Additional reporting by Nathaniel Fetalvero

What does it take for a consumer to be loyal to a brand? According to Bill Magnuson, CEO and co-founder of customer engagement platform Braze, it helps when brands feel “human.” And one way to do this is by building a strong relationship with their customers.

“If a brand can really listen to and understand [their customers], then they can build great relationships,” says Magnuson.

To shed some light on the characteristics that make brands feel human to their customers, Braze commissioned market research firm Forrester in 2018 to conduct a consumer survey called the Brand Humanity Index.

Two months ago, Braze shared the study findings with marketing experts in Singapore at a SYNC Dinner – an event that gathers C-suite executives and industry leaders organized in collaboration with Tech in Asia – where attendees shared their experiences on humanizing their brands.

Here’s what they had to say.

Know your value proposition

According to Singhui Ng, who heads marketing at food delivery startup Deliveroo in Singapore, it’s important to understand the functional and emotional benefits that consumers gain when they engage with a business’ services.

“We know what it takes functionally to satisfy a customer with the service we provide, but the emotional aspect helps in times when we have to deal with screw-ups,” she says.

For example, when the company has to address and correct mistakes – like when deliveries are late or the app doesn’t work – Deliveroo uses a more personal tone so customers feel like their needs are understood.

The emotional aspect helps in times when we have to deal with screw-ups.

Dione Song, chief commercial officer at fashion retailer Love Bonito, agrees and adds that online businesses have to go the extra mile to meet consumers’ needs compared to offline businesses. “When it comes to online platforms, there needs to be intentional effort in conveying an authentic and genuine point of view, moving beyond being transactional to being relatable,” she says.

To this end, Love Bonito makes a concentrated effort to train its customer service team to be highly responsive, take responsibility for criticisms, and keep customers updated on product launches or stock availability so that shoppers can make informed purchase decisions.

Issues with scaling

While the benefits of humanizing a brand are clear, there are challenges involved for companies looking to scale. As the amount of customers increases, businesses will have a harder time personalizing their approach. And although they may turn to automated communication solutions in such situations, Song cautions against taking “cookie-cutter approaches” or replicating communication strategies en masse across different platforms or markets.

“Take copywriting, for instance. It may be tempting to look for ways to automate such work, but full automation cannot ensure a consistent delivery of the Love Bonito brand voice that our customers have come to know and love us for,” she explains.

When companies expand to other markets, they also need to understand the different needs of its consumers. In Deliveroo’s case, the firm had to take into account the varying food consumption habits of its users in each region it entered. People in Asia, for example, may prefer to eat lunch at different times compared to those in Europe. The platform needed to understand the demands of its user segments and find out how to communicate with them in ways they preferred before even launching operations in those places.

Leveraging technology

Another way for businesses to understand consumer behavior is through technology, says Arun Kumar, head of digital marketing at online marketplace Carousell.

“Utilizing AI technology, we are able to gather user insights that can be customized to suit their behaviors. With these insights, our interactions can be tailored for a more relevant experience,” he shares.

Song echoes the sentiment, adding that digital platforms, in particular, help provide an avenue for meaningful conversations on a large scale. In Love Bonito’s case, it uses its Instagram account to crowdsource shopper feedback on their products, which it then incorporates into future designs or upcoming launches.

“This not only makes our customers feel heard and understood, it also reminds us that the brand exists because of our customers and for our customers,” she says. “Making technology work for you and not against you is key.”

Braze’s Brand Humanity Index provides insights into the functional and emotional attributes that make brands feel human for consumers and looks at the tangible business impact of human communications on customer engagement, purchase behavior, and brand loyalty.

Download the report on Braze’s website.