This article was originally published in Chief Marketer.
No matter the sector, brands can use experiential to affect the customer experience. Here’s three tips.
1. Build trust through transparency
Consumers can tell when brands are trying to hide something, so brands shouldn’t keep their agendas secret. By 2020, the consumer experience will be more important than price and product.
Experiential activations provide a platform for brands to really show their cards to consumers and foster long-term loyalty. Engaging face-to-face with event attendees removes ambiguity and fosters a dialogue of mutual respect.
2. Activate with context
No customer experience exists in a vacuum. Per IBM, 76 percent of consumers expect companies to understand their personal needs. Before diving into an experiential program, ask: “Why does this experience work for this audience right now?” Successful activations challenge consumers to step outside their comfort zones while staying within a context relevant to them.
3. Create experiences to learn from
Experiential programs aren’t just a way for consumers to learn about brands; they’re a prime opportunity for brands to gain deeper insights into targets’ behaviors and sentiments. Build events with the means of capturing useful consumer information. RFID technology is one of many simple yet incredibly effective means of integrating gamified analytics. Then, brands can boost retention by listening to customer feedback and optimizing the next event per the insights they gain.
For companies big and small, in industries niche and mainstream, experiential marketing drives engagement like no other tactic. Follow these tips to create experiences that transform the way brands—and industries—fortify consumer loyalty.
