6 Winning Elements of Customer Experience

Our customer’s experience has the ability to make or break our brands. In fact, without winning elements of customer experience your brand will not be able to create that connective tissue to customers. In today’s marketplace, it’s not enough to have a winning product but experiences that inspire and make our customers’ lives easier have a greater staying power. Customers are demanding experiences that are meaningfully tailored to them.

It’s imperative that you get to know your customers, not just who they are on paper but also what are their pains, wants, needs, desires even before they realize it. Experiences that keep our customers engaged is mostly due to brands truly understanding and listening to their customers.

What exactly are the elements that create a positive experience for your customers?

1. Personalization

Customers want experiences that connect with them. It needs to have some sort of meaning for them. Whether it’s saving them time, making their lives easier or even automating a decision, it needs to be relevant.

2. Meeting Customer Expectations

Our customers have set expectations when it comes to brand loyalty. When a customer first meets a new brand they are asking themselves two critical questions. One can I trust this brand? Two can I respect this brand? In their minds, they have already decided what they would like to experience with a certain brand.

3. Addressing Conflicts

Conflicts will arise, not every customer will love your brand. In today’s e-comm society a bad review can quickly ruin a brand. It can also have the ability to boost a brand to the next level as we’ve seen countless times with Influencer marketing. When it comes to conflict you must address it right away, don’t let that angry customer simmer and stew. You also want to make sure that if the conflict is on an online platform that you utilize the 2 message rule. First apologizing and second asking the customer if they’d be willing to continue the conversation offline.

4. Building Rapport

Relationships are the key to retaining customers, that is why so many brands are carefully curating their social media experiences with their customers. When you build a strong rapport with your customers or tribe you increase brand loyalty. You'll also be able to get honest feedback about your brand.

5. Creating Seamless Experiences

Experience both online and offline has to maintain some fluidity and flexibility that creates a cohesive experience for customers. It’s also the way in which customers will remember your brand. It allows them to quickly pull your brand from memory.

6. Brand Trust

Customers want to know that they can trust the brands that they are using. They want to know that brands are transparent, honest, and have their well-being in mind. Trust is also another crucial component for brand loyalty. Once the trust is broken it is very difficult to mend or even get back.

To Emoji or Not

Brand superstars out there it’s time to ask- “To emoji or not?” Using emojis has been something that a lot of brands swiftly utilizing. It conveys a message that’s fun and quick. So we’re going to talk about when you should and shouldn’t use emojis.

First off let’s take a look at some popular emojis and what it says about the brands who are using it. Based on a study by Swiftkey Emoji report These are the popular emojis and the breakdown of how often they are used. The survey found that  Brands who use smiley faces are usually more agreeable. The same applies to those who use facial expression emojis. 

In another finding, they found that those who used emojis are socially receptive and empathetic. As you can see out of all the emojis the smiley face emoji is one that is used the most 44.8% out of all the other emojis.

Brands or people who use sad face emojis tend to worry about how they come across to others Just a note when you consider a person’s age it also plays a role in their use of emojis. The study also found that 80% of us use it in texts, 76% of us use it on FB while 15% use it in emails. The good news out there is that if your brand uses emojis it means that you are a great communicator

We wanted to dig a little deeper into this so we did our own little curiosity project. Here we looked at the heart emoji. This is the one emoji that is universal but it has so many different meanings behind it. I was curious to see if there was a science behind these colors. Here’s what we discovered:

Red Heart- passionate love, it’s the classic way we express love

Black Heart- Morbidity, dark humor, death, evil, emotionally cold

Yellow Heart- Friendship, happiness, trustful love

Green Heart- Envy, jealousness, or possessive love

Blue Heart- Deep and stable love, trust, loyalty, harmony, peace

Purple Heart- Compassionate love, duty, honor, royalty, good judgment

This is just a reminder when you are sending out emails you probably don’t want to include emojis since emails are still a professional way of communicating. If you are posting on social media such as FB, IG, or Twitter feel free to use your emojis happily.

Airplane Food Goes Farm Fresh

If you recently got on a commercial flight it’s probably safe to assume you experienced the not so delectable array of food choice. Here’s the good news because of this ongoing challenge, airline food goes farm fresh pivoting from the normal offerings of crackers and cheese.

