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Human Resource

Human Like Relationships With Brands

Consumers show similar emotions in relationships in brands as they do with other humans.

  • There are two different types of consumer-brand relationships: exchange relationships and communal relationships.
  • If you want to maintain consumer brand loyalty, you must provide value to your customers.
  • Brands must understand their consumers so they can provide them value in the way they expect it.

Consumers’ relationships with brands are not all that different from relationships with people. Some you genuinely care about, while others are in your life simply because you depend on them. For marketers, understanding the difference between the two kinds of relationships is essential to making sure you know how to deal with your customers.

Marketers who realize this will be in a better position to retain customers and improve the perceptions of consumers who are unhappy with a brand’s service or product.

In one kind of consumer/brand relationship, people relate to the brand based primarily on economic factors. Walmart, for example, attracts customers based on price and value. In what the researchers call a “communal relationship,” consumers relate to the brand based on caring, trust, and partnership. State Farm, for example, sells itself as a “good neighbor.”

What is a brand-customer relationship?

The relationship between brand and customer is a unique one that can have positive outcomes for both parties. Customers develop relationships with brands and think of them as partners. Brands become more human to customers and obtain meaning and value.

Brand awareness

When a brand has built up trust in its customers, brand loyalty begins. If customers find a product they can believe in, then they will be loyal to brands. Companies have to try to create these relationships with customers. That is only the first step. They must then work to maintain and grow the relationship. Customers want to feel fulfilled, either because the product fills a need or because they feel loyal to it. You might have both kinds of customers, and you must find ways to appeal to each type. Offer a product that meets your consumers’ needs and ensures it’s reliable and of the highest quality.

Authenticity

How consumers react to experiences with the brand, both positive and negative, depends on how they like the brand in the first place, researchers said.

Pankaj Aggarwal, a marketing professor at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto Scarborough, and Richard Larrick of Duke University tested brand evaluation after an unfair transaction in 2012. The results still apply today and depended heavily on whether the consumer was in an exchanging brand or a communal one.

In one study, Aggarwal and Larrick set up a situation in which the consumer didn’t get what they paid for and wasn’t reimbursed for a mistake made by the brand. However, when customers were treated with respect and dignity after the error, those who had communal relationships with the brand responded well, possibly because it reassured consumers about the caring nature of their association with the brand.

Trust

Concern from the brand acted as a form of compensation in itself. However, this effect wasn’t found when consumers’ relationships with the brand regarding price and value.

In that case, if the consumers didn’t think they got their proverbial money’s worth, it didn’t move them to reconsider their negative evaluation of the brand.

However, things change when no problem needs addressing with the customer.

What is brand relationship management?

Brand relationship management is a concept that allows businesses to remain constantly engaged with consumers. It intends to create humanlike relationships between the brand and the consumer. A brand relationship is a step away from keeping the correlation transactional only and warrants a deeper focus on the actual connection between both parties.

How to build a brand relationship

While several digital tools improve brand relationships, sometimes these software options can cause more harm than good. You can spin your wheels searching for new leads and achieve short-term gains, but it’s the connection you make with your customers that creates sustainability in the long run.

Consumers are expecting and demanding more from brands today. If they do not see the value in an item, they will not pay a premium price. There is a stronger sense of competition among the brands as consumers have more flexibility in their purchases.

As the market expands and options increase, consumers have become more unpredictable. Therefore, managing brand relationships is purely about the consumer. If a business wants to maintain the consumer-brand relationship, it must create and provide value.

1. Less is more

With all of the customer data collected today, it is tempting to send out several emails noting everything the customer likes. Keep in mind that the more communication you send, the more it could seem like your brand only cares about paying the rent. Be creative. Use high-quality content that engages and interacts with your customer lending a hand to solidifying the customer and brand relationship.

Creating fewer communications that resonate with the customer’s values and behaviors helps sustain brand relationships. Partnering with an influencer that your customers see as authentic can foster brand loyalty. Position yourself as an expert in your industry and ask repeat customers for testimonials.

According to a 2020 survey, over 84% of consumers are more loyal to a brand that aligns with their values. The survey examined four demographics including Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers, and three different locations including the U.S., UK, and Australia.

2. Take a breath

As revenue targets loom in the background, it’s important to remember that brand loyalty requires more listing and less haste. Instead of making quick decisions based on daily reports, use the data to anticipate your customer’s needs and wants.

By taking a breath, you can get to know customers on an intimate level instead of hopping from surface to surface.

3. Build a community

A company downturn can have many causes, but a sluggish economy, competitors or a digital malfunction can all blame. But if you have an established customer base, they can take their loyalty to the next level when times are less than stellar.

Whether you utilize your collected email list, repeat customers or superfans, current customers are the key to sustaining a business through rough times. A strong community can be a brand advocate when facing stolen product ideas, bad reviews, or support for a new product launch or company cause.

