The link has become a key issue in customer relationships. Beyond creation, for any brand it is necessary above all to nurture and strengthen it. This connection is essential to bring the customer relationship into a virtuous circle of attraction and retention.
Creating and maintaining a virtuous cycle of customer acquisition and retention over time is a daily challenge for brands. And this virtuous circle cannot exist today if it is not nourished by a personalization of interactions that realizes the brand’s ability to be close and connected to the needs and expectations of its customers.
The health crisis has shaken consumer standards. At the same time, it has increased their alertness and requirement level. These two attitudes are of course at the heart of the assessment of a brand-customer dialogue, which can no longer be based solely on the brand’s reactions when the customer raises a problem. The dialogue needs to expand and become a conversation. It’s this conversation that can foster long-term trust, a sense of connectedness, or even belonging to the brand’s ecosystem around shared values and experiences.
Under these conditions, the brand environment must now fully integrate a relational “system” taking into account rational and emotional dimensions. Simply connecting with the brand, benefiting from appropriate responses, within a time frame that is shrinking by the day – we have all become chronically impatient – and spontaneously recognizing the brand’s desire to conform to our expectations are the anchor points of a solid and ongoing relationship. Still, it’s a base that deserves to be enriched. The brand’s consideration for its customers must be demonstrated. In fact, it cannot be reduced to an acknowledgment of fidelity based solely on material counterparts, thus anchoring the relationship in a dimension that is simply corrupting, by definition reductive.
The subject of customers must no longer be the subject of friction or pain in the company. Rather, it should be viewed as a source of internal and external interactions, solutions, and collaboration, ultimately capable of fostering and developing trust and complicity. Two obvious sources of engagement for brands at a time when opposing movements tend to fuel the disintegration of these two pillars of attraction and loyalty.
To keep up with rapid changes in behavior and usage, you also need to look beyond the relationships of your direct competitors. Although the DNVBs’ economic model has been profoundly disrupted by rising acquisition costs and inflation that has weakened their production chains, it remains that these players have introduced new standards that are profoundly changing the average level of consumer demands. Obviously, and more broadly, e-commerce players, most notably Amazon, and retailers who are at the forefront of digital transformation are equally driving the evolution of customer relationship and experience standards. Therefore, it is necessary for all brands to broaden their field of analysis to better understand these new standards.
Omnichannel should now be the norm for most companies. The digitization of contact points should no longer be an issue in companies. A large selection of touchpoints offers diverse opportunities for loyalty and brand engagement. Digital tools have become important differentiators, especially when they promote accessibility and the simplicity of the relationship. But the temptation to do “everything online” is dangerous. When offline touchpoints are neglected, questions arise about the adaptability of courses and their ability to maintain an attention over time that is all too often weakened by “all-digital”. It’s all about balance. This balance, which is objectively complex to achieve, must be carefully managed, based on data that fosters an understanding of customer needs and increasingly individualized marketing pressures. This finesse in managing travel, integrating customer preferences and considering their relationship and transaction history is the premise of operational excellence, an essential support of customer preferences.
A brand’s value proposition now goes beyond the perception of its product and service offering. It definitely encompasses the sense of connectedness that connects the brand to its stakeholders and especially its customers. This connection is largely determined by the relevance of the interactions offered by the brand, be it transactional, relational or experiential. The equation is complex, but when properly combined, its factors maximize the robustness of the relationship. This then leads to recognition by the client who feels heard, understood and cared for. The challenge is daunting, but the value created is real and a guarantee of increased customer value.
Demonstrating the awareness and interest in taking up this challenge from a wide range of brands. The results we measured as part of the 3th editions of the Isoskele Customer Recognition Barometer are on the rise. This exclusive proprietary study highlights the importance Isoskele places on effectively measuring client equity. The wide range of brands analyzed (163 brands across 11 sectors) gives us access to a detailed understanding of the levers driving performance in this area. We are happy to share this understanding by summarizing the key findings of this study and allowing brands to access the details of their findings.
More information: https://isoskele.fr/
Olivier Bertin
Head of Marketing Intelligence Department Isoskele
