Letters – the ‘new way’ to communicate effectively?
I have recently attended three guest talks: the first delivered by one of Britain’s most famous business entrepreneurs, the other two delivered by marketing and communication professionals who are currently at the top of their game. All of them introduced the use of ‘printed’ letters and literature as a ‘new way’ to reach and communicate with your customer base. WHY? In their opinion it is the only medium that you can now guarantee will get opened!
Using the excitement generated by the ‘we’ve got a text!’ scream, heard as part of ‘Love Island’ (I have never watched it, honest!!), each claimed that communication that needs to be opened, then touched and read in a non-digital format raises shouts of ‘we’ve got a letter!’ amongst your customer base.
Introduction
Principle 7 of the 12 FCA principles states: ‘A firm must pay due regard to the information needs of its clients, and communicate information to them in a way which is clear, fair and not misleading.’
Having listened to what the experts had to say, the value of including written communication becomes quite compelling.
Notable Trends
Here are some notable trends related to customer communication:
1. Digital Dominance:
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digitisation, with 85% of businesses prioritising digital communication during that period (messaging apps, video conferencing, and other digital tools became essential for maintaining connections), however since that period these forms of communication have become synonymous with working at distance, isolation, and remoteness from your customer base.
2. Engagement and Delivery:
Beyond grammar and spelling, customers now seek engaging messages. The use of text, messaging apps etc. are designed to encourage short, concise messaging and as a result customers now view them briefly, or skim read…hence the level of motivation to read and level of engagement is directly impacted. Customers now increasingly interact with engaging delivery methods & features that emphasise the importance of how things are said and presented. Effective communication goes beyond mere correctness.
3. Empathy, Customer Awareness, and Personalisation:
In the last 10-15 years formal writing has decreased, while informal writing has increased. Connection and a human touch, formally the cornerstone for customer-facing teams slipped in importance as speed and ability to communicate through multiple media increased. Recent customer surveys have shown signs that the trend is switching back to ‘connection and human touch’, as 68% of customers expect companies to show empathy and awareness.
In summary, today’s business-customer landscape still favours digital channels that provide speed, concise information and are simpler to manage (i.e. better linked with CRM systems and platforms), however a very high percentage of the customer base are tiring of these methods and are instead looking for personalised, empathetic, and engaging interactions which they will open and invest time reading and understanding.
One of our Recent Posts…
In one of our recent posts on LinkedIn, we noted ‘We’ve been working with brokers to help them tweak their processes to make sure their systems shout from the roof tops how well they know their clients’. Much of that tweaking has related directly to the noting of customer information that truly reflects their understanding of the customer.
Perhaps the return of letters as the ‘new way’ to communicate will have the knock-on effect of driving businesses to note information more formally rather than in ‘text speak’ which in the medium to long term will serve to address customer concerns about empathy and awareness?
A Tweak to Principle 7?
Perhaps in light of current thinking and customer reviews, Principle 7 should be amended to read…
‘‘A firm must pay due regard to the information needs of its clients and communicate & record information in a way which is clear, fair, and not misleading. While strengthening communication links with the customer via the best medium for your client’.
Insurance Support Solutions Ltd can provide business support and guidance to support the successful answering of the question “Do we have strong communication links with our customer base?” ensuring:
· Raised customer awareness and empathy
· Customer trust and confidence
· Staff competence
· Keeping ahead of current effective communication thinking
Ask us about what is involved, and we will work with you to provide a bespoke solution that gives you the confidence and conviction that customer engagement is making a positive impact within your business.
And Finally…
Working through your communication problems…
‘We know we have a problem communicating to our clients, but we are not prepared to discuss it with them!!’
