According to research by Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust brand advocates over other forms of advertising
In fact, the average lifetime value of a loyal customer is worth 10 times more than the first purchase.
To help understand the customer journey better, let us use the example of a theme park.
The numbers are down and marketing decides to run an ad campaign to attract new customers. "The best ride of your life" headlines would read.
When customers arrived, their expectations were set by an idealistic advert. Only, they could not find parking, the queues took hours and there was no shade or food. Their experience was not only the rides but also the entire process.
Customers who had a bad experience here would not be back in a hurry and would likely share their bad experience with others.
Industry disrupters like Uber have set expectations on digital platforms. Customers expect an on-demand service that is intuitive and personalised. Loyalty is only given to brands that provide value through the experience they offer.
Understanding the real customer needs will unlock more business value than throwing resource into advertising. In fact, advertising a broken product could do more harm than good.
Research and empathize with the people that use your product/service. Define who they are and their behaviour. Then ideate around ways to create a better experience.
Lastly, but very importantly, test those ideas.
