Marketers always look for new ways to serve their customers and communities, and 2020 brought more occasions than usual. The quick transition to digital customer experiences as a result of the pandemic allowed companies to test plenty of fresh ideas to address their audiences.
The tone of customer communications also changed. The events of 2020, combined with the move to digital interaction, led marketers to decrease the use of industry jargon and messaging that customers may perceive as less than authentic communication.
The focus moved toward personalized, succinct, and transparent messaging to help create long-lasting customer relationships built on trust.
COVID has taught marketers the value of straight talk and consumers' appreciation of value-based messaging, according to a recent global study of marketers and consumers. People are faced with a barrage of messaging from a variety of sources, leading to shortened attention spans and weariness with generic terms such as "the new normal." Customers are also ready to move on from messages that highlight pandemic circumstances, another report revealed—likely because they have learned to navigate the situation and are ready to embrace an adjusted "business as usual" lifestyle.
Companies are therefore faced with the tricky task of identifying messages that strike the appropriate balance.
That consumer and marketer study moreover illustrates that there is a gap between marketers' perception of trust and consumers' reality: Three-quarters of marketers said customers trust their organization's use of personal data in 2020 more than they did in 2019; however, just over half (52%) of consumers said they are comfortable with giving companies their personal data in exchange for a better experience.
Personalized content is not a new approach, but when implemented wisely, it can help marketers move from using trust-reducing communications to developing communications that both align with a brand's voice and respect a customer's personal considerations.
Here are some tips on how to overcome trust barriers while still getting personal with customers.
1. Create an opt-in culture to nurture customer trust
In the past few years, awareness of privacy and data brokers has increased. In many cases, a company's customers are not comfortable with how easily their data is compiled and sold.
Around half of people find it unsettling when a brand knows something about them that they didn't disclose directly, Acquia's 2019 research indicates. The same research finds that 65% of consumers would no longer engage with a brand if they were to discover their data is being used dishonestly.