The human experience has become a premium for brands in an age of social distancing as they try to navigate through the pandemic and connect with consumers.
Technology has been changing the way consumers connect with brands for a while now, however that change has been accelerated by the global spread of coronavirus.
John Harris, CEO of global network of independent marketing services agencies Worldwide Partners Inc (WPI), says now is an opportunity for brands to recreate the human experience they have with consumers.
“All brands to some degree have a human ambassador representing them in a transaction - a salesperson, a customer service representative, a store manager, flight attendant, a bartender, a doctor – that have been absent during this outbreak,” Harris told AdNews.
“Brands must find ways to bring these people forward on their behalf. Brands who are anticipating this need and proactively creating human touch points are gaining dividends.”
In China, as brick-and-mortar retail begins to re-open, sales associates are personally pre-booking appointments for shoppers to come in to try on clothes.
From livestreaming to the rise in telehealth, Harris says there are no shortage of ways that brands can change up how they bring back the human experience in this new normal.
From CX to HX
Debates have arisen for some time over whether or not marketers should still label people as a “consumer” and “customer”.
As people crave a more personal connection with brands, Harris says marketers should use this change to drive a human-centric focus and move from CX to HX.
“This outbreak is a catalytic event. Change is no longer optional, it’s a requirement,” he says.
“This represents an opportunity to eliminate the term ‘customer’ from our marketing vocabulary and replace it with ‘human’.”
Building connection starts with brands moving away from traditional sales motives and instead demonstrating empathy for the people it wishes to do business with.
Speaking to AdNews recently, both Suzanne Steele, Adobe managing director ANZ, and David Blakers, APAC managing director of CX company InMoment, listed empathy as the key ingredient to a good CX strategy.
Likewise, Harris says it is an important trait for brands to have right now but there needs to be some action behind it as well.
“Empathy is important, but brands should be further asking themselves, ‘How can we be helpful?’” he says.
“This is business, and it is personal. And quite frankly, embracing a utilitarian approach to customer experience is what all brands should be implementing, regardless of a global pandemic.”
Tech-fuelled HX
Research firm Global Web Index reported that in 2013, a quarter of global internet users agreed with the statement “technology makes life more complicated.”
By 2019, this had jumped to one-third with today’s connected customer hyper-aware of issues like data privacy and security.
“This is hardly surprising considering the past year’s focus on everything from GDPR to massive breeches in data trust across brands like Facebook, T-Mobile and most recently, Zoom,” Harris says.
“As a result, the efficiency and personalisation of automation is yielding the unintended consequence of creating a consumer who has become more cautious, less trusting and increasingly frustrated.”
Despite this concern, technology has continued to impact how humans interact.
Fuelled by the rise in mobile, much of what have been basic human experiences have been influenced or moderated to some extent by technology.
“With that power in a brand’s hands comes a responsibility through customer experience (CX) to relieve the tension between consumers’ desire for technology’s conveniences and their concern about its influence in our lives, by providing them with something more familiar - the human touch,” Harris says.
With many brands trying to devise a strategy for a post-pandemic world, Harris predicts a shift towards more human interaction to be on the horizon.
He says marketers will need to understand more of the ‘why’ behind a purchase rather than just the ‘who’ and ‘what’, as personal marketing starts to take precedence over personalised marketing.
“Brands are desperately trying to keep up with the unprecedented volume of phone and online inquiries that are occurring, leaving customers extremely frustrated with wait times, chat bots, auto replies, or worse, no brand response at all,” he says.
“This pent-up frustration will increase customer expectations for service and support. Automation may be efficient, but ‘personal’ will be key to effectiveness in our new normal.”
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.