How to Enhance the Customer Experience During the Holidays
Every marketer wants to enhance the customer experience during the holidays, but few ever do. Why?—Because during the holidays customer expectations are INTENSE. In fact, they’re so intense that marketers only have a moment (and a brief one at that) to grab the attention of consumers and influence their actions. If your goal is to enhance the customer experience during the holidays, start by thinking about your customers in the context of each moment along the buyer’s journey:
- Where are they?
- What device are they using?
- What is their mindset in a given moment?
In doing so, you’ll begin to be able to build seamless touchpoints along the customer journey that support a personalized holiday shopping experience. Not only will this help you meet consumers ever-evolving expectations, but it will also make it easier to deliver action-centric messages that are intuitive and useful for recipients. So, with all of that said, here’s how to use touchpoints to enhance the customer experience during the holidays…
Commit to creating compelling content
When you start developing your holiday marketing messaging, you must take the time to consider how each element of the message delivers on customer expectations. Speaking to consumer expectations is critical because it’s what compels them to actually shop rather than window shop. When compelling content is done properly, it helps marketers and brands develop stronger consumer relationships, in addition to increasing holiday revenue.A key component to the creation of compelling content is personalization, and true personalization requires the deployment of AI, machine learning, and neural networks. (To learn more about this subject, check out our whitepaper on the evolving importance of machine learning and predictive analytics on marketing.)
Customize content across channels to create a linked experience
From channel to channel, the customer experience needs to be consistent. Therefore, look at every customer interaction—from the moment of brand discovery to the moment of purchase—to ensure each touchpoint along the journey can be personalized to the individual consumer in an effort to create a linked experience. Given that the holidays are a peak season for marketing, it’s easy to fall into the convenience of batch-and-blast messaging—don’t do it. Shift your thinking from being campaign driven to customer experience driven. Use customization across channels to create linkable experiences that inspire consumer confidence, increase acquisition, and maximize loyalty.
Focus on the where and the how
To get the most from this holiday season, it’s imperative that you don’t forget about locations, devices, and the role they play in enhancing the customer experience. (This is especially true for marketers who need to drive holiday shoppers to brick-and-mortar locations.)Too often marketers lean on promotions and financial incentives as a means of incentivizing consumers to buy. There is an easier, less costly way to bring new customers in the door—simply highlight the things that differentiate your brand from the competition. What sets you apart?How do your products make life easier for people?Even simple differentiators like curbside pickup and self-service wrapping can greatly enhance the customer experience for the sheer fact they meet a consumer need in a unique way:
- In the era of COVID-19, many people don’t want to go into stores which makes something like curbside pickup very compelling.
- Everyone wants to wrap presents during the holidays, but most people either forget to do it, or refuse to pay an extra fee to have it done for them.
Are you ready to enhance the customer experience during the holidays?
If the answer is YES, reach out to a Zeta representative today! Remember—this holiday season it’s your job to make sure that customers are top of mind in your marketing and your messaging. Shift your marketing strategy as necessary from a predetermined approach to an adaptable approach that pays attention to consumers’ needs.
