How Do You Connect With Consumers Who Are Disconnected?

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Picture this: you have a few years in the business and have managed to create a rather impressive audience, be it a social following, website visitors, or even buyers. These are all, in a sense, consumers.

But many businesses may notice that a considerable portion of their consumers are disconnected from their brand. They don’t respond to posts anymore, they don’t read your articles, or they’ve stopped buying.

So, how can you reconnect with disconnected consumers?

1. Find Out Why They’ve Left

There has to be a reason users became disconnected from you, and finding it out is imperative to get them to come back. Essentially, you have to look at the way you are talking to them or interact with them to see if something may have put them off. This has a lot to do with consumer expectations. Ask yourself, are you meeting them? Because a lot of businesses don’t. One survey showed that 4 out of 5 consumers believe businesses provide a disconnected experience. This means that the businesses are lacking in something consumers want or expect to be offered.

To find out why they disconnected, you can even send out a short survey and ask. Not everyone will respond, but even if just a few do, you will get a better sense of why people stopped listening to you. It could be a confusing strategy, too many newsletters, or an unpopular campaign. Either way, these can be fixed.

2. Incentivize Them to Come Back

People can find anything they want online, and for them, not paying attention to your brand isn’t really affecting them in any way. It’s always a lot for the brand, not the consumer.

But when a business wants to convince a user to reconnect, they have to make it worth that user’s while and provide compelling reasons to do it. This can be a generous discount, access to something exclusive or even making them part of your future activities. These incentives show a user that you really care about them, and are going the extra mile to connect with them.

3. Leverage Technology to Stay Connected

If your communications process has any type of gap, you risk losing consumers. These days, people expect to receive what they want, when they want it, which is usually right now. This is almost impossible to achieve without staying logged in 24/7 unless you are using a chatbot.

Chatbots can pick up where human resources leave off, and communicate with users at any time of day to provide clarifications, answer questions, or even help with routine tasks. It’s an easy method to ensure a consumer can connect with you whenever they want.

Conclusion

In marketing, many focus on bringing in new people constantly, which is not a bad strategy, but it can make you forget to take care of the people who are already on your side. Reconnecting with users who’ve stopped engaging is essential because these people already know your brand and services.

BRAIN POWER VS DELIVERABLES: Should the “now” take precedence over the “why”?

Deliverables aren’t everything when it comes to getting your project completed. While deliverables will give you a tangible item to consider within the broader context of your project, the deliverable is only the result. For a successful outcome, time and brainpower have gone into designing and creating the deliverable. Clients should make an effort to recognize the brainpower and creativity that has gone into the project as a whole, instead of getting bogged down in just deliverables.

What is a deliverable?

A deliverable could be defined in several ways. It is an element that fits within the broader scope of a project. Deliverables are both tangible and something provided by an agency. A website, article, PDF, or graphic are all examples of deliverables. While deliverables are essential to project completion, they aren’t the only thing that has gone into ensuring the project is a success.

Deliverables don’t manifest out of thin air. Someone had to use their time and brainpower to create and design the deliverable before giving it to the client. When it comes to a project’s ultimate success, it is the outcome of the deliverable that is key.

What are outcomes?

Outcomes in project management are the ultimate consequences of time investment, brainpower, and the project deliverable’s impact on the job. In essence, outcomes - the end-result of the brainpower that has gone into the project - are business benefits.

Why do clients often fail to recognize brain power over deliverables?

With brainpower and outcomes vs. deliverables, it’s easy to see in theory how these two things are different and why it’s essential to focus on one over the other. But it’s human nature to want to see immediate returns on investment, i.e., in the form of a tangible item. Unfortunately, the “now” can take precedence over the “why,” or big picture with a project. Also, it’s easier for clients to show their superiors that they’ve gotten something for the project with a tangible item to show them.

For clients, it’s so easy to lose sight of the big picture with a project due to a range of different factors, some of which may be high-pressure and stressful. Companies often lose sight of their “why,” let alone the purpose of a big project. Agencies often hear things from their prospective clients like, “We needed a company brochure yesterday,” or “last week was when I needed that eBook.” When agencies hear this, they often react in a knee-jerk fashion, cramming a bunch of design and development deliverables into a short period. But this comes with many risks:

• The deliverables will not align with the brand’s core values

• The brand will not be well-positioned with deliverables that aren’t well-thought-out

• Target personas will not be adequately defined

• Deliverables may not be functional or offer emotional benefits 

When clients get bogged down in deliverables, they risk losing the main objective of the project. Time and brainpower must take precedence. For projects of small and broad scope, the process must be valued over tangible items.

The end.

WHAT ARE YOU REALLY SELLING?

Human beings have an attention span that is one second less than your average goldfish’s. In today’s interconnected and digital world, consumers are under a constant barrage of advertisements. Sometimes, they don’t even realize that what they are seeing is an ad, especially if it's carefully disguised as a narrative blog post. So, what can you do to increase your sales, and turn cold or warm leads into paying, loyal customers?
 
First off, you must know what you're selling, and it’s not the features you’re selling, but the benefits of your offering and why your brand exists to add value. For instance...

Starbucks does not sell coffee that comes in any flavor you could want. Starbucks sells a community. And what are the benefits of a community? It fosters connection, camaraderie, and the benefit of being seen and heard as part of a group of like-minded coffee-lovers.
 
Disney does not sell entertainment. They sell magic and unforgettable experiences. Sure, they sell movies and toys to entertain. But so do thousands of other companies. What is it that makes Disney’s toys and movies so special? The brand is positioned to sell magic and enable customers to create new, cherished memories with their loved ones.
 
So, what is it that you’re selling?
Factual statements don’t compel someone to buy. The benefits do. Why does your product exist, and what value does its existence add to the customer’s experience?
 
It’s the customer’s emotions that drive them to make a purchase. While listing factual information is important so the customer knows how the product or service operates, that’s not what gets them to convert.
 
What are some examples of features versus benefits?
You want to communicate to your audience what the more profound, emotional benefits are that you’re selling, and position your brand to connect with them through those benefits, for example:

• Accessibility vs 24-hour limo service 

• Convenience vs One-click buy 

• Trustworthiness vs Doing business since 1950

Once you understand what the benefits are, you can begin to craft content around those benefits that utilize a narrative structure that hits those emotional notes for your target audience. The latest and the most fabulous features don’t mean much to your customer unless those features translate into benefits that bring them a specific value. What you’re selling needs to answer these vital questions for the customer:

• What’s in it for me?

• Will this improve my current situation?

• Will the product or service make me happier, healthier, smarter, or richer?

Understanding your target audience’s demographics can certainly help you figure out what your offering’s most relevant features are that you want to list. However, knowing the psychographics of your customer, as in what motivates them or what gives them value, can help you position your brand’s benefits and the reason why it exists to serve the customer. Doing this will enable you to move whatever product or service it is that you’re selling.
 
For better conversions and increased customer loyalty, know exactly what you’re selling, and communicate how it benefits your target customer on an emotional level.

The end.