Human connection gets you a seat at the family table. But it might be temporary. Advocacy comes when you're a regular fixture, when the relationship is reciprocal, and that's incredibly precious.
Introduction
Brands face unprecedented pressure in today’s fragile economic landscape, where emotions rule and fast-moving trends act as distractions. It’s a tough moment to be navigating this fraught, complex terrain.
Research from Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman states that 95 per cent of purchasing decisions are made in the subconscious mind [1]. Emotion is a bigger factor in these choices than price or logic. Fostering that emotion is crucial. However, the relationship between brands and consumers is at breaking point. Trust has been eroded.
The challenge is acute for brands delivering experiences in the hospitality, luxury and retail spheres. They are sectors that inherently have the human experience at their core, and that gives them the chance to build real, meaningful relationships with people. But it also leaves the far greater risk of damage if they get it wrong. Right now, consumers have an abundance of choice. That, combined with high levels of stress, primarily driven by economic and global uncertainty, mean expectations are elevated. And the strain is showing from all sides, placing many brands in a very precarious situation.
In attempting to navigate this storm, businesses are losing sight of what truly matters – a deep understanding of who they serve and why. Right when they need it most. In order to build resilience in these unsettling times, there is an urgent need for brands to reconnect with customers on a human level.
This report calls on brands to rekindle that fundamental affinity with their audiences and build mutually beneficial relationships that last. It examines what is currently going wrong, what is missing in many approaches, and sets the path to building more resilient brands. Those that invest in meaningful relationships with their customers, built on empathy and transparency, will be rewarded by loyalty and be better equipped to weather the current storm. In a world of shifting trends, human needs endure. Lasting bonds are forged when customers feel understood, nurtured and responded to. Now is the time to go back to basics and build brand resilience by embracing a human-centred perspective.
Methodology
Research sources
Our insights are derived from desk research, a survey of 400 consumers, and expert interviews, all carried out in 2023.
Our experts
The following panel have shared their unique perspectives on the question of human connection in brand-customer relationships.
Caitlin Ramsdale
Managing Director, Kid & CoeCaitlin is a global hospitality expert with 15 years of brand strategy, marketing, research, sales and design experience, with a keen eye towards adaptive re-use and openings. She is Managing Director of Kid & Coe, a marketplace for parents travelling with their children.
Daniel Rose
Managing Director, FirefishOver the last 20 years, Daniel has focused on helping clients better connect and engage people and the culture within which they exist. From audience understanding and illumination, to finding insights that have underpinned some of the world’s most memorable communications campaigns, he specialises in unearthing unmet human needs and tensions, and connecting them to new opportunities for growth.
Katie Brinsmead-Stockham
Hospitality Brand Strategist and WePioneer SpecialistKatie fell in love with hospitality when she was Brand and Marketing Director at Ennismore. Since then she has worked with some of the best hospitality brands in the world, carefully bridging the gap between brand strategy, experience and operational reality. She has crafted her skills and knowledge working with The Hoxton, LUX* Hotels and Resorts, and Marbella Collection, as well as a number of independent resorts. Katie was previously a Brand and Marketing Strategy Director across the WPP group.
Peter Cross
Consumer Expert and Retail ConsultantEight years in charge of the customer experience at John Lewis and Waitrose, ten more as Mary Portas’ business partner and the past three as a global speaker, writer and consultant mean there are few who can match Peter’s unique blend of consulting and practical experience and step so confidently into the future of retail and commerce. Peter helps brands remain irresistible to their target consumers and employees.
Rémi Lefèvre
Director of Luxury and Lifestyle Development Marketing, IHG Hotels and ResortsRémi is a brand and product marketing adept with a fiery passion for hospitality. He currently helps drive New Projects Marketing for the portfolio of Luxury & Lifestyle Brands at IHG Hotels & Resorts. Rémi blends close to 20 years of experience in hotels, restaurants, bars & cafés with a love for thoughtful, meaningful branding and the art and science of crafting great experiences for guests and partners.
Scarlett Moody
Senior Director, FirefishScarlett has a passion for – and expertise in – the luxury, sustainability, and health & wellbeing sectors, and loves putting real life at the heart of client’s business challenges. Particularly when it comes to their brand planning & strategy, but also going further, through their communications, innovation pipelines and customer experience strategies.
Summary
Chapter 1: Brands under pressure
Uncovering the complex reasons behind the erosion of trust between brands and consumers in the current climate, and why we need to act now to salvage the brand-consumer bond.Chapter 2: Symbiotic relationships
Understanding how brand and consumer dynamics have changed and why investing in mutually beneficial relationships creates the firmest foundations for resilience.Chapter 3: Tech as facilitator
Exploring why brands are misusing technology and data, and how we can harness their power to improve without damaging human-brand connections.Chapter 4: Roadmap to resilience
Why the time to act is now, and how to create a business model that can thrive in an ever-changing consumer landscape.
Brands under pressure