Building customer confidence through communications

Personalised, context-aware, relevant marketing and communications can grow sales, says Richard Burdge

Burdge: Personalised marcomms activity is key to sales growth

Companies that can quickly deliver personalised, relevant content using the medium that customers prefer can inspire loyalty. Personalised multi-channel communications can grow revenue, customer numbers, and up-selling or cross-selling opportunities.

If there is one business principle that has re-asserted itself over the past 18 months, it is the importance of the customer. Marketing, sales and line-of-business teams are also under increasing pressure to find better ways to connect with each customer.

Acquiring a new customer can cost much more than retaining one, and increased customer retention can boost profits. Where there is a strong relationship, customers are more likely to remain a customer, to recommend you to a friend and buy from you again.

Quality communication is key to building customer relationships and reinforcing good service.

An intelligent approach to customer communications can be integrated with line-of-business operations, streamlining business processes, improving service and reducing cost.

Personalised communication is tailored to the individual customer and takes into account the full profile of the customer and their history, preferences, language, even idiom.

Relevance and context are critical. Communications that are not relevant are intrusive and create a negative impression of your brand. You must also properly understand the situation surrounding your customer contact and shape the communication appropriately.

Give customers the exact information they need when they need it, using a communication channel that is preferred by the customer and appropriate for the communication.

Customer interaction must be managed across all media – print, email, phone, SMS, Twitter and so on. Note that interactive real-time channels change the dynamics of customer communications.

It is not enough to manage a single-customer view of enterprise data. Maintain a single customer view across all communication channels and communication history. This customer-centric view is key to effective CRM, with implications for the way communications and campaigns are developed and managed.

The theme of customer conversations has been talked about for years, but the immediacy that characterises digital touch-points such as mobile and social media demands a conversation. So does the shift in the balance of power, away from marketing towards the customer, whose attention must be earned through conversation.

Richard Burdge is chief marketing officer at customer communications firm Thunderhead