Why Brands Need to Get in the L.O.O.P.
Brands need to adapt to increasingly complex consumer journeys and tap into how consumers use messaging by creating new communications models and building relationships at scale, according to a new WARC report.
‘Unlocking the potential of conversations: How business messaging drives value throughout the customer lifecycle’ is a new study by WARC in partnership with Meta, distilling recent research into the shopper journey to help brands create a closer, more trusted and valued customer relationship.
Takeaways
- Companies risk losing $3.1 trillion in consumer spend each year (6.7% of their total revenues) due to substandard customer experiences.
- 71% of online adults are more likely to purchase from a company they can contact via messaging.
- With 70% of online shopping carts being abandoned, brands need to urgently rethink customer journeys.
Get in the L.O.O.P.
When a shopper initiates a messaging interaction, they are signalling an eagerness to engage – and this opens the door for brands to start a high-quality, two-way conversation. They can do this by:
- Leading them to discovery: to create awareness, brands can invest in paid social, include QR codes on print materials or incorporate messaging on websites and product pages.
- Orchestrating the journey to conversion: with a 1:1 conversation in progress, businesses can start elevating their brand within the customer’s consideration set. Personalisation is key as consideration paves the way to conversion.
- Optimising the purchase and post-purchase experience: there are many reasons a shopping cart might be abandoned but messaging can be effective in resolving why customers have failed to complete.
- Providing meaningful reasons to re-engage: multiple research studies have shown how building penetration amongst non- or light buyers is the primary source of growth through promotions, competitions and rewards.
Key quote
“While the funnel remains a popular basic structure for understanding the marketing process, we are finding that the way in which we attract, inform, convert and engage customers has a growing number of moving parts. The ability to adapt to different journeys and engage and support customers through the buying process and beyond is likely to be an important asset in driving engagement, customer relationships and revenue for a brand” – Aditya Kishore, Insight Director at WARC.
Credit: WARC