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In your search to create a better customer experience for your brand, humor might not be in your sights. But, following the global pandemic, the need for human connection and happiness has increased. Of the top 25 countries in the world, the US ranks at number 23. A 2022 report states that a whopping 91% of people globally prefer brands to be funny in their business strategy. In fact, since 2004, search engine terms for “embracing happiness” or “finding joy” have increased dramatically.
Humor can play a significant role in your business, specifically in improving customer experience. From memorable connections to higher morale, a better customer experience is only a quip away.
How does humor help? In a time filled with constant stressors, a little comic relief can go a long way in easing concerns, building bonds, and ultimately aiding in customer retention.
Sharing humor can create a better customer experience with a bond that only human interaction can facilitate. Whether online or in person, a conversation can feel more friendly and personal with a laugh.
Additionally, humor in your marketing and signage can help create a memorable identity with your customers. These small additions to your business are highly shareable and can ultimately encourage visibility to new customers. In sum, humor helps your business appear friendly, personal, and relatable to current and potential patrons.
In addition to memorable experiences, humor can help you stand out and distinguish your business from competitors. Note that it’s important to know your audience so you can use the type of humor that will be well-received—and even go viral—rather than fall flat. An effective use of humor throughout your branding and marketing can make interactions on all channels more engaging.
Marketing your business with a distinct personality will help you stand out in your industry, which in turn helps you stay top of mind for your customers. In short, conducting market research and implementing humor can give your business a distinctive edge.
Bonus Tip: Authenticity is extremely important for building relationships and loyalty. This connection resonates with people on a deeper level. Utilizing humor with a genuine approach (instead of dated or shallow jokes) that plays on your brand is effective in gaining trust with customers.
In a time when people are actively searching for joy and happiness, differentiation is critical to a better customer experience. Good humor evokes positive emotions and creates a sense of community, further encouraging repeat business. When customers look forward to your fun content, engagement with your brand is likely to increase.
With strategic marketing, your identity will be reinforced in your customers' minds each time they visit your location or see your brand in daily life—and become unforgettable. To sum it up, creating a better customer experience with humor fosters a deeper, lasting connection with your customers.
Levity doesn’t have to stop at the storefront. Here’s how humor can influence your brand in a positive way from the inside out.
Your staff members are integral parts of your business, and a happy team is more effective. From workplace cultural fit to employee training, it’s possible to integrate humor into your brand in a way that feels intentional and authentic. (More on this later.) Brand humor can influence staff members to be more comfortable in their working environment. Comfortable team members are more likely to enjoy their jobs, find value in their work, and be more productive.
Humor and emotion play an important role in creating happy staff, as well as bonds with your customers. In fact, a study conducted by Google and Motista noted that more than 50% of B2B (business-to-business) purchasers are more likely to buy a product if they are emotionally connected to their vendors. Implementing a company culture with good humor can influence the workplace, enhancing productivity, boosting morale, and ultimately creating a positive work environment.
As brand humor finds its way into the workplace from the top down, you might begin to see changes in the operational atmosphere as well. This can facilitate conversation and encourage an enjoyable work environment among employees and customers. When team members share humor to build bonds, it fosters better communication and collaboration. Customers will observe the positive work environment and feel comfortable and at ease when using your services.
Using humor creates a better customer experience for patrons by building strong relationships with your staff. That is to say, a happy and positive work environment is healthier for your business’s entire ecosystem—and you!
To take this a step further, you can use humor thoughtfully to help manage conflict. When your employees encounter a customer with a problem, it can cause them to raise their guard. A staff member who is able to utilize shared humor can defuse challenging situations while also boosting morale. By reframing the problem and breaking the ice with a touch of humor, you can make the customer more comfortable and more relaxed—which will make solving the issue easier. Plus, humor can even spark creativity in resolving the situation.
Easing frustrations can break through barriers that would otherwise cause people to avoid authentic communication. With a shift in perspective, the problems can seem less disheartening. Specifically, humor can be used to acknowledge the other party's concerns while showing empathy and modeling positive behavior.
Now that we understand how vital humor is for creating bonds and enhancing relationships, let's discover ways that humor can enhance your branding itself.
You can add gentle humor in the form of small jokes, creative puns, memes, and playful ads to a number of your business activities:
For example, brands like Progressive, Old Spice, and Charmin have hit the mark with their branding. By tuning into their audience and making light of “boring” subject matter, they’ve created memorable branding that keeps them top of mind.
When your employees are comfortable with your brand voice and culture, it quickly becomes easy for them to display that in conversation. If humor is part of your brand, it allows your team members to easily share lighthearted, humorous conversations. For example, many Dutch Bros Coffee employees are encouraged to engage customers in cheerful small talk. Zappos is another brand that encourages living in a culture of happiness, whether they’re on the clock or not. That is to say, encourage and train your customer service team to utilize humor appropriately in interactions.
Bonus Tip: As well as internal communications, consider implementing awards and team-building activities that incorporate humor. Remember, creating memorable experiences isn’t just for your customers; it’s vital for your team members too.
While humor can bring joy and encourage bond-building, it’s extremely important to take a mindful approach when incorporating it into your brand. Being strategic can help you minimize the risks and repercussions of poor or offensive humor:
Whether you’ve slowly incorporated humor or have created a plan for future integration, you might be wondering how to gauge your effectiveness: is your humor working?
Thankfully, there are a few tools you can use to get actionable data.
By adding a bit of levity to your branding, you can significantly enhance your business strategy and create a better customer experience. When used appropriately, humor can humanize your brand and make it relatable, fostering a sense of community and ultimately brand loyalty. However, the key is knowing how to balance professionalism with gentle, respectful, inclusive humor.
As you integrate humor to create a better customer experience, you’ll find that it’s a powerful tool for building strong relationships and driving business success. Be the leader of humor in your industry and pave the way with laughter and good fun.
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