April saw a marked shift from the way brands communicated before COVID-19. Gone were the attention-grabbing all caps and clever plays on words (e.g. “Let the MADNESS BEGIN” for the NCAA basketball tournament). Language that evoked the Trust-based emotions of Safety, Intimacy, and Gratitude drove the highest engagement in April, when people seemed to be…
Businesses that invest in language increase pre-collections payments and will stay ahead of the coming spike in missed payments. Companies as diverse as telecommunications companies, retail banks, utilities, and the finance arms of automotive manufacturers are bracing for a surge in missed payments from the 43% of U.S. households that have lost income since the…
Telco providers facing a rapid spike in calls to their contact centers have an underused and powerful tool they can use to relieve pressure on agents and increase digital self-service—the most effective words. That’s what a European telecommunications provider found when it leveraged AI and machine learning to fine-tune voice digital assistant (IVR) language and…
COVID-19 has changed how we communicate and the words we use make that clear. As people across the planet #stayhome to #flattenthecurve, they looked for opportunities to maintain connection in the context of social distancing. Words that conveyed the warm emotions of Intimacy, Gratitude, and Safety offered that connection and produced the most successful messages…
What if changing a few words or using the right emotion in an IVR prompt could increase payments and prevent delinquencies? That’s exactly what happened for one of the largest US insurance companies. Small changes to the language in its IVR prompt convinced 10% more customers to “Press 1” to begin the process of making…
Delinquency rates on the $1 trillion of debt held by U.S. households were increasing even before the COVID-19 crisis. With over 33 million Americans filing for unemployment between March and May 2020, banks are now preparing for a wave of payment challenges. New forecasts even suggest delinquency rates could be 3X higher than they were…
When it comes to customer-centric messaging in the age of COVID-19, the name of the game is balancing empathy and performance. No brand wants to come off as opportunistic and tone-deaf when customers are struggling. Yet businesses depend on sales and cash flow to function and pay their employees. What’s impactful now is less attention-grabbing…
Never before has digital content and brand messaging been under such an intense microscope – truly. I can’t think of another time when promotional emails and branded social media posts were the target of New York Times articles, viral tweets and widely shared memes with such frequency and an overall agreement that at a time…
The telco customer journey is being radically impacted as a result of COVID-19. Telco executives are facing a historically unique opportunity to deliver on their brands’ promises and show beyond a doubt just how essential their businesses are to customers’ changed lives. The leadership opportunity for telecommunications Telecommunication providers enable people to live socially-distant, yet…
It is critical that retail leaders move quickly to understand how their customer journeys are changing and adapt to the new normal with the utmost urgency. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced retailers to respond to an unprecedented shift in customer needs and behaviors. U.S. consumers currently face a bleak macroeconomic picture, with growing numbers experiencing…