Although this post does not directly relate to my usual travel topic, companies within the travel and hospitality industry can definitely use these tips to build stronger, longer-lasting relationships with new and existing customers. So i guess it can directly relate to travel. Critical thinking my friends.
Do you have a new company? Marketing for an existing company? Over achieving business student that loves to learn about marketing? Perfect. Firstly, if you do not regularly visit mashable.com, you should. It’s a great site for the latest news about social media, technology, business, and entertainment. definitely a must-visit website. Anyways, i came across this piece that presents six simple ways for consumers to fall in love with your brand which are surprisingly simple to achieve.
1. Give really, really, reaaaally good customer service.
Honestly, it’s not that difficult. If you have a smile on your face, are polite and helpful when dealing with customers, and give them an overall pleasant experience, it is likely they will be return. Of course there will be those difficult people that are never happy with anything, but if your employees do everything to the best of their abilities, and make an effort to make the customer feel like they are being heard (no matter how ridiculous they’re being), more times than not, they will walk away with positive thoughts about your company.
2. Be clean, simple, and professional.
With the increasing use of social media, consumers are expecting companies to have a stellar website. It is so important, that companies have teams dedicated solely to social media maintenance. Make sure your website is not cluttered, and is full of interesting, updated, relevant information. Evidently, this will build your brand image. So make sure its classy. Everyone likes being classy.
3. Be relevant and interesting.
This point somewhat relates to #2. It is of the utmost importance to post about things consumers want to read about. This doesn’t mean write long blog posts about something related to the company, it means keep it short, sweet, and full of useful information the consumer can actually do something with.
4. “Create a Cool Factor”
As deceiving and tricky as “stir up emotions” sounds, it’s true. I without a doubt base my purchases off the mood i am experiencing. If a brand gives me negative emotions, obviously its’s unlikely ill buy from them. Those new BudLight commercials however, free beer for everyone on me. Make sure your brand is giving off positive vibes, make the user feel like being a part of your brand, or buying from your company will only impact them positively.
5. Surprise your customers.
“Under promise and over deliver” is, in my opinion, some very wise words of advice. If you under promise, you are setting the bar low for yourself, and the consumer will not expect great things, when you come out of no where and over deliver, they will be in awe and will automatically have positive views about your company. Even if you know you can offer all these great things, keep most of them on the down-low then “sweep them off their feet.”
6. Listen, learn, and provide.
Although there may have been excuses in the past for companies not listening to their customers, with social media rapidly growing, there is no longer any room for excuses. Customers have used social media platforms, especially Twitter, as a way of expressing their thoughts (both positive and negative) as they can 1. directly contact the company, and 2. have it public so other users can see exactly how the company responds. Yes, having happy customers is fantastic, but the way a unhappy customers are dealt with says a lot more about the company. Listen to what your customers have to say wether it be positive or negative comments, and learn from them. If a customer feels as if they are being heard, and can see a company putting in effort to fix their wrongs, it is likely they will change their mindset. Bill Gates summarized this perfectly by stating “Your most unhappy customers are you greatest source of learning.”
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There you have it! 6 ways to make consumers fall in love with your brand. Of course there are probably hundreds more pieces of advice one can give to make your brand stronger, but if you begin and grow at these starting points, you’ll do just fine. Read more about this article here, http://mashable.com/2014/02/17/6-ways-people-love-brand/ and don’t forget to check out mashable!
Cheers,
– J
Social Media Travels 