4. Optimize customer service

Without consistent customer service, it’s impossible to build brand loyalty. Do whatever it takes to take your customer service team to the next level. Consider investing in a CRM, offering support via phone, email, online chat, and social media, and having a clear return/exchange policy in place for customers that need a tweak to their order.

5. Incentives

Introducing a new brand to the world takes time and effort. Since large corporations have an even bigger marketing budget, it can be difficult for small businesses to get a piece of the pie.

Using incentives like free shipping, a trial product, or points-based rewards program can provide exponential value to the customer and routine shopping visits to increase revenue.

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Human Resource

4 Ways Business Leaders Can Assist Overworked Employees

All business leaders want to get the best from their employees. Indeed, whether you’re a CEO or an office manager, it’s always a good thing to try and inspire your team to reach new heights and to push themselves to achieve their full potential. However, overworked employees will struggle to perform at their best. Worse, when employees constantly feel stressed out,  morale, company culture, customer service, and retention rates may suffer as a result. With that in mind, today we’ll review several key ways that business leaders can help out their employees during particularly busy or frustrating times. Check them out here: 

Get in the Trenches

Some of the most effective business leaders rarely get involved in the day-to-day activities of their employees. Yet, if you know your team is struggling with a problem, it can be beneficial to directly involve yourself in the work. Employees may not always feel comfortable asking for help, which means that business leaders should monitor their needs closely. Stepping in to help out with a project ––provided you can offer meaningful assistance –– can be a great way to earn employee trust. 

Call in the Cavalry 

Just because you as a business leader may not know how to solve a problem, it doesn’t mean you can’t provide your team with any support. Rather, savvy business leaders know when to outsource certain tasks. For example, a head administrator at a medical facility may decide to contact a company like Provider’s Choice Scribe Services to help out with healthcare documentation. Or, an office manager may be able to hire a freelance web designer to help their team make website updates. A little outside help can go a long way toward getting your team out of a jam! Note also that you may decide to hire new, full-time employees if your business often relies on freelancers. 

Set New Expectations

As a business leader, you often have the power to move back deadlines or to reshape consumer expectations. If you see your team is overworked and running on fumes, don’t be afraid to talk to clients about pushing back deadlines or seeking alternative solutions. At the end of the day, most customers will be willing to work with you so long as you’re open and honest with them. 

Adjust for the Future

Sometimes, businesses simply experience very busy and difficult times. While they may be unavoidable to some extent, business leaders can and should adjust their internal structure to ensure employees aren’t overwhelmed time and again. Talk to your team about how you can make their lives easier and what changes you can make that will help your business succeed moving forward. In the end, running a thriving business is all about making adjustments and learning from your mistakes.

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Human Resource

4 Tips to Avoid, Reduce, and Resolve Conflict in the Workplace

A little healthy competition can help professionals improve their performance and develop new skills. However, there’s a difference between work environments that allow employees to thrive, and workplace cultures that are toxic. Unfortunately, conflict between employees –– or between employees and management –– can stifle production and cause numerous other problems for business leaders. Thankfully, you can use these four tips to avoid, reduce, and resolve conflicts that may occur around the office. Check them out here: 

Take Care of Your Team

Happy, fulfilled employees are certainly less likely to lash out at each other than professionals who are uncertain about their finances or future. As such, it’s up to business leaders to take care of their team members in order to foster a positive work environment. This can include, but is not limited to, paying good wages, promoting team members from within, and communicating well with employees. Additionally, giving your employees time off to address personal issues will likely improve office morale as well. For example, it’s a good idea to grant team members time off if they need to undergo bunion surgery or visit an ailing grandparent. A little empathy can go a long way in this regard!

Make Smart Hires

Sometimes, the most qualified candidate for a job isn’t actually the best person available for it. Rather, business leaders would do well to identify individuals who represent a good fit for their company’s culture when they pull the trigger on a new hire. Making quality hires that your team members connect with will ensure everyone on staff is on the same page moving forward. Remember, even one bad hire can ruin team chemistry –– so be careful when you next have an opening on staff. 

Keep Your Door Open

When an employee has a problem, they should feel comfortable speaking to management about it. If, for whatever reason, professionals don’t feel comfortable airing their grievances with you, then work to win their trust back ASAP. Business leaders need to know about their employees’ concerns and frustrations if they want to improve their company culture. 

Give & Expect Respect

Employees may not always agree with each other –– or with their boss. Still, there’s no reason for any employee to behave in a disrespectful or threatening manner. As a business leader, it’s your job to always treat your team members with respect. And, it’s your job to ensure your employees  always behave with respect to others as well. Professional disagreements don’t need to devolve into personal grudges or arguments. By setting a high standard for yourself and your team –– and sticking to it –– you can avoid negative energy in your office and build a better organization.

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Human Resource

The Benefits Of Managed HR Services

What Is The Concept Of Human Resource Management (HRM)?

