Being a social and customer centric brand

I often say that, one of the keys to customer centricity, is to lead your business with purpose, not profit. If you take that into account, you’ve got to think about what your customers want of course, but also whom they want to be.

Even before Coronavirus and lockdown, climate change was very much on everyone’s radar and as such, consumers were already wary of what they were buying and how often.

Last April, my team and I at Customer Service Action launched a survey to determine what consumer behaviour looked like before, during and after lockdown. More than 70% said they would boycott a brand that demonstrated bad behaviour during COVID19. Be that to their staff, customers or the environment. This is not to say they’ll all follow through, but we can safely estimate that at least 25%-30% will – that will have quite an impact when it comes to sales and customer retention don’t you think?

So how do you lead with purpose? Let’s have a look at a few brands doing it successfully:

1)   Asda and the flu jab drive-through:

I don’t know about you, but I’ve met a few people feeling insecure about going to their GP. In fact, most practices will not allow people to come in unless absolutely necessary and will still take consultations over the phone.

So, what does Asda do? They think about their customers’ safety and put a drive-through system in place to greet vulnerable people (the elderly and pregnant women) and give them a flu jab for free. It’s not just about feeding the nation anymore, it’s about helping it staying safe and healthy.

2)   BrewDog and the hand sanitizer shortage:

As a brand, BrewDog has always been a bit controversial. But let’s face it: isn’t making hand sanitizers in the middle of a pandemic shortage a brilliant idea? This is not just “thinking outside the box”, it’s “doing the right thing and thinking about more than itself.”

3)   Deliveroo and the free meals for NHS workers:

This goes beyond clapping for the NHS and will surely not be forgotten by the millions of hard-working NHS workers. Deliveroo offers free meals to anyone working for the NHS or any charities supporting vulnerable people. Moreover, restaurants were also encouraged by the brand to donate free meals by being part of this extraordinary effort and Deliveroo customers were also able to donate money to support this initiative.

4)   Lush and washing your hands for free:

At the beginning of the pandemic, it was not surprising to see Lush stores encouraging their customers to come in and wash their hands for free. If you think of busy city centres (and let’s not forget the biggest Lush shop is on Oxford Street in London, one of the busiest streets in the world), this initiative was more than welcome! If you have the means and opportunity, sometimes it’s all it takes to be remembered by your customers.

I can hear you say: “how is it better than just putting hand sanitisers at the entrance of your shop like everybody else?”

Well, sometimes, some people can be allergic to the gel in hand sanitisers. The fact they are also so heavy in alcohol dries your hands very quickly, making it prone to eczema and other issues. Being a cosmetic brand, Lush know this - and thus proves they take extra good care of their customers.

5)   Co-op and its determination to make shoppers’ life better:

Back in 2019, Co-op had already partnered with Deliveroo, now opening up their partnership to 400 stores. One can say Co-op has always been quite innovative, and this didn’t start with COVID19.

Moreover, this year, Co-op became very aware of the strain that restrictions around funerals were having on families who had lost a loved one.

What do they do? They put a brand-new system into place to help mourners unable to attend funerals.

If this isn’t looking out for your customers, I don’t know what is!

Bonus: you don’t need to be a big brand to make a big difference:

A few weeks ago, I came across this coffee shop and local hero.

It proves that you don’t need big promotions (and the big advertising budget that goes with it) to make an impact on your community. Sometimes, it just comes from the heart and I can guarantee that anyone passing by, being a customer or not, remembers their gesture – I certainly do!

If you want to learn more about how customer centricity can help your business, please download my white paper for free!

You can also drop me a note at martin@martinnewman.co.uk to further discuss how I can best help you to become more customer centric.

Do not forget to follow me on Twitter as well as Facebook.

All the best!

Martin Newman