How do brands create compelling customer moments?

In an increasingly digital world, competition for customer attention is coming from every direction. They face an inbox full of promotions for all types of products and services, pop up ads across multiple platforms and requests to sign up for information from various companies. 

With the barriers to entry for customer communication so low in a digital world, how do brands engage with customers, win their trust and, crucially, win a share of their attention? 

A growing number of brands are turning to embedded finance to create the kind of compelling customer moments that drive brand engagement and loyalty. Not all embedded finance is equal, however. Done right, it meets the modern customer litmus test for ease and fulfilment. 

Making life easy for customers

The value of a truly embedded payment experience is very different to integrations which take the customer out of their active journey into a different flow. Once a customer needs to leave wherever they were engaging, the risk of cart abandonment increases significantly. 

According to the Baymard Institute, over 70% of online shoppers abandon their carts. There are a variety of factors driving that, but adding too much friction to the customer journey increases the likelihood of an incomplete transaction. 

Finding the balance between offering choice at checkout and creating simplicity needs due consideration. If a favoured payment choice, for example, is missing, a customer may walk away. Offer too many options, the resulting confusion can also lead to abandoned baskets. Understanding customer preferences and needs is essential. 

Brands need to leverage their knowledge of their customers in deciding what products to make available. Some consumers may want to use a BNPL product over a credit card. Higher value transactions may provide a great opportunity to offer a relevant insurance or lending product. Knowing what drives the customer and leveraging that understanding to find the right partners to deliver seamless and relevant options at checkout is what will drive success. 

Rewarding loyalty drives loyalty

Customers like to be rewarded for their loyalty. Looking at the historical success of credit card point schemes, store reward cards and other loyalty-based offers, when done right, they clearly drive repeat business. 

It isn’t just repeat business but also a great share of the customer wallet overall that is at stake.  A brand that is able to offer a product tailored to the customer need, at the very moment they need it, will foster greater engagement and the development of a very virtuous circle. 

Those rewards need to be meaningful and offered alongside solutions that a customer really wants. That may be a free coffee every tenth purchase or a lower per unit price through a subscription model, but the goal is clear. Understand the rewards that matter, make them easy to access and drive repeat business.  

Brands who know their customers best stand to gain the most from embedded finance 

It may sound over simplified, but brands that understand their customers and stay true to the value of their core offering are best positioned for success. If customers go to a particular brand for electronic goods, then the ancillary products offered at checkout need to make sense in the context of that purchase. That may be a lending or insurance product, an add-on servicing-contract or loyalty-based reward. 

Embedded finance can drive brand engagement and loyalty, but finding the right partner to capitalise on the opportunity is equally crucial. Brands should seek a partner that allows them to offer their customers financial services, not only in the seamless fashion that is fast becoming the norm, but also safely and in compliance, to create those compelling customer moments.