As the old adage goes, “People buy from people.” In today’s technologically-driven business landscape, entrepreneurs now have a multitude of ways to engage with current and potential customers across the world.
While changes like automation can increase employee productivity, streamline operations and boost the number of interactions that lead to sales, many businesses focus so much on the efficiency aspect that they don’t recognize the potential of losing the human touch, which is what initially entices customers to purchase and keeps them coming back.
As experts, the members of Newsweek Expert Forum have experience making their brand more appealing to customers. Below, 16 of them share concrete ways any business can humanize its product or service offerings and why these actions are essential to building long-term relationships with customers.
1. Showcase the People Behind the Business
In a world of ever-changing business settings and AI integration, it’s still so important to have a human hand involved in everything you do. By featuring the faces of the brand and company and highlighting staff members or product designers, you can still be seen as down to earth by your customers. This will help them feel connected to the real humans at your company, no matter how automated your business is. – Christian Anderson, Lost Boy Entertainment LLC
2. Leverage Your Experiences
Use your personal experiences. If you have a brand that was created to fill a void or provide something specific to the public based on a personal experience that is relatable, you will immediately build trust. Trust is the key to gaining more customers and keeping the ones you attain loyal. – Cynthia Salarizadeh, House of Saka, Inc.
3. Build Relationships
Build relationships to show your customers you care about them as people first. Don’t get right down to business. Instead, connect on common interests, people and experiences. Ask questions and add value. People will choose who they want to work with over a better product or price. Show them you are responsive and build the trust that you will be there for them and not just the sale. – Michelle Tillis Lederman, Author, The Connector’s Advantage
4. Solicit and Feature Customer Stories in Campaigns
To humanize a brand, a “story exchange” initiative should be implemented. Encourage customers to share their personal experiences with your brand or product, and feature the best ones in marketing campaigns. This creates a bond, celebrates diversity and fosters a sense of community centered around shared experiences. – Dr. Kira Graves, Kira Graves Consulting
5. Lean in on Human Values
Don’t forget that you are human. Appeal to core human values by sharing stories about how your product or service has improved business operations and the human experience. Ask customers what they like best and why, and incorporate that messaging into your marketing materials. – Margie Kiesel, Avaneer Health
6. Survey Your Customers for Feedback
Reach out to your customers and say, “In an effort to serve you better, we not only want to know what you need, but also what really matters to you.” Assure customers that when you find out, you will do your best to help them get it, whether it comes from you or any other resource you can connect them with. – Mark Goulston, Mark Goulston, M.D., Inc.
7. Ensure Customers Can Talk With Actual People
Make it easy for your clients or customers to talk to a person. In the age of automation and communications technology, many companies like cutting costs and making their processes efficient, which every company should do, but you need to give people the option to talk with a human. – Collin Plume, Noble Gold Investments
8. Embrace Empathy
Fostering a culture of empathy empowers employees to enter into relationships with customers with emotional intelligence. The needs, wants and desires of customers are unique, but the ability to listen, understand and solve for these remains at the heart of all business. Empathy is critical as buyer profiles shift and more individuals across an organization influence purchasing decisions. – Faisal Pandit, Panasonic Connect North America
9. Think Beyond Facts and Figures
Humanizing a brand relies on human factors such as storytelling, personalization and authenticity. Products and services on their own can feel cold if facts and figures are the only way businesses communicate features and benefits. However, when told through authentic stories, those same features and benefits make it possible for customers to visualize themselves using a product or service. – Lillian Gregory, The 4D Unicorn
10. Leverage Storytelling
Storytelling is key. Employee spotlights and company videos are opportunities for people to meet you before you meet them. What’s equally important is creating compelling content that emotionally connects with your target audience. – Britton Bloch, Navy Federal
11. Present Evidence of Real People Using Offerings
Feature real people using your products and services in real ways to get real results. We relate to the people we buy from as much as the people who buy from you relate to you. Both speak to our deepest human desire to belong—and belonging is an outcome of being real. – Karen Mangia, Salesforce
12. Provide Exceptional Customer Service
What could be more human than love? Outstanding customer service will make people love a product or service. When customers feel heard, understood and respected, they will spread the word of their love. A business can easily improve their customer service by eliminating complicated phone trees and getting calls quickly answered by humans. Also, many companies have charities to show their concern for people, not just profit. – Paula Oleska, Natural Intelligence Systems
13. Personalize Your Email and Response Templates
Automating emails and responses is great but make them human! Use them as another opportunity to make a connection. Write like your customers talk and customize your content as if you are talking to them. It’s so easy to change an automated reply from the template “Sign up confirmed” to say, “Hey there! Welcome to the community. We’re so glad you’ve signed up. What can we help you with today?” – Maria Ross, Red Slice, LLC
14. Highlight Examples of Customer Success
I believe we need to adjust the adage to “People buy from people they trust will provide what they are looking for.” Businesses need to speak the language of their clients’ desires and show that they can lead them to success. Initiating campaigns that highlight the successes of current clients will help to communicate to potential clients that they, too, can be successful. – Donna Marie Cozine, Consult DMC
15. Be Customer-Centric
As Bill Cushard states in his podcast of the same name “helping sells.” Truly helping others and demonstrating a customer centricity that is unparalleled is the way to humanize commercial interactions. The “Helpful Honda” marketing campaign is a perfect example of where these two concepts intersect. If you are kind and helpful, current and prospective customers will have a positive, lasting impression. – Sabina Pons, Growth Molecules
16. Make an Effort to Maintain the Human Element
I think about this a lot, and I think it comes down to seeing people’s faces, either in person, at a conference, over a Zoom meeting or during Teams video call. Marketers struggle to keep the human element alive as part of their strategy, so companies should be careful with how their comments or posts are written on social media and other internet venues. – Kim Estep, Branig Capital Markets