A study found that humor was essential to brand strategy as well.
According to a study conducted by Oracle’s Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX) division and best-selling author and podcaster Gretchen Rubin, consumers want to find laughter and humor in their brands, but business executives want to engage with customers. It was found that there is a tendency to be reluctant to use humor.
The results of this study, conducted on 12,000 participants in 14 countries around the world, show that the public is looking for new experiences to bring back laughter, and that they continue to purchase brands that bring laughter, showing so-called customer loyalty and support. This suggests that brands that don’t can lose customers.
Consumers willing to pay extra for happiness
The study shows that many people have been truly happy for over two years and want to find a way to be happy again at any cost.
Forty-five percent of respondents said they hadn’t felt true happiness in more than two years, and 25% said they did not know or had forgotten what true happiness felt like.
88% of respondents said they were looking for a new experience that would bring back laughter. In particular, they tended to prioritize health (80%), personal bonding (79%), and experience (53%) to achieve happiness. More than half of the respondents (53%) said that it would be nice if money could buy happiness, and 78% said they would be willing to pay even more if they could get true happiness.
89% of respondents tried to find happiness in shopping online during the pandemic, and 47% said receiving the items they bought made them happy, while 12% had trouble remembering what they bought online.
Need to change the way customers communicate
Customers expect your brand to make you laugh, but business leaders recognize that brands rarely use humor to engage with customers.
78% of respondents said that brands should strive to deliver greater happiness to their customers, and 91% said they prefer brands that know humor. In particular, the MZ generation was all 94%, which was higher than other generations.
While 90% of respondents said advertisements with humor were more memorable, business leaders said that only 20% of their brand’s offline advertising (TV, outdoor advertising) and 18% of online advertising were actively using humor.
While 77% of respondents said they would buy from a sales rep with a sense of humor, only 16% of business executives were using humor in their brand’s sales strategy.
While 75% of respondents said they would be willing to follow a brand’s social media channel if it was fun, only 15% of business executives saw their brand’s social media content as having a sense of humor.
While 69% of respondents said they would open an email if the subject of an email from a brand was interesting, only 24% of business executives said they were actively using humor in their email marketing campaigns.
While 68% of respondents said they prefer to interact with humorous chatbots/digital assistants, only 27% of business executives actively use humor to communicate with chatbots for their brands.
Corporate executives avoid humor strategies
Corporate brands that use humor strategically tend to turn their backs on brands that don’t, while loyal and responsive to customers who like them and keep buying.
48% of people don’t believe they are in a relationship with a brand unless it makes them smile or laugh, and 41% say they will turn their back on the brand if that experience continues.
When a brand uses humor, customers’ willingness to repurchase a brand tends to increase (80%), when customers recommend the brand to family and friends (80%), or choose the brand over competitors (72%) ) tended to spend more time on the brand (63%).
89% of business executives recognize that humor can improve the customer experience, and they believe their brand should do more to make customers laugh.
But at the same time, 95% of business executives avoid using humor to communicate with customers. 85% of business executives say they do not have the data, insights or tools they need to successfully use humor.
Business leaders say they will be more confident in using humor strategies if they have a better understanding of their customers (55%) or if they can use advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) (32%).
Writer Gretchen Rubin said, “We have all gone through a very difficult time, and the happiness index of people around the world is low. We are thirsty for experiences that will make us laugh, and there is something corporate brands can do to do that.” Only then can humor, humanity, and brand experience be properly combined to increase customer loyalty and brand advocacy.”
“The customer experience continues to evolve, but it all comes down to one goal: customer happiness,” said Rob Tarkoff, executive vice president, Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX). Most business executives want to make their customers laugh, and they understand that humor is a key ingredient in building genuine customer relationships. If you are a company that wants to be successful, you will need to build a customer experience strategy around data.”
