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What Are Good Examples Of Customer-Centric PR Campaigns?
Customer-centricity is more than a buzzword; it's when you put customers at the heart of decision-making for your business. We explain what this means in today's market and show examples of brands that have leveraged customer-centric PR campaigns to drive the right result.
What is Customer Centricity?
Customer centricity means putting your customers at the center of everything, including your products, services, website, and store. In other words, you center your business and PR campaigns around your customers' needs. The core of every customer-centric PR campaign is rooted in building valuable relationships with your customers so they are at the forefront of your business.
Why is it Important to be Customer Centric?
Customers today don't just stay for your excellent products or services but also for their experience with your brand. Consequently, people are more likely to stick with companies that deliver positive experiences consistently. According to a study by Deloitte, customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don't prioritize the customer experience. Therefore, being customer-centric will increase your customer base, customer loyalty, and revenue.
Customer-Centric Marketing Examples
Many companies have invested in customer-centricity in their marketing and PR campaigns. Some examples of these companies include the following.
1. L'Oréal Perso App PR Campaign
L'Oréal revolutionized how makeup works when they unveiled the Perso app in 2020. As a makeup brand, L'Oréal realized that its products look different on everyone. To improve the customer shopping experience, the brand built an app, L'Oréal Perso, that uses AI to identify the best custom lipstick, foundation, and skincare for customers.
The app collects data about the user's skin type, concerns, and lifestyle. Next, it uses the information to recommend a personalized skincare routine, including products from L'Oréal's portfolio of brands. The AI-powered app can also track the user's skincare progress over time and adjust the routine as needed. The L'Oréal Perso app is designed to make skincare easier and more personalized, helping users to achieve their best possible skin.
This customer-centric PR campaign has further boosted L’Oréal's brand reputation, and it's no surprise they recorded a 23.4% increase in sales compared to the previous year (2019).
2. Starbucks Rewards Loyalty Program
One of the most famous PR campaigns to date is Starbucks Rewards. This program improves customer experience by offering perks such as free drinks for customers on their birthdays, free refills, and the opportunity to order and pay before arriving at the store.
While many brands use similar loyalty programs, Starbucks Rewards personalizes the customer experience and tailors offers and rewards based on each customer's individual purchasing habits, making it a good example of a customer-centric PR campaign. According to Forbes, beneficiaries of the loyalty program are 5.6 times more likely to visit Starbucks daily.
3. Amazon Prime Day
Amazon is one of the world's most customer-centric companies, with many outstanding PR campaigns. However, one that stands out is Amazon Prime Day. It's an annual shopping event in July and offers exclusive deals and discounts to Prime members. The event was first introduced in 2015 and has since become one of the largest online shopping events and PR campaigns of the year, attracting millions of customers globally. The campaign smashed records in 2021 with a whopping $11.19 billion in sales worldwide, an increase of 7.6% from the previous year. These impressive figures are a testament to Prime Day's massive popularity and continued success as a shopping event.
During Amazon Prime Day, members get discounts and exclusive deals on a wide range of products for a limited time. The Amazon Prime Day PR campaign attracts customers looking to save money and get the most out of their Prime membership. Customers also benefit from early access to select deals, the ability to schedule delivery later, and free shipping on eligible items. The campaigns are highly successful, as it drives sales and helps to build customer loyalty.
4. Dove Selfie Talk
Dove once launched the Selfie Talk campaign aimed at helping customers become more confident. The skincare company encouraged people to share their pictures online without retouching or editing them with the hashtag #NoDigitalDistortion. Unlike most examples of customer-centric campaigns, Dove’s selfie talk didn’t directly push sales of its products. Instead, it addressed a significant problem many customers face, which should be central to a customer-centric PR campaign.
5. Share a Coke by Coca-Cola
One of the most powerful customer-centric PR campaigns is the Share a Coke campaign by Coca-Cola. The bottling company improved customer experience by personalizing Coke bottles. They replaced the logo on the bottle design with customers’ names, making people feel like the bottle was specially customized for them. In the summer of 2013, when the campaign was launched, Coca-Cola sold an astonishing 250 million personalized bottles and cans in Australia, a country with just under 23 million population. This impressive feat showcases Coke's widespread popularity and ability to connect with consumers on a personal level.
Tips for Creating Great Customer-Centric PR Campaigns
Now that you know some of the best customer-centric examples, let’s go through some tips to create yours.
1. Learn About Your Customers
One thing customer-centric examples have in common is that the PR campaign strategy emanates from customers' perspectives and understanding of what people need. To create a successful customer-centric PR campaign, you must have in-depth knowledge of what your customers value without assumptions. You can conduct surveys, practice social listening, and monitor what people say about your brand.
