The number of vaccinated people keeps rising. Meaning restrictions put in place to curb the Covid-19 spread are being lifted. The world is getting back to “normal”. What you as a business owner, brand executive or marketing officer should be concerned about is the impact of the pandemic on your customers. We saw a transformation in how people engage with each other, and with companies and their brands. You should be asking: is this change in behaviour here to stay? The answer is yes. 75% of consumers believe the pandemic will change their behaviour long-term (Forrester).
With things getting back to ‘normal’, you need to understand the impact covid-19 had on your customers' mindsets and what that means for brand-customer engagement. To start you have to let go of the past.
Forget the old customer
Let go of the way you engaged with your customers previously. The lockdown period was challenging for many of us. Questions were being asked in terms of what it would mean for engagements, not only with each other but with businesses as well. As it is with human nature, we adapt and evolve in challenging times. The same applies to your customers. They don’t think in the same way they used to. They don’t behave in the same way they operated. Why offer them your services and products the same way as before covid-19? Adapt and evolve in the same manner your customers have.
Embrace the new customer
We all know of the old saying: “don’t get left behind”. Most customers are continuing with the same brand interaction habits they had during the lockdown period. The face-to-face interactions with your customers will likely continue to remain as low as it has during covid-19, possibly decreasing further. As a brand, you must find strategies to create new personal connections with the ‘new’ customer. Rethink how you position yourself to your customers in the post-covid-19 era.
Let’s look at how you can re-engage with your customers.
Beyond economic disruption, the biggest challenge companies have in this era is to understand the shift in how their customers think and feel about themselves and the world. This is where your empathy as a brand is challenged. Empathy is achieved by placing yourself in your customers’ shoes. Before being a company owner, a brand executive, a marketing officer etc, you are a person who is a customer of other companies. How did the pandemic affect how you relate to those companies? How differently do you now behave towards those brands? How you changed your interactions with the companies you are a customer of is how your customers changed theirs to yours. Be in tune with your market.
You may think that empathy should go both ways. Customers should be empathetic to companies as well because they too were hit hard by the pandemic, right? You’d be correct in thinking that, but that train is quickly leaving the station. Their understanding of companies' difficulties in offering services due to the pandemic has lessened. Soon that train will be parked and deserted in the middle of nowhere. Your customers expect you to innovate your service offerings to suit their changed behaviours.
As stated above, customers aren’t going to pick up where they left off. They are now adjusting to their 'new normal'. People aren’t rushing to see the new blockbuster in cinemas - they have Netflix for that. Ready yourself for a reduced influx of in-person customers.
Channels of engagement shifted drastically during the pandemic. Yes, you know where I’m going with this - technology…technology…technology. Ok, enough of that. One of the domino effects of covid-19 is the acceleration of technology adaptation. Customers are now more aware of the convenience technology offers them. Even customers who were hesitant to use technology before the pandemic are now on the bandwagon because they had fewer choices during the pandemic. The comfort level in technology adaption has risen. The ball is now in your court to ensure you respond in kind. Companies that have shown resilience in the past have adapted to technology quickly. That is no different this time. Not to say physical interaction with your customers has no value, but what is it worth with no customers to interact with? No one to say “hi” to, and “come again” as you shake their hand goodbye. This is why you need to convert physical interactions to digital ones whilst maintaining the same value you have in the physical experience. The way to do that is to offer personalised experiences through digital customer support.
55% of surveyed customer service teams reported an increase in customers' preference for interacting through digital channels, especially messaging channels (Intercom). Engagements through messaging channels such as WhatsApp and chatbots have overtaken emails as a preferred method of communication by customers. Using these channels offers your brand an opportunity to personalise experiences for customers. It will enable you to collect segmented data of your customers which you can analyse to provide a personalised experience to your customers individually. Personalisation in the digital age is critical to ensuring you formulate customer-brand relationships from a distance. All that customers want is to feel like they matter – personalise their experiences.
Granted, digitisation is not for everything or everyone. Technology is still not easily accessible to many. Be wary of your customer base when turning to technology for answers.
66% of people are willing to keep avoiding crowded spaces going forth (covid-19 barometer, Kantar, 2020). Even though customers are now inclined to use digital channels, some companies still require in-person interactions. For example, you are required to be there to service your vehicle, and until they commercialise nail painting robots you will need to be there in person too. This is where creating micro-moments matters. Some customers go out for quick activities and back home where they feel safe. Creating special moments in those quick physical interactions with your brand goes a long way in maintaining relationships with your customers.
Welcome the new customer with open arms. Take advantage of the change and innovate your business.
Phathu Nenzhelele is a Co-founder and an Executive Creative Director of Chameleon Touch. He has a combined experience of 10 years in branding, experience design and visual design. He is also a design content creator through short posts and full-length articles such as Let yourself be bored on Medium.
