Transparency and Trust: Marketing’s Imperative Year
Today, retailers willing to help their customers make wise purchase decisions are rewarded through purchases and brand loyalty. Here, Scott Weller, SVP product strategy, SessionM Inc, a Mastercard Company, discusses a few strategies brands are implementing to offer transparency and build trust.
Retailers reported significant sales growth in 2021, which is particularly impressive given that they endured a holiday season marred by a COVID-19 spike, geopolitical unrest and inflation. At their core, most of these challenges can be solved if marketers have a laser focus on two goals: transparency and trust.
Brands that demonstrate their willingness and ability to help their customers make wise purchasing decisions during tumultuous times will be significantly rewarded. We live in an increasingly complex world, so offering simplification for one aspect of a customers’ life will be rewarded with sales and brand loyalty. Here are some strategies industry-leading retailers and brands are implementing that demonstrate their commitment to these values.
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Opt-in Customer Journeys
Customer data and use optimization can often be misconstrued and misunderstood. Many innovative brands earn consumer trust through responsible data practices embedded within business operations, such as Mastercard’s Global Data Responsibility Imperative. This is because they empower individuals to maintain control over their data while still providing marketers with the opportunity to deliver a personalized experience. Owning direct relationships and first-party data will be critical for brands to market to existing customers in the future, so brands must build trust with their customers to gain access to it.
Marketers’ core function is to help people quickly purchase exceptional products and remove as much friction as possible. Brands must help people understand how their data fuels the personalized experiences that power this type of exchange. For instance, brands could automate their email marketing around perishable foods to provide a quick “It’s been a month since you’ve ordered dog food, would you like to order more?” are much more likely to generate a sale over a random coupon. Personalization is now a requirement of the customer experience as Twilio’s recent “State of Personalization 2021” report showed that 78% of customers had been frustrated by a shopping experience that hasn’t changed to their preferences. Helping customers see the connection between exceptional online experiences and enabling their favorite retailers to aggregate customer data results in a mutually strengthened relationship.
Loyalty programs are critical in building this symbiotic, win-win scenario between marketers and consumers. A brand’s top customers provide consent to use personal data so they can receive benefits such as free or reduced-price items or even non-monetary other benefits, such as early check-ins. Data ownership allows brands to deliver better customer experiences that generate loyalty and engagement.
Finally, brands must create checks in their customer journeys that empower people not to share their data. The adage, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant,” is appropriate as brands willing to offer people the chance to opt-out of practices that make them uncomfortable are perceived as more trustworthy and worthy of consumers’ business. Marketers that enable customers to opt-out of data aggregation are rewarded with enhanced loyalty and higher-quality data.
Supply Chain Disruptions Test Brand Loyalty
COVID-19-related shortages and changes to day-to-day habits have created an environment where consumers are more receptive to trying new brands and products. People stuck at home grew more discerning about the brands they bought from, which was a boon for many D2C brands with refined online experiences. To hold onto customers, every purchase cycle must be flawless. Marketers must do their part by attracting people to make a purchase and facilitating post-purchase communications to account for unplanned shortages and delays.
Shipping delays and component shortages have made life incredibly difficult for brands over the past two years. Many brands are also offering customers transparency into the current state of their global supply chain and proactively offering information about shipping delays to set expectations appropriately. By sharing that information upfront, consumers are empowered to decide whether they want to move forward with the transaction before giving the company their money. Innovative companies also offer flexible cancellations, free SMS text shipping updates, and 24/7 customer service lines to ensure customers’ concerns are heard and acted upon if necessary.
New Payment Methods Create Opportunities for Consumers, Brands
Brands are continuing to innovate within their omnichannel customer experience. Empowering consumers with new payment options, including flexible return policies and “buy online, pay in-store” (BOPIS) pickup, are now table stakes in 2022. A good comparison is the rate of innovation in the auto industry. Cars rolling off lots today with cruise control, auto-sensor wipers and lane control would be considered luxury vehicles ten years ago but are regarded as standard today. The bar is rising for marketers, and they must ensure they are adapting to consumer preferences.
Interestingly, many of these newer payment options were available pre-pandemic, but some consumers didn’t know about them or find them pertinent at the time. An emphasis on touchless transactions pushed these seldom-used options to the forefront, making them a lasting pandemic legacy.
Savvy marketers continue to discover nuances in their customers’ purchasing habits to identify moments their brand can add value. Microcredit, specifically, has been beneficial for many retailers as it opens new higher-priced items and markets for consumers.
Digital Currencies Will Be a Factor in Retail… Just Not Right Now
While retailers won’t be expected to accept any and all digital currencies for their goods and services in 2022, there is a correlation between consumers’ growing usage of cryptocurrency and their expectation to engage in loyalty transactions with it. Brands should evaluate crypto uses for each business within each industry. However, things are moving quickly. Major financial institutions are beginning to create pathways toward supporting digital currency transactions.
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Merchants have managed transactions through issuing banks to minimize risk. Therefore, financial institutions are good reference points for where the digital currency trends will be headed next. However, early adopters should plan to establish processes and policies to enable crypto transactions effectively. At Mastercard, consumers, businesses, and governments who intend to transact in this space, whether spending crypto using a card program or developing the right design choice for central bank digital currency alongside governments, can do so as a partner of choice.
We live in an era where customers can switch brand loyalties at the drop of a hat. Hence, it is of paramount importance that you develop transparency and trust among your customers, and you will be generously rewarded with sales and customer loyalty.
What steps have you taken to be transparent with your potential customers and build their trust? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
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