Commentary

4 ways retailers can boost brand reputation, build loyalty

Sandra Gudat, president and CEO of Customer Communications Group, Inc., offers up four steps for bolstering your brand's reputation, while simultaneously working to keep your customer relationships strong.

Photo by iStock.com

September 18, 2018

By Sandra Gudat, president and CEO of Customer Communications Group, Inc.

Developing and sustaining a memorable brand is a valuable asset when it comes to attracting and retaining customers. Is your messaging efficient? Here are tips and four strategies to ensure your customers are having the best experience with your brand.

Watch out for fragmented messaging

Today, consumers can connect with your company in more places than ever. From TV and radio, to email, in-store materials, your website, social media and more. Will consumers get the same message no matter where they find you? If not, you're in danger of diluting brand image, damaging your credibility and weakening customer relationships. Delivering a consistent, cohesive message, on the other hand, can boost and build all the above. Here are some steps to take:

Take an audit

Identify all consumer communication channels and review the key messages conveyed in each. Understand what your company is saying in each channel.

Get the gang together

Hold a cross-departmental planning session and determine the overall objectives of your communications program and how that will affect customer experience.

Put it on paper

Take all that information in the session and flow it into a communications matrix — you can use Excel or Google for a spreadsheet. It should include each planned communication, the messages it will convey and deployment. By keeping your communications in sync, you'll support your brand image, build confidence and trust among your customers, enhance their experience and help solidify those profit-driving relationships.

Don't market the same offer to every customer

To cut through the communication saturation your customers face daily — and to avoid being tuned out — your offers need to be personal and relevant. Here four key steps:

1. Listen up and listen in

Pay attention to what your customers are telling you. Use their transaction history, which reveals redemption habits and shopping behaviors. But also use customer profiling and segmentation to pinpoint life stage and customer lifecycle, as well as motivations and attitudes.

2. Measure and analyze
Track every offer and see how it stacks up against your pre-determined goals. Break down the results to see how different customer segments or types reacted to the same offer.

3. Test
Delivery methods offer type, even simple changes in wording can shed light on what individual customers and specific segments respond to best.

4. Revise, revamp, refresh
As your customers change, make sure your offers stay in step. Use up-to-date data. Ensure your offers — and all of your customer communications — are always timely, relevant and wanted.

Broaden messaging beyond the sell

If you're in sales mode every time you touch a customer, you'll quickly get tuned out — and everything from open rates to leads to conversions will suffer. Focus on how you can help them, not just sell them. So, leverage data — yours and third-party appends — to find relevant reasons to get in touch.

● Is your customer eligible to refinance based on increasing home values or improved credit quality? Send a quick message outlining the benefits of refinancing. Give him the opportunity to sign-up for an informational series about refinancing!
● Did your customer leave a dress in her online shopping cart? Follow-up with an email that shares three ways to wear the dress, complete with matching photos. Offer her the chance to subscribe to an email series sharing the latest fashion trends.

This content works to build relationships and keep customers engaged with your communications — and that will build sales down the road. Make sure to include a call to action!

Ask for your customers' communication preferences

When you send your customers communications, do you know if they even want to receive those communications? If not, you could be turning your customers off — one possible solution? A communications preference center.

Ask yourself this:
1. Do you offer multiple types of communications? If your business sticks to critical messaging only (i.e., “your password is about to expire”), a preference center may be a moot point. But if you're communicating for multiple purposes, from account updates to special offers to value-added e-newsletters, then identifying those preferences is critical to maintaining customer interest.

2. Are you targeting a digital audience? Today's growing number of digital devices challenges marketers to find and produce the optimal format (HTML, text-only, mobile) and device (iPhone, Android, etc.) for communicating. So why not let your customers choose?

3. Do you have a high frequency of email communications? Sending too many emails is a surefire way to send your unsubscribe rates skyrocketing. A preference center can help shift your email investment to the right segments and reduce unsubs.

For many marketers, a preference center is an easy way to listen and respond to your customers' wants and needs. And when you do that, you're not just helping to keep the communication channels open — you're also establishing the groundwork for customer loyalty while enhancing their experience.

Summing it all up

Following these strategies can help bolster any brand's reputation, while simultaneously working to keep your customer relationships strong. What are some of your favorite brand-building strategies that improve customer experience and build loyalty?