As a brand, pinpoint what values you hold true to, and then manifest these across all parts of your organization. Here’s an excellent example – LEGO produced a short-story film to give some brand background, detailing the struggles and journey LEGO has been on. According to Accenture, 83% of US consumers are said to prefer dealing with human beings over digital channels, with the majority being left frustrated over ‘human-less’ services. Consumers, therefore, deserve evidence of your support for the LGBTQ community if your brand professes sexual orientation inclusiveness as a value. If you continue browsing, we assume that you consent to our use of cookies. In theory, yes, but it also appears that brands who use artificial intelligence can generate greater levels of consumer trust – as long as there is transparency. This example from Truly Concierge shows the value it can bring, with an assistant on hand to narrow down gifts instead of leaving users to browse (and potentially abandon their journey). Remain true to these beliefs, even if that calls for making tough decisions or taking a stand on controversial issues. In this instance, however, saying sorry like you mean it can also help to boost a brand’s reputation rather than merely remedy it. Hit before 1pm to play the game #JaguarResponse pic.twitter.com/Z3leAsDy9g. Look at this great example from KFC in the UK – who recently ran out of chicken! Collaboration between your marketing and care teams is proving more essential than ever. All rights reserved. You could have a more straight-forward, serious tone or a quirky, goofy tone. They want strong, stable and they’re searching for authenticity. Your narrative and stories should make sense alongside your brand identity. ABOUT BRYANBryan is a Social Business Strategist, author, speaker and President/CEO of PureMatter in Silicon Valley. Is personalisation yet again going to take centre stage? Interestingly, it can also help to sell a product. If both of these teams have the same view into the customer journey, you can avoid creating a disparate experience like this. And this applies to buying products and using services too. Take Burberry, for instance, and Mercedes-Benz and Apple – these brands sell luxury products with such slick and alluring design that they almost sell themselves. And a whole host of other tones in between. Well, it’s about being accountable, transparent and honest – which can mean owning up to mistakes or sub-standard performance. Talking to customers as people, instead of just customers is a good step. These actions can seem tough at first, but they speak volumes about your brand’s authenticity. Most brands strive to create a brand identity – a key set of characteristics that help to differentiate them from others. Stories help us to understand and make sense of the world and the same can be said for your brand. Last year, eBay created the first-ever ‘emotion-powered’ pop-up, which used biometric sensors to monitor which items created the strongest emotional reaction in customers. Naturally, the brand’s commitment to ethical and sustainability-related issues helps to further its reputation as a brand that cares, but without its level of care for the customer – I doubt this would ring so true. This means tapping into the emotions of consumers to create relevant, engaging, and human experiences. Another example of Pret’s human tone of voice can be found on its customer service page, which encourages customers to ‘talk to Pret’ – something that you’d usually do to a friend and not a brand. If everyone is on board then your customers will begin to associate clear personality traits with your brand. Think about the times you’ve interacted with a company online. The decisions we make and the interactions we share are all unavoidably human. We can learn a lot from this phrase though. Katherine Calvert Forbes Councils Member. . Meshach Amuah-Fuster is the Managing Director EMEA for Partner Relationship Management (PRM) platform Allbound. ... To succeed and earn consumer trust, your brand needs to act and sound more human. The stand out part was a joint session from Mindshare and JWT, highlighting their research in this area. The dresses purchased from them make people look complete. We appear to be moving towards an automated world, with brands increasingly drawing on data to target and engage consumers. Since, it has continued to work on and update its policy. Take a couple of minutes and look at smoothie maker, Innocent. But often, these experiences are being documented and handled in separate departments and through separate technologies. “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it!” –  now, come on, confess, how many times have you heard this in an argument? Most brands rely on broadcast techniques to communicate to customers. This is not necessarily a good thing, and not to go all ‘Oprah Winfrey’ on you – but surely flaws are what make us human in the first place? Lush customer service is honestly something else. expect special treatment for being good or loyal customers. There’s a whole load of traits that can make up. Here’s an excellent example –. It defines specific characteristics that contribute to success as an individual, as part of a team or within the wider organisation. As part of my prediction, I mentioned that “when a brand has more social capital, its community members are more likely to act on the brand’s behalf -- think expressions of brand loyalty and communications that promote brand awareness.”. According to data from a RedPoint Global survey of more than 3,000 consumers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada, conducted by The Harris Poll, 63% of consumers expect personalization from brands. Run contests that encourage engaging with other users. And your tone should act as an extension of your brand’s identity. I find that consumers today ask much more of the brands they consider spending money with -- for brands, simply having a great product or service no longer suffices. You may opt-out by. In 2015, Airbnb published an apology letter in response to allegations that racial discrimination was taking place on its platform. We’re certainly becoming used to these human-like interactions with brands, and communication only looks set to become more natural in future. a short-story film to give some brand background, detailing the struggles and journey LEGO has been on. But be careful, they want custom-tailored service and personal recommendations but customers also want to protect their privacy, so be transparent and open about your data collection. Registered office at Econsultancy, Floor M, 10 York Road, London, SE1 7ND. As the year draws to a close, talk naturally turns to what the biggest trends of 2018 will be.