So why the sudden change in airplane food? Airliners are starting to recognize that customers are looking for healthy food choices as they travel from destination to destination. In 2017, the U.S. market for health and wellness reached around 167 billion U.S. dollars, with an increase of around four billion U.S. dollars expected in 2018, according to Statista. This surge has left many brands scrambling to incorporate healthy options into their offerings, airlines included.

Here’s what different airlines are offering in order to better attract customers to book their flights.

1. Emirates Airlines

The Dubai-based airline is committed to investing 40 million USD in a 900-acre indoor vertical farm establishment, which produces high quality and chemical-free produce for its airlines and airport lounges. Vertical farms use no sunlight, soil or chemicals, and doesn’t require as much water as a regular farm. Fliers are slated to nosh on Emirates’ farm-fresh meals by December 2019.

2. Delta Airlines

Takes the healthy food spin in a different way by offering local organic produce and meats from local Georgia farmer, Wes, and Charlotte Swancy's Riverview Farms. In addition, they hired celebrity chef Linton Hopkins who’s known for his down-to-earth, farm-fresh Southern fare.

3. JetBlue

Offers it’s Mint class customers the opportunity to taste food from renowned New York restaurant Saxon + Parole and drinks service curated by wine expert Jon Bonné.

4. United Airlines

Has taken the food experience to new heights by offering a more luxury spin with menu choices to the likes of an upscale restaurant such as duck confit ravioli.

Color Psychology and Customers

In marketing, color psychology and customers are strong indicators of how brands connect with people. Colors have the ability to shift our moods, tell a story, create an experience and even change the way we feel. Part of branding encompasses the meticulous research of which colors best suit brands based on industry as well as what emotions they want to convey to the audience. 

As brands, it can be confusing which colors best suits your message and image. So we’ve broken it down for you here: 

Blue 
So what feeling do you get from seeing this color? 
The color blue is a calming color that promotes communications, dependability, and trust. 

Green
What about this color? How do you feel about seeing this? 
It’s a color that’s refreshing, natural, clean or even healthy. 
Do you ever notice that brands in the health industry tend to use this color?

White
It a neutral color that shows simplicity and gives off a youthful and economical effect or even being peaceful. 

Black
Black is a sinister color that is powerful, serious, and a classic choice of sophistication. This color works well for high-end luxury products but beware it can also make the product be perceived as heavy. 

Red
Red taps into increasing the heart rate causing you to breathe more quickly. This response makes the color energetic, provocative, and grabs your attention. Using red can evoke passion but it can also represent danger or anger. 

Pink 
Different intensities of pink convey different meanings. If you want to show energy, youthfulness, fun or excitement hot pink is the way to go. Hot pink is a favorite for trendy products for women and girls. It is suggested for less expensive items as well. A dusty pink can appear to be sentimental while lighter pinks are romantic. 

Yellow
Yellow is the color of positivity, happiness, light, optimism, and warmth. Certain intensities of yellow can promote creative thought and warmth. This eye-catching color is one that the eye sees before any other color so they are great to use for point-of-purchase displays. 

Orange
Invites exuberance, cheer, vitality, fun, and a childlike energy. Light shades can be attractive to an upscale market while peach tones work great with restaurants, beauty, and healthcare organizations. 

Brown 
This earth tone color evokes stability, simplicity, and durability. Or it can create a negative response to your audience who might view it as dirty. If you’re looking to use this color for an upscale look terracotta is the way to go. Brown is also great at concealing dirt so it’s a good color for trucking and industrial companies. 

Purple
This is a favorite for brands that are creative. It represents royalty, mystery, sophistication, and spirituality. On the other hand, lavender creates nostalgia and sentimentality. 

3 Ways Brands Redefine The Customer Experience

Brands, our customer's needs, and wants are constantly evolving at a faster pace that we can keep up. It’s key to be able to identify what your customer's specific needs are in order to better connect with them. Whether you’re actively listening on social media or offline, brands need to be limber in order to adjust accordingly.

