SaaS is a great way to provide quick, easy and efficient services over the web without the hassle or cost of traditional product distribution.
But because SaaS works on a pay-per-use model, it is important to build a strong relationship with customers to keep them using your service.
A great way to build these kinds of relationships is by humanizing your online software. Users who find your software human, relatable and engaging will become valuable long-term customers.
Gartner Analysts write: “revealing the man behind the curtain can help humanize a brand, particularly one that’s lost its humanity through years of growth. Over time, bureaucracy can form like layers of sediment, hiding the soul of a brand behind a thick veneer of formal, faceless process. Recall what made the brand successful in the first place and be that, again, with a modern twist.”
Here are four tips to make your business’s software or website more human.
#1 – Do not be afraid to show your face
Maintaining a strong brand image through logos and quality service is an important part of a successful business model, but it is equally important to let customers see the human side of your organization.
Use pictures of employees as part of your interface background or even include short bios about some employees in your software. Customers who see a human face will connect to your business on a deeper level than they ever could with just a logo.
Your business’s relationship with its customers will be based on a sense of real human connection, a connection that increases customer loyalty and insures long-term use of your service.
#2 – Give your customers personalized service
Do not fall into the trap of ‘one size fits all’ blanket advertising. Instead, focus on responding to the individual needs and interests of each user.
This can take the form of a ‘Recommended for You’ list or any kind of personalized recommendation based on the user’s past relationship with the service your business offers.
Taking this kind of approach demonstrates to the user that your organization cares enough to make personal suggestions, adding a human element to the interaction. The user is also more likely to use one of the services suggested if it fits his/her personal needs.
#3 – Add voice and video to your software
The use of a human voice allows you to build an emotional connection with users.
Long reams of text or complicated instructions can leave customers feeling alienated and confused, the exact opposite of the kind of relationship that human software seeks to develop.
Use voiced video tutorials to guide users through your software or implement a welcome video to serve as their first interaction with your online software. This is a great way to convey information while also working to foster a more human relationship between the customer and your software.
Customers will appreciate the human touch and will be more likely to continue using your service.
#4 – Reward customers for loyalty and build relationships
A rewards program is a great way to keep customers coming back. It shows them that they matter to your organization and provides them with the ‘give and take’ of regular human interaction.
Even a simple thank you message for using your service can help to humanize your software. A kind message thanking the customer makes using your service feel more like a warm human exchange instead of a faceless business transaction.
Gartner Analysts write that showing your human side means having a sense of humor: “in this pressure-cooker age of overscheduled and always on, everyone needs small moments of relief, interstitial holidays from these more pressing realities. Find moments to make your audience laugh. It’s a gift they’ll appreciate—and likely remember.”
Show off your business’s human side and focus on building personal relationships with customers. You will be rewarded with loyal customers who are highly invested in your service.
