Effective customer engagement is a continual trial for brands trying to make an impact in their industries. Customer experience is what drives brand growth, and without it, a brand cannot survive against its competitors. The most successful modern brands have found ways to continuously evolve how they engage with customers. But that evolution can be hard without the guidance of experts.
Mitto, a digital communications company founded by Andrea Giacomini and Ilja Gorelik in 2013, has been on the hunt for the answer to the age-old marketing question: What drives customer engagement? A few recent case studies done by the omnichannel messaging company have provided some insight as to what goes on behind the mind of consumers.
Insight 1: Personalization Packs More Punch Than Creativity
Americans tend to think of the pinnacles of marketing as Super Bowl advertisements. During the 2023 Super Bowl, Progressive made people laugh with their “replay tech” advertisements. The Farmer’s Dog made people cry with their journey through the life of a well-loved dog. WorkDay made Boomers and GenZ nostalgic by including their favorite punk rockers in their ads. Super Bowl ads certainly made a huge impact on the millions of Americans watching, but Mitto’s case study has shown that these multi-million dollar ad spots may not be as effective as brands think.
Their case study looked into a group of 1,000 Americans over the age of 18, all of whom have interacted in some way with these famous advertisements. More than 500 respondents thought that Super Bowl Ads were an effective way to engage with customers. However, fewer than half of the respondents to the survey said that the Superbowl ad would be what drove them to purchase from a brand. Meanwhile, more than a quarter of respondents said they had made no purchases based on Super Bowl ads, and only 41% said they have made 1-3 purchases. If there is one thing this case study exposes is that while creative, Superbowl ads may not be packing the customer engagement punch they intended.
In the sense of the word, personalized content is a form of creativity. It allows AI and UX designers to flex their skills and find a way to engage with customers that creates an experience unlike one they may have had as a customer.
Insight 2: Bad Customer Service Experiences May Be The Nail In The Coffin
After a company initiates a new customer relationship, the brand’s job isn’t over when it comes to building that trust between them and the consumer. Maintaining loyal customer relationships is a huge part of the equation, and two more case studies from Mitto highlight the reason why. One case study looks at shipment trends, whereas the other looks into interactions between travel brands like airlines and hotels. While these two industries are very different, both surveyed consumers indicated that poor customer service experiences have led to severed ties between the customers and brands.
In the shipping case study, Mitto reached out to a group of consumers about their experiences with shipping delays. Over half of the surveyed indicated that they had canceled delayed shipments because of a bad interaction with customer service. Not only does that leave the customer with a bad taste in their mouth, but interactions like these cost brands millions each year from unfulfilled shipments, unusable products, and lost clients.
Meanwhile, in a case study that examined airline and hotel customers, poor customer support also had a drastic impact. 90% of the customers surveyed in this case study indicated that they would only use that brand’s services unless there was no alternative. Even more serious, close to 45% of surveyed consumers said they would refuse service from that brand altogether in the future. The nature of travel — especially by air — is volatile. Therefore, it can be difficult for travel brands to make promises about refunds, rooms, or flights. However, air-based travelers are typically planning their trips early and with high levels of detail, which means that when trips go awry, customers are left feeling hopeless, broke, and often frustrated. It’s no wonder that travel industry clients tend to have the most to say about the experience of bad customer service.
Luckily, the case studies indicated there were easy fixes for these, and they revolve around good customer service. In the case of travel, offering incentives based on early purchasing and having a good method of communication with travelers can make a huge difference. In the case of product shipments, over 90% of those surveyed indicated that they were more likely to adjust to shipment delays when presented with good customer service. Additionally, over 90% of those surveyed said that “a good customer experience makes waiting for a product bearable”.
“A business cannot attract and retain a customer if that customer doesn’t have positive experiences with the brand. Brand loyalty, conversions, repeat purchases…none of these actions that enable a brand to grow are possible with unhappy customers”, said Mitto COO Ilja Gorelik about the nature of positive customer experience.
Insight 3: Good Customer Service Response Tactics Always Evolve
If there is one thing that COVID-19 taught brands, it is that the rapid evolution in communication can make or break a brand. Many brands went under mid-way through the pandemic, and those that survived adapted to the needs of a home-bound customer. Tech revolutions since the era of the Industrial revolution have made the need to constantly adapt just part of company growth. But since the rapid evolution of digital communication — spearheaded by the advent of smartphones in the late 2000s — customer-facing communication has come a long way quickly. Not all brands have continued adapting their communication methods, and that has hurt them.
Many of Mitto’s case studies have revolved around the need to elevate the customer experience. Nearly two thirds of respondents in another Mitto case study show that positive customer experience is a high priority for surveyed businesses. However, in the age of communication, elevating customer experience means meeting their communication needs. Luckily for brands, there’s a simple solution – providing consumers with an omnichannel messaging experience. Close to 68% of surveyed brands said that omnichannel messaging technology was key to brand success, and over half of those surveyed brands are continuing to incorporate more strategies.
As part of their goal to bring all brands into the endless customer experience possibilities provided by omnichannel communication platforms, Mitto also explored why some brands have chosen not to adopt omnichannel messaging. Of those surveyed, over 30% mentioned not knowing enough about omnichannel messaging tech, and about 28% were uncertain how to prioritize omnichannel messaging strategies based on their clientele.
If this case study shows anything, it shows that communication brands like Mitto are also not off the hook when it comes to building brand trust. Educating and guiding brands into smart customer communication tech choices for their customers is an exercise in practicing what they preach — and, luckily, if done well, it will help many budding businesses thrive.
About Mitto
Mitto AG is the brainchild of Andrea Giacomini and Ilja Gorelik. Founded in 2013, Mitto is a global provider of omnichannel digital messaging services designed to bring CX into the 21st century.