal of becoming a customer-centric business.
The next tip for communicating is to actually be as clear as possible with customers. Never assume anything. If you’re not sure ask questions, and encourage them to! And DO NOT Exaggerate anything, understate anything or mislead your customers in anyway when marketing to them to make a quick sale. Always be as honest as you need to, because the goal shouldn’t be one-time sales. Prioritize building lasting relationships so that you can create loyal customers and make multiple sales instead.
3. Create Experiences:
There were many examples of this is at last year’s MoDA Market, but let’s use the experience that The Original Arm Candy created for customers as an example:
Instead of simply having their bracelets on display for persons to see, they went the extra mile and also had a “candy” bar that featured an TOAC team member making bracelets live for everyone to see! Which also gave customers the opportunity to make and customize their own bracelets right there on the spot.
So when it comes to your brand and customer service, get creative! Spend some time to think about how you can help potential customers experience your product to motivate a purchase. The more innovative the ideas the better! Because the end goal is to always set your brand apart from what everyone else is doing. So look at what you, and other brands like yours, are currently doing then try and poke holes in the concept. Think about how it could be better and that much more exciting- for your customers.
4. Encourage reviews:
There’s no better way to convince potential customers that your product is for them than testimonials from other satisfied customers. Just ensure that they’re genuine because people can see straight through staged reviews and your brand just ends up looking silly. So, if they’re willing, ask customers who have expressed that they’re satisfied to film a quick video explaining what they love about your product and that’s all you’ll need. You won’t need to add any call to actions or try to make the existing customers try to sell your products in the testimonials. Just let the authenticity of the video speak for itself. Written testimonials are okay, but we suggest video because it’s the most powerful tool you can use to engage your audience today.
Start implementing these 4 foundation practices in your business and you'll see a definite change in how your customers perceive your brand and the amount of loyal customers you attract! Until next time, keep being awesome :)
Written by: Noelle Black