2. Put Relationship First
Your customers are not just numbers; they are real people, and being customer-centric means showing you care about them. It’s essential to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with your customers. One of the best ways to form meaningful relationships with customers is by engaging and communicating with them.
3. Create Value At Every Customer Interaction
A good PR strategy focuses on improving the customer experience at every stage of their journey with your company. Whether they are scrolling through your website, downloading your free templates, or purchasing your products, every part of your buyer’s journey should be customer-centric.
4. Measure and Adjust
One of the final steps in every customer-centric PR campaign is measurement and analysis. Keep track of what's working for your brand and what's not, and find new ways to adjust your campaigns accordingly.
Work with a PR Expert
Do you want to get close to your customer through customer-centric campaigns? We’ve got you! At RPR Firm, we help clients develop custom-centric campaigns that enhance their customers' lives and impact your business. We have 11 years of experience helping brands create campaigns that improve customer experience and increase business performance.
Schedule a free consultation with us today, and discuss customer-centric PR campaigns that will work for your brand.
The Impact of Press Release in 2023
Companies have used press releases as a tool to deliver updates about product launches, mergers, and other news for decades. However, in today's digital media landscape, press releases serve a far more critical purpose. Including press releases in your public relations (PR) strategy can help you build brand awareness and credibility and manage the narrative in times of crisis. So how does a press release impact business in 2023, and why is it still relevant? Read on to find out.
Why is a Press Release Important in PR Strategy Today?
In today’s competitive marketplace, you need more than a great product to succeed. A press release offers an effective way to communicate with your customers, build credibility, and help to control the narrative on controversial information. Here’s how press releases can impact your brand.
1. Build Brand Awareness
Today, one of the most important currencies in business is attention. The number of customers you can reach determines the sales you generate and how fast you build a formidable company. However, many competitors are also vying for your target audience's attention. Research from Cision has shown that 68% of businesses experienced improved visibility from publishing press releases, making it a good strategy for building visibility.
A press release is typically written by a company and distributed to journalists and news outlets with a good reputation and coverage in your industry. When this content is published, you can reach a wider audience than your regular followers on social media or website visitors. Occasionally, your news can go viral, which creates a bigger buzz for your launch, merger, or announcement of groundbreaking technology.
In addition, if your press release integrates the best SEO strategies, you will show up on search engine results for specific keywords, contributing to visibility and awareness for your brand. This is very important for small business owners and startups competing against more prominent brands as it helps them to gain more attention with a cost-effective approach.
2. Build Brand Credibility
Trust plays a vital role in how consumers interact with businesses today. A recent Edelman report shows that 81% of consumers will only buy from a brand they trust. With a press release, you can communicate your brand's value and good works and if it shows up in a reputable publication, you will gain even more trust. Why? Your consumers trust these publications to deliver verified news and credible brands. This is good for startups who want to gain market authority for their new product.
3. Establish Brands Authority
Press releases also help you to establish your brand as a thought leader. According to Cision's State of Press Release report, 36% of business owners who used press releases said it reinforced their market position as a thought leader. Edelman also reports that 48% of decision-makers say thought leadership can influence purchasing decisions. For startups and small businesses, establishing yourself as an expert helps to build authority in your industry. It’s also another way to gain customers' trust as they believe you can solve their problems and deliver on your promise.
4. Control the Narrative
Recently, deep fake technology has become a major driver for misleading information. It uses artificial intelligence to create videos that mimic the voice and faces of celebrities in an almost undetectable way. Besides the typical controversies a business might find itself in, deep fake technology increases the need for good reputation management. That's where the press release comes into the picture as a tool to control the narrative. For example, a deep fake video surfacing online with a top company executive making unsubstantiated claims can tank your stocks or business. You can quickly get ahead of this by publishing a press release to address the issue, take control, and leverage the publicity to promote your brand. This approach will prevent your business from losing partners and customers.
Getting Started Making Impact with Your Press Releases
Today, press releases for businesses do so much more than share news. They impact your brand’s visibility, credibility, authority, and overall reputation. If you aren't adopting this cost-effective public relations tool, you are missing out on the opportunity for growth.
To get started, you need a professional team with a proven track record of delivering effective press releases as part of a PR strategy for businesses. At RPR Firm, press releases are a cornerstone of the public relations strategies we create for our clients and include SEO and link-building to make them even more effective. Schedule a free consultation with us today to see how we can help you grow your business.