All businesses depend on consumers and their emotional responses.
We're aware that brands often make us feel good and, by drawing us closer, encourage our support. Yet they can also sometimes neglect or ignore us.
As business owners or managers, we start out with the right intentions towards consumers and often run out of time, money or resources to keep up with online communications or customer service. Sadly, these impasses lead to inadvertent breakups that reflect poorly on our reputations and results.
By forming emotionally-intelligent bonds with consumers who care about your brands, businesses can effectively drive awareness, loyalty and repeat business.
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Here's our digital advice to avoid consumer breakups.
1. Don't try too hard to socially connect
It's true that 98 percent of digital consumers are social media users with an average of 8.5 social accounts, and they spend 2 hours and 22 minutes daily on socializing and messaging online. You should not spread yourself across so many accounts!
With a mix of marketing statistics and gut feel, try to select a few places to target fans, prospects and customers. They may include YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter or something on the horizon.
2. Don't jump on the trendy bandwagon
When competitors adopt and roll out some new digital approach, say a buzz-worthy video or a crowd-sourced event, step back and figure out whether it feels right for your brand. People value genuine communications that speak to you and them.
3. Don't harbor zombies
Where are the "zombie" web sites or social pages bearing your name? Consumers may discover unused, ignored zombies and feel you don't care about them, even if you are marketing elsewhere. So it's time to shut down zombies or leave messages about your current digital locales.
4. Don't act or communicate dishonestly
Did you know 48 percent of the U.S. population trusts businesses, falling from 58 percent last year?
All hope is not lost, since businesses can still build trust, attracting loyalty and advocacy that drives success. Staying true to your business values (read how) will inevitably attract like-minded customers, while any inauthentic actions can quickly disintegrate your relationships.
5. Don't spam consumers or their feeds
Consider the guest who becomes a nuisance. Some 53 percent of consumers say their receive too much irrelevant email, and many will hit their unsubscribe links. When your messages shows up constantly in social media, expect followers to start ignoring or deleting you.
The consequences of not watering your plants apply here: consumers must be tended to grow. They have needs and wants which can't be ignored. We believe that using emotional intelligence in digital marketing becomes your competitive advantage.
The more technical marketing gets, the more human it must become. #HappyEmotionalMarketing
by Amanda Worrall, May-8-2019