Brands must become increasingly supple in the way they communicate with their customers, as research reveals a majority are open to new ways of interacting with brand comms.
The Twilio report revealed that as many as 54% of UK consumers are now open to brands using emojis within their comms, indicating an increasingly informal and colloquial relationship. Almost half (48%) were also open to them using slang.
In contrast, two-thirds (66%) of customers find ‘complicated’ and ‘overly formal’ language to be a turn off – despite a strong majority (61%) still finding ‘text talk’ and abbreviations frustrating when dealing with a brand.
Highlighting the growing need for brands to adapt to accommodate so-called ‘digital natives’, roughly two-thirds of both 16-24 year-olds and 25-34 year-olds now expect brands to mirror their own communication styles.
“These language trends not only provide a really valuable insight into consumers’ language preferences, but also brands’ communication habits that may be inadvertently turning off customers,” said Twilio customer experience consultant, Sam Richardson.
“But while these macro trends help us to understand the overarching direction of travel among consumers, they do not universally capture each and every customer’s communications preferences.”
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A resounding 77% of respondents also stressed the importance of a brand’s communications remaining consistent across various platforms such as WhatsApp, emails, and live chat.
“Trust is the watchword for marketing in 2024. Building trust comes when brands build a bespoke, personalised, and truly memorable customer experience. The research underlines that generic marketing cannot continue in 2024. Any brand that does so risks being left behind,” OpenOcean general partner, Tom Henriksson said.
“There is a huge growth opportunity for martech companies to help brands step up to the plate, using AI to streamline consent-based collection and analysis of customer data, real-time optimisation, and rapid creation of personalised brand assets.
He contninued: “More prominent retailers, like Walmart, may even make strategic acquisitions to grow their capabilities, ensuring they have all the tech & expertise to keep up with customer demands across multiple channels.”
Twilio believes that these ever-growing customer personalisation demands point to an increasing need to lean into AI technology to help deal with the multitude of individual preferences.
Consumers also reported preferring snappier exchanges with brands, with 51% saying that they preferred several short, easily digestible messages. A further 85% said they want brands to respond swiftly, with delayed responses a major pet peeve.
ScreenCloud VP of marketing, Luke Farrugia added:”With the increasing prominence of platforms like TikTok and Instagram, we’ve all felt a noticeable shift towards content that is shorter and more visually engaging, particularly with younger generations.
“This change isn’t just about what messages marketers, internal communicators, and other professionals are conveying; it’s equally about how they’re communicating these messages and the choice of medium they use. As our engagement with these platforms increases, the method and medium of communication are becoming increasingly crucial.”
