5 ways to elevate the human experience for brand partners

In these days of social distancing, our human connections mean more than ever. For those of us sheltering in place, even conversations with our internet provider or IT support technician have taken on a new resonance. This is because we humans mostly crave the same thing: experiences that connect us. This holds true in the business world too, where we now realize that a consumer’s experiences with a brand, if positive, will build a human connection with that brand, which in turn will drive loyalty that then fuels growth. So more and more brands are mindful of the human experience in business—not just for consumers but for all humans involved, including employees and partners—people in organizations that market, sell, service, support or provide other focused expertise to your company or directly to its customers. While many companies have addressed two points of this triangle—customer and employee experiences—attention to partner experiences have lagged. It’s important to address this oversight because partners are the primary brand ambassadors for many companies. In the tech sector, for example, up to 90 percent of revenue flows through channel partners. So if a brand wants to attract and retain customers—and what brand doesn’t?—it makes good sense to look at how its partners are experiencing the brand. Partnerships drive growth Partners help brands serve their customers in a wide array of industries, ranging from airlines to food, from apparel to consumer goods to technology. And in many of these industries the brand experience—how a brand makes you feel—has surpassed price and product as the key differentiator. For brands, delivering positive experiences at every human touch point drives loyalty and fuels growth. You’d think that a company that’s prioritized customer experience would understand that relationships with its partners are just as important because they represent a critical link to customers. If partners feel engaged and motivated, they will deliver a better experience to end customers. Yet partners often say they feel disconnected and undervalued. See your partners as humans To improve the brand-partner relationship, brands should first recognize that partners have human motivations, expectations, fears and ambitions just like customers and employees do. Brands must then deliver experiences that address those needs—actions such as: Invest across the journey Bottom line: To help secure long-term growth through the channel, brands need to create authentic experiences for partners. Focusing on Deloitte’s five human tenets for elevating the human experience can help: Our research has shown that elevating the human experience for partners can offer an advantage for organizations by establishing lasting connections, building trust and loyalty, and fueling business growth. Ultimately, it can increase the value of the partnership and its impact on the bottom line—not to mention the authentic, satisfying experience that’s delivered to consumers whenever we open a chat window or pick up our phone for help—because we know there’s another human on the other end. About Deloitte Digital At Deloitte Digital, we are guided by an aspiration to elevate the human experience. Together with all of Deloitte, we connect creativity, technology, people, and ecosystems to make an impact that matters to our clients and to society across the globe. We imagine, deliver, and run the future to deliver on the promise of digital transformation and create sustainable business futures. Learn more at www.deloittedigital.com

5 ways to elevate the human experience for brand partners

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