How do you want your customers to feel when interacting with your brand?
Acknowledged. Understood. Exceptional. Unique. Surprised. Delighted.
Like personal relationships, a brand’s customer relationship should be treated with respect and intention. Customers know when they’re being treated as just a number rather than your business’s number one priority – surprise and delight moments should be at the top of their minds.
Consumer apps are continuously seeking innovative ways to enhance their customer experience. In this blog, you’ll learn how to improve the customer journey through top-performing strategies such as hyper-personalization, omnichannel experiences, and surprise and delight programs. That’s a lot of ground to cover! Let’s get started.
Hyper-Personalization for Consumer App Brands
Personalization continues to drive performance and be crucial in building stronger customer relationships. To win in an ultra-competitive landscape, consumer apps need to have a personalization strategy in place. According to research by Twilio, 62% of consumers say they expect personalization and a brand will lose their loyalty without it.
But personalization alone isn’t always enough—brands must go the extra mile to surprise and delight their customers. Your customers want to feel special and catered to on every possible level, and that’s where hyper-personalization comes into play.
Hyper-personalization uses real-time data and advanced AI algorithms to create more customized and relevant customer experiences. It has quickly become a cornerstone for consumer app brands aiming to deliver exceptional user experiences. By leveraging data and advanced technologies such as AI and machine learning, brands can create highly customized experiences for each user. This data can tailor content, recommendations, and offers to individual users, creating a unique and engaging experience that surprises and delights your customer.
The more you understand your consumers, the better you can serve them.
Two Brands Implementing Hyper-Personalized Journeys For App Users
With data and personalization comes incredible opportunities, and two companies, Netflix and Spotify, are setting the standard for tailored customer experiences.
Netflix uses sophisticated algorithms to suggest movies and TV shows based on a user’s viewing history and preferences. The company uses data to track what you watch, how long you watch it, and whether you finish it. Netflix leverages that data to understand better what movies and television shows its users are interested in, taking into account genres, themes, actors, and more.
Spotify is another excellent example of a brand that has successfully implemented personalized journeys for its app users. Spotify curates music based on users ‘ listening habits through its Discover Weekly, Daily Mix, DJ, and end-of-year Wrap-up playlists, making the experience feel custom. Users don’t need to think about what to play next; Spotify knows exactly what its users want! This deep level of personalization not only enhances user satisfaction but also increases engagement and retention.
Captivating Customers With Omnichannel Experiences
An omnichannel customer experience is when a customer can seamlessly transition between a business’s many channels, such as social media, email, AI chatbots, or SMS. With an omnichannel approach, consumer apps can further personalize the customer experience as customers navigate different touchpoints. Omnichannel experiences don’t replace traditional channels but rather unify them.
What’s the value in creating omnichannel experiences? Businesses that implement omnichannel experiences see an increase in:
- Customer retention: Companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain on average 89% of their customers. They leverage data to segment customers based on their unique needs and preferences.
- Customer engagement: When customers have positive experiences, they want to shout it from the rooftops! 91% of customers prefer brands that offer omnichannel experiences because they want brands to meet them where they are, and not the other way around.
- ROI: More engagement and increased retention will always result in revenue. By implementing a customer-centric approach, omnichannel strategies see a 10% growth in annual revenue.
As consumer app brands expand their reach across multiple platforms, the importance of delivering seamless omnichannel experiences cannot be overstated. Users expect consistent and cohesive interactions, whether they’re engaging through a website, mobile app, or social media.
Quick tip: Omnichannel and multichannel are not interchangeable terms. Omnichannel focuses on the customer, whereas multichannel focuses on the product.
Leading Consumer Apps Excelling in Omnichannel Engagement
Creating an omnichannel customer experience doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a strategic approach that requires continuous testing and optimization. And it seems like Starbucks and Bank of America have found the perfect solutions for their customers.
Starbucks exemplifies excellence in omnichannel engagement. Knowing that customers are likely in a hurry to get their morning jolt, its intuitive app allows users to place orders (and easily customize them), make payments, and earn rewards with every purchase. The seamless integration across channels enhances users’ convenience and reinforces brand loyalty.
Omnichannel customer experience extends across all industries, even banking. Bank of America allows customers to complete everything from depositing a check to scheduling an appointment completely in mobile and desktop apps. Customers can quickly complete tasks wherever they are; all they need is Wi-Fi.
Coffee and banking aren’t necessarily related, but what’s the common theme between their omnichannel strategies? Customer convenience. 82% of consumers say convenience is extremely important to them. Consistent and convenient experiences across platforms help build trust and loyalty among customers. When customers know they can rely on a brand to provide a seamless journey, they are more likely to return and recommend the brand to others. It’s a win-win!
