Mother Knows Best
by caitlin sorensen
How to follow a Mother's lead and create great customer experience — even in the face of an economic downpour.
There are three types of companies in the world, each with its own DNA: Mothers are customer-focused, Mechanics are product-focused, and Missionaries are concept-focused. Determining your corporate DNA enables your company to locate its precise positioning in the marketing landscape and operate as its authentic self.
The result? Competitive advantage!
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “Mother knows best.” While you may not agree when it comes to your own mother, in terms of great customer experience, it’s true.
Mother companies really do know best.
When consumers are conscious of their spending habits, as they increasingly are today, customer experience is a huge differentiating factor.
According to McKinsey & Company, “customer experience has taken on a new definition and dimension in the overwhelming challenge of COVID-19. Customer leaders who care and innovate during this crisis and anticipate how customers will change their habits will build stronger relationships that will endure well beyond the crisis’s passing.”
Essential needs take precedence when customers allocate money: it’s the reason apps like DoorDash and Instacart are thriving. But a variety of nonessential businesses have adjusted their marketing and business strategies in an attempt to survive, and potentially thrive, during this time. How? By putting the customer first. In fact, a recent study conducted by Edelman found that “71 percent [of those surveyed] agree that if they perceive that a brand is putting profit over people, they will lose trust in that brand forever.”
In that spirit, here are a few companies that have been embracing a Mother mindset by putting their customer needs front and center:
Uber
Uber, typically known as a rather brash brand, released a thoughtful, customer-focused advertisement with its “Thank you for staying home” campaign. Urging customers not to take an Uber certainly doesn’t do its bottom line any favors, but it does offer an invaluable customer-centric message users will likely remember post-pandemic.
Budweiser
Budweiser’s brand has always been lighthearted and fun, but lighthearted and fun messaging would land like a lead balloon right now. A tailgating staple of and partner to many national sports leagues, Anheuser-Busch, Budweiser’s parent company, adjusted its marketing strategy following the cancellation of sporting events nationwide. In a move that would make any mother proud, the company reallocated $5 million of its sports and entertainment marketing dollars to host American Red Cross blood drives at stadiums around the country.
LinkedIn saw an opportunity to create a positive customer experience that would empower its users to thrive in their new home/office environments. To that end, LinkedIn Learning is offering free or discounted courses on productivity, work-life balance, virtual meeting tools and how to network from behind the screen – all highly useful content for the new workplace birthed in the pandemic’s wake. So far they’ve been a hit, with LinkedIn reporting that “In the first week of April, people watched 1.7M hours of learning content on LinkedIn Learning vs. 560K hours in the first week of January -- a 3X increase in time spent learning.”
Your company DNA may not be Mother, and that’s just fine. By all means, stay true to your authentic self and operate in a way that aligns with your actual DNA. But incorporating a Mother mindset — even adopting some Mother practices — will elevate you above the noise and score you a place in the hearts and minds of your customers. While things may never go back to “normal,” the companies providing the best customer experience through the pandemic will be remembered and appreciated when we emerge on the other side.
Ready to put on your Mother hat as well?
Here are three tips to get you started:
Put customer and employee safety first: A pandemic is scary. Your customers want to feel safe and cared for. Beyond that, they are more likely to support brands that make them feel safe and cared for. Companies that adjust operations to support customer and employee safety show understanding of the gravity of the health crisis we’re facing, sparking a positive brand image in the eyes of the public.
Promise only what you are capable of delivering: There is no need to offer an extravagant deal if it is going to drive you to bankruptcy. Offer only what you can; it will be appreciated. Advertise a slight discount on products or services, provide free access to educational courses, inspire charitable actions through an organized foundation — none of these entail breaking the bank.
Send an impactful message: Showing support and empathy is the best way to connect personally with consumers. We are all experiencing the pandemic. We are all facing various quarantine restrictions. Now is not the time to try and coax people into buying your product. Instead, take a lesson from Uber’s playbook: show your customer base gratitude and appreciation and let them know that you’re thinking of their well being, even if they aren’t engaging with your business right now.
And if you’re interested in a lesson from our playbook, click here to learn more about the mindset of a Mother and to discover your company’s DNA.