Brand Experience & Customer Experience – Winning hearts & minds
February 2018
A 2017 study by Trinity Mirror and Ipsos Connect revealed some alarming statistics for brand owners that should make them sit up and take note. The research suggested consumers trust “almost nothing” when it comes to brands and advertising. While almost half of consumers (42%) distrust brands, 69% distrust advertising and a further 58% of adults don’t trust a brand until they have seen ‘real world proof’ that it has kept its promises.
Step forward brand experience and customer experience – two disciplines growing in sophistication and sphere of influence for brands from both a strategic and implementation perspective. Customer Experience (CX) and Brand Experience (BX) require a top down approach and C-Suite Executives must increasingly demonstrate the importance they play across organisations. Where there is inherent cynicism amongst consumers, particularly towards global brands that are seen to be either out of touch, or pushy and intrusive, the power of a positive, engaging and personalised experience simply cannot be underestimated.
At Purity we endorse the harmonisation CX and BX in the creation and delivery of effective campaigns for our clients. Understanding consumers therefore is key. An appreciation of attitude, mindset and purchasing behaviour are all at the heart of how we devise solutions for our clients. Woven into our approach is the education that we inculcate into our staff representing our clients on campaigns providing a seamless customer experience, serving to augment the overall brand experience.
We have developed our own Customer Experience Programme (CEP) in consultation with key stakeholders, clients and staff. This initiative identifies a number of critical success factors sitting at the heart of positive CX. At the heart of this is an overwhelming need for the delivery of any campaign and communication to stay true to the brand aspiration.
How can Brand Experience and Customer Experience coalesce to create brand devotion?
1. Accelerate discovery – deliver a compelling customer experience journey that enables consumers to engage with the brand on a personal level. In the age of the experience economy, create an environment that educates and informs whilst also allowing for a sense escapism. No two consumers are the same and as such the experience should always be tailored to allow for this. In many respects the experience should be a two-way process with the brand [ambassadors] asking questions that enables the consumer to be enlightened about how the product or service is relevant to them. Deliver the experience in a genuine manner at all times ensuring all face-to-face interactions are consistent with online and retail experiences.
2. Create brand advocates, fans and followers through consistently passionate, knowledgeable and engaging brand ambassadors. 95% of customers have taken action as a result of a bad experience be that warning others, venting disappointment or awaiting a response from the company. Conversely 55% of customers are willing to recommend a company due to outstanding service. Even more interestingly, 85% would pay up to 25% more to ensure a superior customer service experience. These figures alone point to the opportunity for brands. Good experiences can grab customers… and keep them. An overwhelming 83% of customers trust independent sources with whom then have a personal relationship with over advertising. Brands must create advocates through positive experiences to drive this trusted world of mouth commercial opportunity.
3. Enable brands to grow and develop by continually improving the service proposition through the application of the CEP. No brand should stand still and equally no customer experience proposition should ever stand still. Brands must move with the times to no only keep pace with customers and changing expectations but seek to stay ahead of them. Companies must take a pro-active approach in understanding the mindset of customers from the awareness stage, through to the buying process and finally through the after-sales period. A recent survey also validates this – Companies that provide a customer-centric experience are 60% more profitable than their competitors.
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To understand how Purity can shape the experiential marketing strategy for your brand, please contact our team today.
