If you are trying to develop your business brand, there is something that you might want to consider investing in: the human element. But what is it? The human element is what makes a company approachable and customer-centered.
Companies tend to center their marketing strategies around professionalism because it shows customers the services they provide will be of such expertise. However, it has been found that 32% of people use social media for finding funny or entertaining content. It means that you have to adapt your marketing strategy to those expectations and preferences. That can be done through the use of humor, interacting with one’s customers so social platforms, and using a more familiar language. The objective is to appear approachable.
When you do look approachable, your customers will feel like they can interact with you and that their opinions actually matter. A study found that 68% of customers leave a company because they believe the business does not care about them.
How to appear more approachable to your customers then?
Introduce your team
Showcasing staff members, or “the people behind the scenes” is a good way to add a human element to your marketing strategy. It helps to remind your customers that behind a brand and a product there are workers, people like them who put a lot of energy in developing their company. In showcasing names and faces, you help your audience to relate with you. This can be done through sharing posts on social media featuring pictures of your team, or portraits where each staff member would introduce themselves, or just having a “meet the team” or “about us” page on your website.
Be accessible
Being accessible is essential in building a connection with your customers. You have to make sure that you and your company are easy to reach, through email, telephone, or social media. Some customers will prefer emailing someone rather than calling, hence your need to be accessible through different means and different platforms. Being easy to contact is a guarantee to the customer that you are listening to their particular needs and that they can trust you to deliver the service/product they are paying for. Make sure you are accessible in a timely manner because you do not want to make your customers wait.
Engage with your customers
A great way of engaging with your customers is to ask them questions about what your company can improve, what service or product they would like to see on the market, or even create polls about their preferences. These are great ways to create engaging content. Another way is to offer a “behind the scenes” look, where you can feature the humans behind the work, as well as the process in which a product is made or service delivered. You can take advantage of this to host Q&A sessions asking your customers what they would like to know about your company and give them a more intimate look into the inside of the company.
Share feedback
Sharing your customers’ feedback shows them that you value their experience and criticism. You can share social media reviews, Google reviews, or any type of feedback given from customers in order to encourage other potential customers to make business with you. Make sure you also address complaints and apologize to unhappy customers in a proper manner!
