Just recently, I switched from a brand of internet service provider to another because I just was no longer connecting to them anymore. Why? I had been using this brand consistently for quite a while and not once did I feel appreciated or noticed for my loyalty. Not even a birthday text on my birthday or a thank you for being an esteemed customer.
I just felt like I did not mean a thing to them in spite of spending money on them on a regular basis, plus I kept having downtime issues with their service and I just could not take it any longer since they did not care to rectify my complaints.
I knew it would cost me a lot more to switch but I did switch to a new brand without any thought of the cost of switching.
I bet a lot of us feel like this with some of the brands we use. Unsatisfied, Rejected, No attention, Unappreciated… Just to describe it in not so many words. So why bother about feeling good about a brand?
Well, for me every one needs an emotional connection to everything we interact with as humans. This is the sole reason why we choose who we make friends with, do business with, get married to, associate with, etc.
Whether it is a product or a service, every brand lives to fulfill a promise and every brand strives to consistently live up to that promise no matter the circumstance- whether it’s a functional or an emotional promise.
However, fulfilling your brand promise through the functionality of your product is not just enough to keep me loyal to you.
As a brand there is a need for you to go one step further by creating an emotional bond. You may be asking why it should be this way. Well, as entrepreneurs or brandpreneurs, we all know that emotions matter, they drive relationships. I mean think about your own relationships with people, with brands, with products. We all have our preferred brands and the experiences associated with them. Studies in the past about loyalty and retention have found that brands that paid attention to ‘soft’ customer attributes like ‘friendliness’ or ‘caring’ have been rated higher on a satisfaction or performance scale.
So can brands build emotional connections with their customer such that there is a strong bond that can be uneasy to let go? I say YES!
Establish strong moments of truth at every touch point
Often times customers interaction with a brand is done through a touch point or moment of truth [this is the point where the customer experiences the brand whether directly or indirectly] such as during an advert, on a bill board, through a call center or even through referrals or word of mouth. Most times the customer is left with a lasting impression within that short interaction as to how the brand makes him feel.
Many brands do not pay attention to what impression they want their touch points to leave with the customer- this impression is more a feeling that does not go away quickly but keeps playing back in the mind of the consumer every time the thought of the brand comes to mind. This feeling should not be allowed to wane as the customer encounters it the first time but it should continue even during usage [functionality] to the extent of a bond relationship.
Let’s use the banking service as an illustration. For most people who own bank accounts, often times the most important moment of truth is the direct interaction between a customer and a member of staff, an ATM machine, or a mobile app.
Create an overlapping benefit of both functional and emotional
These touch points present the stage where the emotional brand promise can either be delivered or broken. So if for every time I try to withdraw money at an ATM machine of my bank it keeps disappointing me or it delivers for me speedily. This will not only determine the level of functional satisfaction that I get from the service I am given but an emotional connection to the service of my bank is established- this births a true relationship that can only be broken once they fail in their functionality.
A result of this overlapping relationship of functionality that leads to emotional bonding has a meaningful impact on the depth and breadth of relationship a customer will have that can lead to profitable growth for the brand.
In a business context, the growth of a relationship cannot be defined as not only retention but profitability through breadth and depth.
Every business must strive to be able to measure this growth by understanding the latent effects these moments of truth have on their customers, without compromising customers’ functional benefits. To do this effectively one must adopt three basic tips which include:
- Fulfilling customers’ basic needs without any difficulty or hassles
- Providing consistency of functional delivery
- Delivering this functionality in a way that evokes an outstanding emotional experience
Once a brand is able to deliver on these three[3] basic elements customers begin to form trust. It can be interpreted both as people feeling they can trust a brand to deliver functionally and as people feeling that a brand they trust overall, one they are starting to have an emotional bond with.
The next steps are what complete the emotional connection – there is a sense of pride that needs to develop- Excitement! Excitement is a sticky construct. Frequently, it is not always high among customers; when you create this you get true differentiation. Also, this is what leads people to pay premium price for a brand, and generates up-sell opportunities. Finally, at the peak of it all is being indispensable – where customers are willing to make small sacrifices or go out of their way to continue their relationship with you.
Brands can be profiled on each of the emotional and functional relationships such that they can identify strengths, weaknesses and opportunities via the competition.
Understand key retention influencers
It is important to be aware of additional influences that may affect customers’ decision to stay or switch the brand they use. Although dissatisfied, unfulfilled customers may stay with a brand for many reasons. It may be that the supermarket or petrol station they use most often is the most convenient, and as long as this remains the case – they will continue to use this brand, despite being dissatisfied.
It may be that there is a cost related to changing brands – a penalty in leaving an existing ISP provider, or loss of interest on a savings account.
Unfulfilled customers to a mobile network may stay in order to avoid having to change their mobile number. Unfulfilled airline customers may stay due to lack of airline options from their departure to destination airlines, or schedule availability. There are many tangible barriers that can explain the status of unfulfilled and satisfied customers.
Furthermore, there can be psychological or attitudinal reasons for unfulfilled or even just satisfied customers staying with a company.
Customers may simply not feel it is worth the effort or hassle to switch brands and remain unfulfilled with their current brand – perceived administration hassle in changing a bank account for example.
Switching barriers can be both a good and a bad thing- The higher the barriers the better amongst existing customers- as they will be less likely to switch.
Customer retention strategies should therefore focus on building the barriers through loyalty schemes, contracts, highlighting the risk of switching – or simply emphasizing the brand benefits – the fact that they have already made the best choice.
From a customer acquisition stand point, the lower the barriers the better – and in a market where barriers have a strong influence, strategy should focus on breaking down barriers. This can be done in a whole range of different ways, for example making it easy for an individual to switch brands or building confidence by reassuring potential customers they are making the right choice.
In the end, discovering tangible and psychological barriers adds a great deal of insight in understanding the relationship segments, and how to maximize profitability for different target customers.
Looking to measure your customer experience index as a brand? Give us a call on +234 809 099 2902 or +1.910.587.8423 reach out to us at ask@mmonitorconsulting.com