Surprise and Delight Programs For Consumer Apps
You’ve heard of loyalty and referral programs, but what about surprise and delight programs? Surprising and delighting customers has proven to be one of the most powerful ways organizations can create memorable experiences that foster unwavering brand loyalty.
Think about how a random act of kindness makes you feel. Whether someone holds the door open for you or your coworker gets you a coffee ‘just because,’ these seemingly small gestures make a big impact.
Just like random acts of kindness, surprise and delight programs use the power of emotion to create unforgettable customer experiences for consumer app users. These initiatives go beyond standard customer service and rewards by adding an unexpected element of joy, fostering emotional connections, and enhancing brand loyalty.
There are three key components of successful surprise and delight programs. They:
- Know who their customers are
- Know what actions their customers take
- Leverage that knowledge to deliver the best customer experience possible
Leveraging Behavioral Data to Inform Personalized Surprises
By analyzing user data, consumer apps can identify opportunities to delight customers with exclusive offers, personalized content, or unexpected rewards. These surprises enhance the customer experience and foster greater appreciation and loyalty.
Here are some effective strategies for implementing surprise and delight initiatives in consumer apps:
- Trigger moments: Reward users when they register for an account, write a review, make a payment, or book a class.
- Birthdays and anniversaries: Celebrate users’ birthdays or anniversaries with personalized discounts, free gifts, or exclusive offers.
- Milestone achievements: Reward users when they achieve significant milestones, such as completing a certain number of workouts.
- Early access to new features or items: Your customers are special, so give loyal users early access to new app features or content before it’s released to the general public.
- Customized content recommendations: Use data to provide users with content that aligns with their unique preferences and past behaviors. For example, a makeup company could recommend videos and tutorials based on the products a customer has purchased.
- App-exclusive challenges and rewards: Bring out your customers’ competitive side by introducing surprise challenges that, when completed, offer unexpected rewards. A little friendly competition never hurt anyone.
Implementing surprise and delight initiatives creates memorable moments for app users, making them feel valued and appreciated. By leveraging data insights and personalizing these initiatives, consumer app brands can foster stronger emotional connections, boost customer satisfaction, and build lasting loyalty. Whether it’s a personalized thank-you message or a surprise discount on a customer’s birthday, these small gestures can significantly impact customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The Ultimate Surprise and Delight Program
If your business wants to elevate the digital customer experience, seriously consider a surprise and delight program. Consumer apps like TripAdvisor, ParkMobile, and Mindbody use Nift, the premier surprise and delight program, to thank customers for positive behaviors such as purchasing, upgrading a subscription, or leaving a review.
By utilizing Nift’s advanced AI technology to create positive customer experiences, consumer apps generate new recurring revenue and increase ARPU just by saying ‘thank you’.
Learn more about Nift for Partners and schedule a demo with our team.
About the Author
Kathryn Maguire is the Vice President of Business Development and Founding Member of Nift Networks, a rapidly growing marketplace reshaping how people discover and engage with brands. Nift delivers personalized gifts to consumers, AI-matched to their individual preferences. These gifts are offered through premium consumer apps like Tripadvisor, Afterpay, and Tinder, expressing gratitude during key life-cycle moments. Brands, including HelloFresh, Liquid I.V., and Thrive Causemetics, partner with Nift to gain exclusive access to millions of highly engaged customers.
Under Kathryn’s leadership, Nift has more than doubled its yearly impact, serving millions of consumers and generating substantial profits. She has built and scaled Nift’s partnership network, fostering collaborations with industry giants such as ParkMobile, Planet Fitness, Afterpay (Block), and Tinder. Partners collectively distribute over 50 million Nift gifts each month.
Kathryn’s journey began at Forrester Research, where she managed relationships with Fortune 500 executives from companies like Abbott Labs, Cummins Engine, Kimberly-Clark, Leggett & Platt, and Snap-on Tools. In 2005, she co-founded CityVoter, disrupting the local media market through social media and e-commerce. The venture secured over six million dollars in venture capital and grew to a team of 20+ employees. As head of Business Development, Kathryn secured contracts with media giants CBS, Hearst, Gannett, and Belo, driving millions in revenue from clients such as Dell, Gilt Groupe, LevelUP (now GrubHub), KeyBank, and ZipCar.
Kathryn holds a degree from the University of Pennsylvania (Class of 1998). Her vision for Nift is to continue revolutionizing customer acquisition by saying “thank you” through Nift’s innovative gifting platform. Kathryn’s impact extends far beyond the ordinary—she’s shaping the future of customer engagement, one thoughtful gift at a time.
Connect with Kathryn on LinkedIn and explore Nift’s impact at GoNift.com/Business.
