Over the past decade, you’d be hard-pressed to miss a marketing article that doesn’t include the phrase “surprise and delight” in it somewhere. It appears to have worked its way into the center of marketing today. But what exactly is it?
Surprise and delight is a marketing strategy that aims to attract and nurture customers by improving interactions with them at every turn and offering them unexpected rewards. Done right, such initiatives can also do wonders for brand awareness by doing things that your clients simply can’t stop themselves from telling their friends and social media connections about.
The idea that it’s a good move for an enterprise to bring experiences to their customers which turn the dial from “normal” to “fabulous” is perfectly logical, whether that comes in the shape of a promotion or a funky, streamlined way to converse and transact. While the idea itself is clear and simple, actually going about exceeding client expectations and developing long-term loyalty isn’t easy.
Surprise and delight require many variables to come together just right and at the end of the day, we have to accept that not every person is uniform and alike. And with so many digital channels available to marketers – never mind approaches, data points, and a fast-growing array of devices to understand and adjust to – how to surprise and delight is genuinely something complex and often elusive. Or it can be if overthought.
How to go the extra mile
Although there is no individual recipe for guaranteed success, looking around there are a few standout things for us that you need to consider: the need to truly treat customers as individuals by understanding them better than ever (and not regarding it as an afterthought) and delivering a product, promotion, or service which is truly valuable for them. It’s not just the case of enterprises gauging what people want to purchase, rather more about gaining a better understanding of what creates an emotional connection with a product or brand. That’s what builds fruitful long-term customer relationships.
Some readers might now be thinking we have omitted something super important to great client engagement – the element of timing. We haven’t. We’re saying it here and now, timing is everything.
Leveraging digital channels to deliver a premium experience
Delivering amazing service and a memorable customer experience is attainable and not out of reach for any organization of any size or type. It doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive and digital channels billions of us are familiar and comfortable with can be used to deliver stellar content rapidly and accurately. And this is where Mitto comes in. Rapid and accurate delivery of content globally is the very essence of our business.
Admittedly not everybody enjoys and celebrates their birthday each year as if it were their last day on earth but for most people, there are two times when people want to create awesome memories: their birthday and their holidays. Just by sending something such as a simple SMS wishing your client a great birthday and including a link to a nice offer can work wonders.
Restaurants should try delivering an electronic coupon for a free appetizer or dessert when a customer steps inside or walks by a favorite restaurant. Or how about upgrading shipping to next day from regular just because you can as a small ‘thank you’ to a regular client? Options are limitless.
Making your customers feel special, members of a tight-knit and exclusive community has to be the goal of any enterprise today. Your customers are your business’s lifeline. Recognizing the value they bring to your company is something that has to be done regularly on an ongoing basis. It doesn’t take much or need to cost a lot. Using omnichannel / CPaaS solutions from Mitto, bringing channels your customers inherently understand such as SMS, Voice and WhatsApp Business together ensures your content hits the mark time and again. And that’s what it’s about – consistency.
