How to Become a Customer-Centric Brand

As more and more companies place a stronger focus on a customer-centric approach, optimizing the customer experience has never been so important.

The Harvard Business Review points out, “The most sophisticated firms are making emotional connection part of a broad strategy that involves every function in the value chain, from product development and marketing to sales and service.”

And what’s not to love? A satisfied customer will not only remain loyal but their enthusiasm about your brand will bring in new leads too, ultimately increasing both your conversion rate and return on investment (ROI).

But, how do you establish this bond?

A recent study by Customer Thermometer revealed how 1,000 consumers interpret brand affinity and what it takes for them to establish a positive emotional brand connection. And, you guessed it, we want to share the most interesting takeaways with you now.

A positive emotional connection

Of the 1,000 people surveyed, over 65% admitted to feeling an emotional connection with a brand or business. Surprisingly, over 90% of these connections were positive and spread across multiple industries.

Looking at the breakdown per industry, it’s clear that the electronics sector is making an impact on its customers, particularly those that are male. So, it’s no surprise that Apple, Nintendo, and Samsung all ranked in the top 5 brands that consumers feel most connected to.

While women feel an affinity to fashion brands, it’s the male customers again that feel a more positive connection with shoe brands. For the rest, we can see relative gender parity.

The value of emotional drive

So, we know that customers establish emotional connections with brands. But why is it beneficial?

Well, for starters, 13% of people would pay 31–50% more for a product if they felt they were making a positive difference on the world. Take a look at the other driving factors below.

It’s important to pinpoint the motivators behind your customer’s engagement with your brand, then you can use it to your advantage. Not sure how to find out what drives them? Simply ask your users directly by running a subtle feedback campaign on your website or app.

A reason to boycott

Just as positive emotions can be associated with a brand’s values and ideologies, Customer Thermometer also uncovered that the opposite is true. Namely that politically charged statements by a brand or business can have a long-lasting impact.

In fact, over 60% of people have been disappointed by a brand’s political stance and, in the future, would boycott them as a result. Just look at Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick, who removed himself from Donald Trump’s business advisory council after a Twitter storm declared #DeleteUber.

Make the connection

Harvard Business Review summarizes that customers who develop a bond with businesses are extremely valuable. They are described as “fully connected customers” and are “over 50% more valuable, on average, than the highly satisfied customer.”

Given this enormous opportunity, brands and businesses should be pursuing emotional connections as a science and not simply a guessing game. A surefire way to establish data-driven customer satisfaction in this way is to ask your users for feedback as they browse your digital touchpoints.

When it comes to collecting data, analytics tools such as Google Analytics can offer quantitative results about what is happening on your site. But when it comes to uncovering why, the true value lies in collecting qualitative data. User feedback allows you to discover the reasons behind the actions that tracking tools show you while offering invaluable insights into your customer demographic.

Curious how a user feedback solution could benefit your brand or business? Schedule a personalized call with us to find out more!

Images and data courtesy of Customer Thermometer.