We’ve all heard them, maybe even cringed a little when we read about them. What are they? Company apologies and painstakingly pleading to the public for a failure to connect appropriately to their audience. This could mean you didn’t respond to a complaint or questions online or you misunderstood a social trend and it backfired. For example, on popular frozen pizza company, DiGiorno, found themselves on the wrong side of the social media movement #WhyIStayed when they Tweeted their reason for staying was because “You had pizza”, making light of a serious domestic violence issue. Later, they put out a public apology and tried their best to save face. They neither showed empathy towards the victims nor did they contribute in any meaningful way to support the movement. Their mistake? They claimed they did not read what the hashtag was about before posting.
So, what can we take away from this? Definitely do your research, and secondly, do not try to capitalize on trending rights-related topics. Unless your business donates to a charity concerning what is trending, it’s probably even best to steer clear of trending topics unrelated to your business altogether. Their apology did help to account for their actions, however – so keep that in mind if you ever find yourself in an instance similar to DiGiorno like so many others before and after them. Taking accountability and showing remorse is important, not just for the sake of business but because we are all humans at the end of the day who are capable of mistakes as much as we are capable of forgiveness.
Engaging customers appropriately over social media has shown to be very advantageous and even creates a sense of community around brand loyalty. According to Xperiencify, there are 15 valuable strategies they suggest in order to increase customer engagement on social media. Consider your brand voice, and what personality you want to be associated with it. Your tone should be relevant to your target audience and you can enhance this by considering what characteristics your audience values most. From there, in order to create brand loyalty, you can find ways to share massaging about your company values and culture as well as your story. When you do this, your company or business will stand out from the crowd and you will have the voice that identifies you.
As someone who recently took a course on digital marketing, I can say there are a lot of helpful tools out there to help you improve your social media marketing. From utilizing search engine optimization techniques and services such as that which Google offers, to increasing your email engagement through software like Hubspot and MailChimp, you can certainly experience an increase in customer throughput throughout their journey. Be sure to post to your social media channels regularly to create more opportunities to engage with your audience. Also, use interactive content like quizzes, polls, and live videos in order to keep the two-way conversation going. And of course, respond quickly to your customers, thanking them for positive feedback, answering questions, and recognizing complaints. Businesses that are not responsive on social media lose business. Customers need to feel heard, it’s as simple as that.
By showing empathy and actively listening to your customers’ wants and needs, you can make their experience with you personal. When customers feel a personal connection with your brand, they are more likely to be loyal to your brand moving forward. This can lead to future sales with them as well as potential referrals, so it’s not only good to care about your customers for the sake of humanity, but also for the good of the business. Now that you know your customer more personally, you can tailor the content you provide to them by creating relevant content for your audience. You might be asking, is there a way you can lose a customer after you’ve engaged with them, built a personal relationship with them, and provided excellent feedback and social media output? The short answer is yes.
What we have discussed so far are just pieces of the customer journey, but the trip is not over yet and your customers still have a way to go if they’re to be completely sold. Have you ever clicked a link from a great ad just to find that the link was broken? What about if the link worked but the website it took you to was slow to load, not mobile-friendly, or confusing to navigate? Even an outdated web style can be unattractive to customers and they may be concerned that if your website is out-of-date, then perhaps your purchasing and shipping methods are as well. This can all lead to increased bounce rates (potential customers leaving your site prematurely) and loss of email subscriptions. To help you learn more about ways to increase your website loading time, improve search engine optimization, and ensure your site is also mobile and tablet friendly, check out my links for helpful resources below.
Resources:
Search Engine Optimization guide from SEMRUSH
Read Between the Designs 