The way customers experience your brand is key to building a sustainable brand for the long game. There are too many brands out there that are overnight sensations and gone the next. So if you’re looking to play the long game here’s what your brand can do.

1. AR That Brand

Augmented reality may be in its infancy but more brands are experimenting with it to create an experience that will stand out with endless possibilities. When it comes to shopping, some fashion brands have taken on the position of creating an entire experience which allows customers to shop online as if they were in a store. Sephora’s Visual Artist tools on its app allow you to try on lipstick and even eyelashes before you purchase the products. Buying furniture? Wayfair has created a 3D simulation on how furniture would look in a room allowing customers to better visualize the products in a space.

2. Save Time and Personalization

Consumers now are expecting these features from brands. Part of creating an experience you always want to ask yourself, is your brand saving the customer time? Or is it grabbing their attention at each step of the customer’s experience? When it comes to personalization, customers only want what relevant to them. In order to connect with customers, you need to market your brand in a way that is relevant to your customers. Successful personalization happens when there is a deep understanding of who your customer is, their preferences, likes, and dislikes. It’s no longer just about simple demographic information but it's about the customers’ mindset.

3. CEO’s Are More Involved in The Customer Experience

CEOs and founders set the tone of any business and when they are involved with the customer experience it shows customers that brands care. Every successful brand from Amazon to Starbucks all have CEOs who are very active in the customer experience process and also actively listening to customers’ needs.

Chatbots and Their Influence On Marketing

Contributor Writer: Josh Wardini

Technology has come a long way and with it the birth of artificial intelligence. When Alan Turing came up with the Turing Test back in 1950, you could not have believed that the world will soon come to rely on artificial intelligence. Today, artificial intelligence has led to the development of chatbots. Chatbots have become a core part of the major brands that you love and cherish. Especially, when it comes to marketing.

Marketing is a phenomenon as old as time itself. Proper marketing will always give you top figures in your sales department. Of course, in the digital world, we live in today, customer service is a huge part of marketing. Convenience is a huge part of marketing. You do not want to use the services of a brand that has difficulty addressing your queries. You want to get total and maximum value for your money.

Chatbots have become a huge part of marketing a brand via reliable customer services. From 2015 till 2016, the global chatbot market increased by 622%. In dollar terms, the industry is projected to reach an estimated $1.225 billion by 2025. You might not like it but chatbots are here to stay, and many brands like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus are not at all shy about following the movement. https://www.16best.net/blog/chatbots-gone-wild/

Amazon was the first brand to hop on the chatbot movement. Its virtual assistant Alexa was developed in 2014. Alexa can chat with you, play music for you, set alarms for you and provide you with weather and traffic updates, among other things. Today, that success has paved the way for other brands. Alexa boosted sales for Amazon massively after its implementation. A proof that chatbots are the future of brand marketing.

Google is another brand that makes use of chatbots, and this is one of its major selling points. Google maps already have chatbots that give you direction while driving and it plans to implement better technology in self-driving cars. You can also have conversations with Google's voice assistant.

Microsoft and Apple have not been left behind. Microsoft has Cortana while Apple has perhaps the most popular chatbot in history - Siri. You cannot deny the fact that Siri has been the reason many people decide to purchase Apple phones. A perfect marriage of marketing and chatbots.

Even brands that are not software geared make use of chatbots. Sephora uses less intrusive chatbots to make suggestions about products and deals. Starbucks allows you to place orders with Alexa. It also has 'My Starbucks Barista' which allows you to place orders and set pick up locations.

  Numbers That Back Up the Advantage of Chatbots in Other Sectors

• Chatbots save up to 44 minutes per customer inquiry when compared to traditional call centers

• $0.7 will be saved per interaction with a chatbot by 2022

• Chatbots meet 20% of banking needs without any form of human contact

• $0.019 million has been saved so far by chatbots in banking and healthcare sectors

• This figure is estimated to reach $8 billion by 2020

Chatbot Opinions Among the General Populace

• 96% of people believe chatbots are here to stay for good

• 56% of people think chatbots will soon begin to outperform humans

• 80% of major brands plan to build a chatbot

• 47% of consumers would buy items recommended by a chatbot

Diversity: A Buzzword or Are Brands For Real?

