Humanizing Your Online Profile: Building Relationships with Your Customers

People naturally seek relationships that meet them where they are. Most highly treasure listening ears and understanding friends in today's world filled with the computer's monotonous, robotic voice. Despite this, the internet has become integral for building trusted relationships between customers and businesses. 

Modern technology has significantly changed the game of interacting with your customers. There's more to it than the borderless accessibility it offers. The internet allows companies to maintain relationships with their audience through organic and genuine engagements. 

However, maintaining an authentic, humanized online profile for your brand can be challenging when your company depends on business process standards, calculated data charts, and industry jargon. But large companies continue to strive to meet this demand. They do so by working with what they know—relating to their audience and fostering trust beyond the screens of today's technologies. 

The internet has become one of the most effective and powerful platforms to interact with your audience. It is also a tool where you can establish your presence online, which can make or break your brand. Creating a more humanized customer experience is vital in maintaining healthy and long-term relationships for your company. So, how exactly can you humanize your brand?

Ideas to Consider on Humanizing Your Brand 

Your brand's online presence can be your best tool. Making your audience feel like they're talking to another human, like a long-time friend, is the goal you want to drive home. Be your customer's honest friend who understands their challenges—one they can approach to give trusted answers to their problems. 

Learn more ways to humanize your online presence and build customer loyalty with the tips below.

• Remember your why

There's a reason why being true to yourself is a piece of popular advice that you often hear when making friends. Cheesy as it may sound, staying true to your values can help you reach the right people for the right reasons.  

Relating to your customers is no different. Showing genuine interest and concern for your brand's values connects you to people who share the same ideas. This way, you are more likely to reach people interested in you and your product, despite the thousands of other businesses they can find online. 

When you know who you are and what you stand for, there is no need to create a mask you must wear when you do business. There's no need to filter out your messages with flowery words to capture the right customer click. 

Remember: Being online doesn't necessarily mean being everywhere all at once- prioritize always being present for those who need you. 

• Understand what your audience needs and when they need it

Knowing who you're talking to lets you speak to them and address their problems better. Doing business requires more than just selling products and services for profit. You must also acknowledge that there is a problem and you're a pal that helps customers find solutions. 

Connect to your audiences by conveying genuine emotion. Recognize your customer's problems and acknowledge how it has affected them. Human emotions are naturally attracted to groups that show attention, acceptance, and support—becoming part of a group fulfills their need to belong. More than the exclusive features of your offers, educate them on how you can assist them in their challenges. 

Talk to your customers with experiences and emotions instead of numbers and sales. When you understand your audience's challenges, you're more likely to offer them a product or service that best fits their wants and needs. Be the supportive friend who assists them in times of need. You can be someone they can depend on to overcome their challenges unscathed.

• Communicate with what you have

Part of fulfilling the human's need for belongingness is seeking other people with the same commonality. Your customers are more likely to respond positively when they talk to another human empathizing with their challenge. They may not open up to corporations hard-selling their products. As such, you may want to converse with them in an empathetic manner. 

With the current advancements, you can do so no matter where you are or what time. Build and engage with your community using the internet to its fullest potential. Make your presence known on the different online platforms to show your customers that you're approachable, understanding, and trustworthy of their attention. 

Create opportunities for dialogue with your customers by asking and answering questions. Maintaining relationships is a two-way street. Relevant parties build a dependable relationship on loyalty and honest communication. So, foster an environment wherein your audience feels comfortable sharing their challenges and seeking support. 

• Show them who you are

Landing on a web page only riddled with stock photos, flashy logos, and blocks of text can easily make your brand seem impersonal. Showing your customers the faces behind your services develops a more natural connection between your audience and the people of your business. 

Place meaning into the work that your business does by putting people first. It's fundamental to remember that it is the people who power businesses—not trends, sales, or business models. 

Humanize your customer experiences by producing personal content which speaks your customers' language. Documentaries, biographies, and snippets of what happens behind the scenes are some ways you can introduce your brand to your customers. Doing so shows how relevant you are and help build customer trust.

Share Your Journey With Your Customers

Let your business speak for itself. Stand out from other organizations by taking conscious efforts to humanize your brand, gaining and nurturing trusted customer relationships. Instead of mere business, offer them human solutions. 

Using industry jargon, data charts, and market trends for your website may be suitable for detailed business ventures. However, your community of customers needs to have a sense of personal belongingness with what you can offer. So, start humanizing your online presence to forge a long-term relationship audience. Doing so can even help you promote customer loyalty. 

Doing business means acknowledging a problem and solving it. However, it doesn't eliminate the human connections shared through common experiences. Making your company more personable can do wonders to reach your target audiences. And you can do so by showing them what your brand stands for, what it is passionate about, and what it seeks to understand.