Tech vs. Tradition

While rapid tech advances have gifted many brands with endless opportunities to thrive in the digital age, they've done the opposite for many others, complicating what was once a much simpler process.

A lack of digital know-how is simply down to not having the access or resource to engage with the digital world for many consumers. But lots of people actually choose not to avoid digital, preferring more traditional brand engagement, like direct mail. This leaves a substantial chunk of the population digitally excluded - so how can you ensure these customers don't get left behind?

You've got to integrate tech with tradition.

Communication is key in any customer engagement strategy. It offers brands a direct route to grow a meaningful connection with their customers.

Our latest research into customer loyalty revealed that somewhat unsurprisingly, 60% of UK consumers identify email as their preferred method of communication when hearing from brands about news, promotions and rewards across all market sectors.

But we also found that 14% of consumers prefer to hear about news, promotions and rewards through a good old-fashioned letter instead of online channels, while just 7% prefer the likes of social media and chatbots.

Some people love the feeling of actually holding and reading words in print. I often like to compare this to how we consume our news; lots of us keep up with current affairs by scrolling through multiple websites or apps, but many still prefer to flick through a newspaper. The same can be said for brand communications.

There's also no harm in picking up the phone! Call your customers and maybe even surprise them with a little bonus for interacting or being loyal to your brand. In this increasingly digital world, it's easy to forget how valuable actually catting to your customers can be.

You've got to be responsive when your customers call you too. Customers that tend to stay away from digital platforms like to seek information and help over the phone, and no matter how digital-first your business becomes, there will always be a place for telephone conversations. 

Don't forget this group. Invest time and resources to make sure these customers still get the same care and service over the phone as they would through other communication channels.

You need to tailor your approach.

With a massive mix of brand engagement preferences from customer to customer, it's vital to get to the bottom of their preferences as soon as possible.

This way, you can tailor your comms to increase the likelihood of customers seeing and engaging with your brand. And you won't have to blitz them with a barrage of info on channels your customers don't tend to use.

Asking your customers a few simple questions about how they'd prefer to be communicated with as part of your onboarding process is one of the easiest and most effective ways to do this.

You can then tweak your comms over time after gathering data on engagement metrics such as response and open rates, sales conversions and rewards preferences.

Surprise your customers. 

So, once your customers establish how they like to be engaged with, you can use these avenues to gain their continued loyalty. 

There are tons of reward solutions brands can explore to engage those less digital-savvy customers. Think things like lifestyle magazines, tickets or even gift boxes – you can deliver all of these through their letterbox. Never underestimate the power of snail mail – by engaging your customers in this way, not only are they likelier to remain loyal to your brand, but they'll also recommend you to others.

This applies to all consumers, but it's particularly useful when you want to add value for those customers who can't or choose not to engage with digital brand communications and rewards.

To sum up: taking a personalised approach that uses relevant communication channels to suit each customer – combined with valuable rewards that engage customers who aren't digitally savvy – will help keep your brand at the forefront of their minds.

If you have a burning question for The Loyalty Line, no matter how big or small, fill out the form here and one of our team will be in touch.