It seems like everywhere you turn there’s that gawking word “diversity,” is it just a buzzword or are brands for real? Inclusion isn’t a new concept but it's been pushed to the forefront as brands scramble to understand how to either capitalize on it, implement it and or revamp a better brand message.

Every industry seems to have its challenges while making small steps in the right direction. We see some brands blunder the efforts while others have systematically managed to excel. Brands such as Netflix are doing it from the inside out, hiring more women in executive positions while other brands are starting from the outside with their customers, working inward to their team.

So which brands are getting diversity right? There’s no real answer to this one but there are industries making visible changes and strides for inclusiveness

Fashion

The fashion industry has always been under extreme scrutiny when it comes to runway models and ad campaigns. It’s quite prevalent when brands such as The Knot selects only blond hair blue eyed models at a recent model casting call. But the mainstream fashion show, NYFW has made a point to include transgender, curvy, and mature models in the past two seasons which starts to exemplify the shifting paradigm of what is now defines fashion and beauty.

According to Sergio Delavicci, SAG/AFTRA actor and internationally published model who has walked over 250 shows including New York Fashion Week said, “The fashion world constantly changes. However, with the rate and direction it’s currently going I think ad campaigns will continue to feature transgenders, curvy models, mature models, LGBT models as long as they fit the brand. At the end of the day, we are all unique and talented.”

Fashion Week Brooklyn is also another mainstream Fashion Runway Show that touts diversity across the board while supporting emerging talents which was prevalent in this season’s show, “Haute Brooklyn.”  

Tech

Tech has been long been criticized for it’s “bro” culture that hasn’t been as inclusive as many companies give off. For example, 50% of employees at Apple and Google are still white. Based on Apple’s recent diversity report, minorities employed at the company grew from just 19% in 2014 to 23% in 2017. While the tech giant claims that 50% of its new hires in the US this year were from underrepresented groups in tech.

Hospitality

Hospitality is also making a shift when Time Asma Hotel in Dubai announced that it will open this year with 80% of its staff attributed to women.  

Beauty

While beauty brands have received as much criticism as the fashion industry, Covergirl made strides to feature the first ever male spokesmodel. Glossier which exploded onto the beauty scene for its famed approach of women empowering women in the purchasing cycle.

Publishing

Has also begun to embrace diversity in a big way when National Geographic Magazine featured the first transgender child on its cover, it gained widespread support and popularity. Playboy has also featured its first transgender playmate.

Fast Food

This is an industry that many haven’t paid attention to. A local Los Angeles El Pollo Loco restaurant vowed to only hire transgender staff members. Owner Michaela Mendelsohn stated, “I am a trans owner supporting trans people.”

In the end, diversity is what the new consumer is looking for in brands. They want to be part of your brand’s story and not just a piece of the story. It’s time your brand starts to consider your diversity strategy whether it’s in house or how you market.

Consistent Branding

When it comes to showcasing your brand you want to employ consistent branding. Brands that deliver their message, personality, and story over and over again, in the same way, tend to stick in the memory of customers. How many times have you seen that Nike Swoosh? Or how about that Apple? We all know what they are without anyone having to spell it out.

Global brands take care to deliver consistency across all platforms. Whether it's a simple social media post or a video on their website. Consistent branding is a key challenge for brands especially those with a large team.

These are the 5 keys to being consistent with your brand:

1. Create A Brand Guide

This guide can be a simple document that ensures your team is on the same page when it comes to branding. Things you want to cover in the document include brand colors, media formats, signage and logo usage.

2. Keep Your Colors Consistent

No matter where your brand appears, make sure it's consistent. If for example, your logo is in color it might be a good idea to create a logo in black and white as well. Using a color management software would be good to consider.

3. Review Your Media

It’s important to do an annual audit of your media it helps to eliminate inconsistencies. Things to be on the lookout for in this audit is your website, social media page, business cards, agreements and any other media that’s out here. Also, make sure that your brand’s personality is resonated throughout your social platforms.

