How Brands Can Keep Consumers From Swiping Left

[caption id="attachment_68919" align="alignright" width="350"] "love," Creative Commons license. | Credit: Flickr by Hamza Butt[/caption] Just 5 percent of Americans in relationships met via dating apps. But far more have been on or are on the apps, providing their information and hoping for a love connection. So similarly, brands have to meet those high expectations to create meaningful relationships with consumers and move past the dating stage. So says the “2017 SAP Hybris Consumer Insights Report,” released yesterday. The research contains an introduction by Johann Wrede, global VP of strategic marketing at SAP Hybris, which reads, in part: “Even if finding a date is as simple as swiping right, developing a meaningful relationship is harder, requiring a strong foundation of trust, communication and the ability to overcome challenges. Navigating the path of love can be overwhelming, even if it’s worth it in the long-run. It’s easy to see the parallels in the relationship between brands and consumers. Brands want meaningful, long-term relationships with loyal customers, but in the digital economy, all the power rests with the consumer. Online forums, social media, review websites and more mean it’s increasingly simple to research a prospective purchase without ever visiting a store or listening to a marketing message. Interactions with brands are also evolving, thanks to tools such as instant messaging and chatbots. As a result, consumers have much higher standards of what they want brands to deliver, and they won’t flinch about breaking up with a brand that doesn’t meet these expectations. Sending flowers to woo them back isn’t really an option.” Get Consumers Talking to You, Brands — Then Make the Interaction Personalized “Customer engagement is the key factor in driving results for brands,” reads the report. Consumers are willing to part with their information, so use the data to create the personalized, relevant interactions necessary to create lasting relationships, reads the research that’s based on surveys of more than 20,000 shoppers, worldwide. Eighty percent were willing to part with their email addresses, with shopping history and preferences following. “The survey found that the easiest way to keep customers happy is to be responsive and the fastest way to lose them is to share their data without their knowledge,” SAP told Target Marketing yesterday. Furthermore, 89 percent expect questions answered within 24 hours and about 40 percent of Americans who’d agreed to share their data changed their minds once they knew it would leave the United States. Consumers Think Their Data Is Valuable and Brands Should Treat It That Way For a relationship to work, there has to be trust, reads the study. “The results show that overall, consumers around the world understand that brands need to collect personal data in order to provide them with value and rewards,” SAP told Target Marketing yesterday. That said, consumers have high expectations of brands, because they know competitors are ready at the door. So personalize interactions, down to the local customs — such as Middle Eastern consumers preferring to provide marketers with mobile numbers instead of the emails consumers in other parts of the world prefer to give. SAP adds: Organizations should use the information across all their channels, from pre-sales to customer service. A proactive approach in a relationship is one that grows stronger with each interaction. Neglect leads to disappointment and heartbreak. Incentives should be a part of the entire customer journey, particularly after purchase, to maintain a strong and healthy relationship. Accomplishing this means investing in systems that learn from interactions to build an understanding of consumers. If you want to woo a prospective love interest, make the time and effort to get to know them, what they like and don’t like. They expect to be treated like an individual. What do you think, marketers? Please respond in the comments section below.

Performance Marketing

How Brands Can Keep Consumers From Swiping Left

Heather Fletcher

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Heather Fletcher