Human resource management (HRM) is the process of effectively managing people in a company. HR management software aids in the alignment of employee success with the organization’s strategic goals. Furthermore, an effective HR management program will offer businesses a competitive advantage.

Function Of HR Managers

Recruitment is one of the most important tasks of an HR boss. 

The workforce employed has a significant impact on an organization’s performance, so it’s important that the best people are recruited for the right job.

Learning and development: Education is a process that is essential for workers to be more productive. HR managers are in charge of new employee orientation and induction, as well as current employee professional growth. 

They are in charge of planning development programs. They must also be able to define and analyze the fields in which workers require training.

Developing workplace relationships: Good employee relations can help improve morale and contribute significantly to the success of a company. 

Employee relations mechanisms are used to ensure that an organization is concerned with its employees’ general well-being.

Compensation and benefits: Managing compensation and benefits is an essential part of an HR manager’s work. 

They’re in charge of creating incentive plans, performance management processes, and compensation mechanisms, as well as discussing salary and benefits packages for new hires.

HR Managers’ Importance In Organizations

Management of strategy is an essential part of any organization and is crucial to human resource management. 

HR management software handles plans to ensure that the company meets its objectives, and contributes greatly to the corporate policy system, which involves employee evaluations and forecasts based on business needs.

HR managers seek to cut costs where they can, such as in recruiting and retention. HR experts are well-versed in benefit plans that are sure to attract quality workers and retain current staff, as well as conducting successful negotiations with prospective and existing employees.

HR managers play a critical role in improving employer-employee partnerships, and they make important contributions to training and development programs. 

This helps workers develop within the business, which improves employee engagement.

Employee interaction: HR managers are in charge of organizing meetings, gatherings, and celebrations within the company, which provides opportunities for team building. 

Furthermore, it increases employee interaction and fosters a sense of confidence and regard among colleagues.

HR is the department you contact if there is a professional dispute among employees. 

They focus on ensuring that problems and disputes are successfully addressed by addressing the problem objectively and facilitating open dialogue in order to arrive at a solution. 

Furthermore, they assist workers in comprehending different methods for developing successful work relationships, as well as the value of not allowing personal judgment to influence their conduct.

Creating a positive work environment: A positive work environment is critical for instilling confidence in workers. 

HR management software plays an important role in establishing a pleasant and secure work environment, which leads to increased employee productivity.

HR practitioners work to ensure that the company complies with worker protections, and keeping track of the recruiting process and candidate log.

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Human Resource

Top Reasons to Do Background Check Drug Test

If you are in a position that’s directly related to hiring people for your company (or the company you are employed through), then it is very important to conduct a background check drug test. This type of background check is pertinent to ensuring your workplace is free of drugs. It can also help curb the potential of hiring people who tend to display violent behaviors. For now, though, let’s take a quick look at the top reasons to do a background check as well as drug tests on the employees you hire as well as those that stay employed through your company (or through your employer).

Reveal Intoxication During the Hiring Process

One of the best ways to avoid hiring people who suffer from substance abuse is to see which ones are under the influence during the hiring process. You can easily do this by requesting applicants to submit to a drug test and criminal background check before you actually hire them. In doing this, you can pinpoint the applicants who are currently under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and this will help greatly with your hiring decisions.

Prevent Costly Accidents

One of the top reasons to avoid hiring people who have an active substance abuse problem is because you can help prevent accidents from taking place at the workplace. When an accident occurs at work, and it is discovered that drugs were involved, this puts all the liability on the employer because it is the employer that should have made sure its employees were not abusing drugs. With a criminal background check and drug testing, you can make sure you are doing all that you can to uphold your due diligence in making the workplace safe and comfortable for everyone.

Avoid Chaos

When employees abuse drugs, they tend to abuse them with the people they are around the most. If your employees are all using drugs together, this can not only lead to safety issues, but it can lead to a lot of chaos in the workplace, especially when it comes to “he-said, she-said” spreading of gossip. But when you regularly drug test employees, this can help with maintaining a workplace that is free of drugs. By doing initial screenings, you can reduce the number of workers that come into your place of employment under the influence of drugs, which therefore helps decrease the overall substance abuse problems that impact the business.

Increase Employee Productivity

Workers under the influence of drugs don’t produce productivity levels as high as workers that aren’t under the influence. By making employees go through initial drug testing during the hiring process, and then making them go through it while they are employed, this can significantly impact productivity levels positively. The goal during the hiring process is to hire people who aren’t abusing illegal drugs, and a criminal background check along with drug testing is one of the best ways to do this.

Final Thoughts

As a hiring manager or the CEO of your company, it’s very important to make sure your workers are doing all that they can to provide you with the most productive levels of work possible. By doing drug screenings and background checks, it possible to keep your company operating as smoothly as possible. It also helps you avoid any liability for any accidents that take place at work. If you would like to learn more about doing background checks and drug testing, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Locate a background check drug test company to help ensure you create a safe and healthy workplace for your employees as well as yourself.