3 Benefits of Leveraging Customer Experiences in Marketing Efforts

Once retailers decide to collect customer content, the next step is deciding how to make the most of it. Customer content detailing the experience of current shoppers, and what keeps them coming back serves as potential marketing material that could have a profound impact on the decisions of new or unfamiliar shoppers. When retailers focus their marketing messaging on the insights of their current customers, they separate themselves apart from their competitors in numerous ways. Some of the benefits of leveraging customer experiences in marketing efforts include:   

Helping Brands Display Empathy With Shoppers Early in their Journey

One of the best ways for retailers to make a memorable first impression on new shoppers is by displaying a level of empathy competitors can’t match. Imagine doing hours and hours of online shopping to finally come across two brands that have exactly what you need. One of the brands features a collection of rave reviews, photos of happy customers and video testimonials of customers detailing their shopping experiences, while the other one sticks to cut and dry company slogans and logos. Which brand would you be more compelled to make a purchase from? 
 
Placing the experiences of customers at the forefront of the conversation allows for them to quickly buy into the idea that their voice is important to the retailer, and who doesn’t enjoy feeling like a VIP? Prioritizing customer experiences also allows retailers to showcase what they’ve learned from listening to customers. Beginning a relationship with a new customer by providing full disclosure about what they can expect, is a great place to start. 

Making Showcasing Strengths 
Easier 

An effective way for retailers to cut to the chase and express to customers what they’re best at is by placing customer feedback at the forefront of the conversation. Without customer feedback, a retailer’s process of communicating what it does best to its customers becomes much more time consuming. Think about how many resources go into the extensive research that goes into determining what customers like most about a brand, what they wish they could change about it or what they wish they would have known about it beforehand. When retailers make customer feedback the focal point of their marketing strategy, learning about any of those areas becomes simple.  
 
Continued collection of user-generated content serves retailers by educating customers while simultaneously learning about any potential gaps or areas for improvement in their experience. Who knows what content could improve the experience of other shoppers other than customers themselves? Retailers who regularly collect photo or video reviews along with other types of social proof are much more likely to get customers to move forward with a purchase. Research shows 60% of online shoppers need to see an average of three to four images at least during their shopping experience. By engaging with the UGC uploaded by customers, retailers can begin building an emotional connection with shoppers that helps them stand out from the crowd. 

Sparking an Emotional Connections With Shoppers Through Continued Engagement 

Shock, anxiety, and excitement are just a few of the emotions customers may experience during their online shopping journey. Retailers who engage with shoppers regularly have an opportunity to tap into other emotions like curiosity, or skepticism and turn them into anticipation and eventually delight. Since customers can relate to other customers, retailers who showcase UGC early and often in the buying cycle have a much better chance at getting through to a customer who may be nervous about shopping with an unfamiliar brand than a retailer that relies on typical marketing messaging. Research shows, customers trust reviews from other customers 12 times more than marketing directly from a brand. 

When brands entrust their voice to their biggest advocates – their customers, the process of earning the trust of new shoppers becomes more efficient. Shopping for a product and coming across numerous questions you had being answered by the retailer, seeing honest, unfiltered video reviews and multiple photos of customers with products you’ve envisioned yourself with resonates differently than carefully crafted brand content. Find out how to take advantage of that by booking a demo with an expert today.