Indians want brands to make them smile and laugh, but business leaders fear using humor in customer interactions according to a new research report from Oracle Fusion Cloud Customer Experience (CX) and Gretchen Rubin, five-time New York Times bestselling author and podcaster. The Happiness Report includes insights from more than 12,000 consumers and business leaders across 14 countries, 1,012 from India found that people are searching for new experiences to make them smile and laugh and will reward brands that embrace humor with loyalty, advocacy, and repeat purchases, and walk away from those that don’t.
It has been more than two years since many people last felt true happiness and they are searching for ways to be happy again, no matter the cost.
Indians want brands to make them smile and laugh, but business leaders admit their brands rarely use humor to engage with customers.
People will reward brands that embrace humor with loyalty, advocacy, and repeat purchases and will walk away from those that don’t.
“The last few years have had a significant impact on our lives for all. Now that the world has returned to some semblance of normalcy, everyone wants to reclaim control of their lives and enjoy the moment. Our findings revealed that the pandemic, and rightly so, changed what it means to be happy,” said Deepa Param Singhal, Vice President, Applications, Oracle India
“Our statistics highlight that people believe that brands can do more to make customers happy and they are more likely to buy from a salesperson that is engaging. It is evident that consumers want to interact with brands on a more personal level. Customers want to enjoy themselves and feel welcomed and brands must embrace this change in order to drive brand engagement, loyalty, and customer satisfaction.”
“Technology and data can be a huge enabler here, providing retailers with the appropriate statistics and means. These can enable retailers with improved consumer visibility as well as platforms for engaging more deeply at a personal level with customers, thereby making them happy and content,” Singhal added.
“We’ve all been through some very tough years, and happiness around the world is lacking. We’re starved for experiences that make us laugh and smile, but brands can help,” Gretchen Rubin, five-time New York Times bestseller author and podcaster. “For brands looking to contribute to the happiness of their target audience, it starts with data and knowing your customers. Only then, can you bring the appropriate mix of humor, personality and brand experience that will drive loyalty and brand advocacy.”
Learn more about this global report here.
Research findings are based on a survey conducted by Savanta, Inc. across the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China, Singapore, India, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, and Columbia between January 3-27, 2022. For this survey, 12,183 consumers, including 3,125 business leaders across marketing, sales and customer service, were asked general questions about the impact of the pandemic on happiness and openness to seeing an emotion like humor inserted into advertising, marketing, sales and customer service activities as part of the overall customer experience. The study targeted consumers and full-time business leaders 21 years of age or older. Respondents were recruited through a number of different mechanisms, via different sources to join the panels and participate in market research surveys. All panelists have passed a double opt-in process and complete on average 300 profiling data points prior to taking part in surveys. Respondents are invited to take part via email and are provided with a small monetary incentive for doing so. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. In this study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 0.9 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
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