4. Use The Same Font

This helps to pull your brand together by using the same fonts it gives your brand a unified voice. The tone of your brand will also reflect the type of font you choose.

5. Company Culture

Here is where you want to make sure that your brand is clearly reflected in the kind of company culture you create, from onboarding to training. When customers see that your brand’s values, personality, and beliefs transcend not just to them but to your team, they are more likely to buy.

5 Reasons Why Brands Fail to Launch

Ever wonder why brands fail to launch even though they have a fantastic product or unique offering? The truth is- it’s not about having a great product there’s an entire strategy that goes into crafting a brand from idea to something tangible customers need in their life.

Branding failure doesn’t just happen to start up brands but also well-established brands as well. According to Kristina Monllos, Senior Editor of Adweek, brands such as Pepsi, Dove, Uber, and even Mcdonalds have had their moment.

Brands who are consistent thrive in the marketplace while those who are chaotic tend to not resonate with customers. There are 2 categories that brands fall into.

For those brands who miss the mark usually are exhibiting few or all of these symptoms:

1. Identity Crisis

Be sure of what you want to portray to customers. Don’t decide that you’re going to be a sophisticated brand this week and next week you decide to discount all your products to $0.99. It’s impossible for you to attract the right customers if you’re sending out mixed messages.

2. Not Knowing Your Value

This happens too often where brands aren’t sure or don’t have a clear value system in place. The haphazard approach of throwing sh*t to the wall and seeing what works is a guaranteed failure. Sit down and write out what your brand’s core values are. For inspiration here’s one of Zappos, “deliver WOW through service.”

3. Going At it Alone

Yes, we know the “Hero’s Journey,” is so sexy, strong and very true in many cases. But when it comes to branding don’t try to be the “Hero Brand,” find a strategic partner. It’s ok to collaborate with another brand or even influencers, this doesn’t make you weak. In fact, it makes you look stronger and much sexier because you’ll be connecting with customers that you couldn’t reach before.

4. Not Designing The Customer Experience

This is a deliberate process of mapping out from start to finish what you want your customer to experience both online and offline. It can start with your logo and website but it needs to also be much larger than that. This requires that you pull in how you want your customers to feel from the moment you say hello. At each step, you want to make sure that customers are consistently feeling the same emotions.

5. Ignoring Your Team

Your team ones on the front lines when it comes to working closely with clients. You need to figure out ways to have your team drink the proverbial company Kool-Aid. This has to be done in an organic manner. The same way you serve organic ads to customers is the same way you need to approach your team. Get to know them as people what are their passions, dreams, and goals. What makes them light up and what makes them sad are equally important things you want to know about. Keeping your team happy, inspired and engaged will help move your brand to the next level.

Branding Reality Check

This is a moment of truth- branding reality check. Are you over complicating things? I mean are you making things harder than you need to? If you are here’s a large dose of check yourself before you wreck yourself. According to the Siegel+Gale Simplicity Index:

• 63% of customers are willing to pay a bit extra for a simple experience

• 69% are likely to refer a brand that provides a simple experience

So are you now convinced that your brand needs to serve a need or solve a problem with simplicity? Successful brands are those who are extremely focused on simplifying the customer’s experience. Now if you’re wondering how you can streamline your brand and create a leaner business here’s what you need to know:

1. Be Easy

The more complicated you make your offerings the less likely it is that customers will think of you first. Customers want to use a product that not only solves a problem for them but makes it as easy as 1-2-3 in the process. For example, if your brand is offering multiple promotions at the same time, it will create major confusions. Keep it simple to maximum 2 different types of promotions. You want your brand to be easily understood.

2. Position From Power

You always want to position your brand from a power position in order to succeed. In order to do that your brand needs to answer these:

• Your company is …

• Your company does …

• Your company serves ...

3. Study How The Pros Do It

If you need some inspiration, check out how these pro’s do simplicity branding.

• Google (Simple website, yet provides a ton of valuable information)

• Zappos (Allows you to try on and return at ease)

• Warby Parker (No need to go to the optical store to get glasses, they come to you)

• Netflix (A monthly subscription gives you limitless movies without ads)

• Amazon (Buy almost anything on a single platform