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Consumers take control: how consumer power is influencing brands

consumer using phone in market

At Edge, we’re all about our new generation of customer engagement. That’s why we understand better than anyone just how powerful the modern consumer has become.

Word of mouth is the oldest form of advertising, the simplest and most effective. Now, with the continual rise of social media and shared economies, along with the fact that we have the world at our fingertips, the consumer is well and truly in control.

Brands are built on customer loyalty and advocacy, and as such, are held more accountable than ever before.  But by embracing a consumer centric approach, businesses can harness this power and use it to their advantage.

Consider the entire customer experience journey

The way a customer experiences a brand has changed. There is no single point of contact, no linear journey. Instead, customers interact with your brand across several different touchpoints, whenever they choose.

This is why moments matter. Focus on the moments where your customer interacts with your brand and what you want them to experience at that moment.

Run unique promotions that benefit your customers

Customers expect to be rewarded, and promotions are a great way to engage with them without discounting your brand. That’s why successful brands keep running promotions time again. It’s no coincidence.

Promotions can be a tricky road to navigate between the mechanics, rewards and insurance, and it’s important brands get this right for it to be a memorable customer experience spoken of again. At Edge we can help manage your promotion enginge end-to-end, giving you the freedom to focus on the big picture.

Reward customer loyalty

Customers use their loyalty as a lever of power, and that’s something that all brands should keep front of mind. If a business does not respect their customers’ loyalty, they’ll take it elsewhere.

It’s vital to reward customer loyalty with discounts, vouchers or advantages they can use externally to your business.

Show you’re accountable

Brands do silly things and make mistakes sometimes. That’s something that just happens. You have to be able to deal with that so that your customers don’t see you as being distant or unaccountable.

Companies should take the necessary steps in making sure sure that their business is always owning up to mistakes and taking responsibility for the sake of brand accountability. Customers appreciate honesty and personal touches.

Create content people want to share

Your customers now have the power to grow your business for you, and that’s something that you can really make the most of. Content marketing is one of the very best examples of this. If you produce the type of content people like, they’ll want to share it on social media platforms. Customers can also become your content curators; think written competition entries, photos and user stories. This helps to push your business into the view of people who might never have heard of it before.

Make your customers your ambassadors

The moment when your customers become your ambassadors is the ultimate measure of success,

Brand ambassadors can help you bridge the gap between your business and its base of customers. The great news is, you needn’t look further than your current customer base. The people who already love your brand will usually be more than willing to share this with others. Encourage them to do so on social media and video sharing platforms.

Act on customer feedback

Social Media has levelled the playing field, giving a voice to all our consumers – and they’re going to use it to give you feedback whether you like it or not!

The key is to act on it rather than ignore it because nobody likes being ignored.  Take all the criticisms on board, listen to what’s being said and decide which criticisms have merit and which don’t. You can’t act on everything, but if there is a groundswell of support for one particular change, you should take that feedback on board and consider acting.

Edge can help your brand develop innovative solutions that reward your customers and get them talking. Get in contact with us @LinkedIn

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Rebecca Factor & Calista Vantarakis

Rebecca Factor & Calista Vantarakis

Dream team and Marketing Power Duo are often thrown around the office when referring to theses two. Rebecca (Marketing Manager) and Calista (Communications Manager), complement each other in a way that JUST works, like popcorn and Maltesers. With BA's in Marketing up each of their sleeves and a real passion for thinking creatively and strategically, you’ll find these two always on the lookout for the next industry trends and groundbreaking promotions.
Rebecca Factor & Calista Vantarakis

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