Brands must listen to their customers if they want to engage with them in a recession, says Weber Shandwick’s Rachel Friend

At a time when money’s tight, companies are making difficult decisions about where to save money, while still giving customers reasons to purchase. Taking costs out of a business can help improve price point. But, at what price?

Lots of brands talk about being customer-centric, but few really achieve it. According to a study by business consulting firm Bain & Company, 80 per cent of companies believe they deliver a superior customer experience but only eight per cent of their customers agree.

In a recession, brands who truly engage customers, often putting them at the heart of their business strategy, do well.

Online retailer Amazon’s motto is “Listen, Invent, Personalise“. It starts by listening to customers to make sure the ideas it creates are driven by their needs. It focuses on the customer, not the competition, so it does what’s right, not necessarily what costs the least. And it personalises the process in a way that means something to its customers via recommendations and reviews.

Food and drink producer Innocent cares so much about what customers think, it has let their views shape the company’s decisions from day one. Customers are right at the top of Innocent’s list of seven values. The first one – keep it natural – means keep it human, put people first. What really set Innocent apart from the herd early on was co-creation. Customers were invited to help design the packs, vote on their favourite flavours and suggest new ones. Innocent is a brand that talks with its customers, not to or at them. When Innocent wants feedback it goes beyond the typical customer satisfaction survey, it asks people to email or call their now famous “banana phone” and invite them to visit its offices.

Iconic brands have an energy and dynamism that push their brands further by exceeding expectations with outstanding customer service, product innovation and surprising moments. Brands such as coffee-makers Nespresso and Software giant Microsoft continue to buck the trend by continually surprising and delighting their customers, because they’re customer-centric.

It’s because they’re customer-centric that these brands are able to be authentic when engaging consumers. Social media has changed the way CMOs can tell their story. Telling the world you’re fantastic when the true customer experience leaves much to be desired will give you instant fame on Twitter, but not the fame you want.

PR people have always been real-time story tellers and, in a recession, it’s more important than ever to engage your audience with your story, let them into your brand, allow them to become your advocates and your greatest fans.

But to do this, brands must have that authentic story to tell. When hard commercial decisions are being made internally, the cost cutters need to be careful not to strip too much away.