People want brands to make them smile and laugh, yet business leaders fear using humor in customer interactions according to a new study Happiness Report from Oracle and Gretchen Rubin, five-time New York Times bestselling author and podcaster. The research report includes insights from 12,000 consumers and business leaders across 14 countries, including 1,006 from Singapore 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.

People in Singapore are searching for happiness in new ways and are willing to pay a premium

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. Here are some findings from respondents in Singapore:

• 36 percent of people said they have not felt true happiness for more than two years and 24 percent don’t know, or have forgotten, what it means to feel truly happy.
• 83 percent are looking for new experiences to make them smile and laugh. Singaporeans are prioritizing health (79 percent) personal connections (77 percent) and money (52 percent) to gain happiness.
• To feel just an hour of true happiness, Singaporeans would give up friends (68 percent), part of their income (61 percent), showering (50 percent) for a week.
• Nearly two-thirds of Singapore respondents (66 percent) wish money could buy happiness, with 80 percent willing to pay a premium for true happiness.
• Close to half of Singapore respondents (47 percent) attempted to find happiness in online shopping during the pandemic and 46 percent said that receiving packages made them happy.

Advertising, marketing, sales, and customer service interactions need to change

People want brands to make them smile and laugh, but business leaders are scared of using humor in customer interactions for fear of being canceled.

• 4 out of 5 (81 percent) of Singaporeans believe brands can do more to deliver happiness to their customers and 92 percent said they preferred brands to be funny; this number increased among Gen Z (98 percent) and Millennials (96 percent).
• Advertising: 90 percent are more likely to remember ads that are funny, yet business leaders in Singapore said that only 18 percent of their brands’ offline ads (TV, billboards) and 14 percent of their online ads actively use humor.
• Social channels: 77 percent of Singaporeans would follow a brand if it’s funny on its social media channels, yet only 10 percent of business leaders in Singapore said their brand is humorous on social.
• Email marketing: 70 percent of Singaporeans would open an email from a brand if the subject line were funnier, yet only 20 percent of business leaders in Singapore said they actively use humor in email marketing campaigns.
• Chatbots/digital assistants: 70 percent of Singaporeans would prefer to engage with a chatbot/digital assistant that is funny, yet only 27 percent of business leaders in Singapore said their brands actively incorporate humor into bot communications.

Smiles and laughter pay dividends, but business leaders are afraid to joke around

People will reward brands that embrace humor with loyalty, advocacy, and repeat purchases and will walk away from those that don’t.

• 58 percent of Singaporeans don’t believe they have a relationship with a brand unless it makes them smile or laugh and 44 percent would walk away from a brand if it didn’t make them laugh or smile regularly.
• If a brand uses humor, Singaporeans are more likely to recommend the brand to family and friends (80 percent), buy from the brand again (79 percent), choose the brand over the competition (73 percent), and spend more with a brand (63 percent).
• 88 percent of business leaders in Singapore see the opportunity to use humor to enhance the customer experience and believe that their brand can do more to make customers laugh or smile.
• 79 percent of business leaders in Singapore fear using humor in customer interactions.
• 91 percent of business leaders in Singapore state that they do not have the data insights or tools to successfully deliver humor. They would be more confident using humor when engaging with customers if they had better customer visibility (54 percent) and access to advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (43 percent).

“We’ve all been through some very tough years, and around the world, we’re short on happiness. We’re starved for experiences that make us smile and laugh, and brands can help,” said Gretchen Rubin, five-time New York Times bestselling author and podcaster. “For brands aiming to contribute to the happiness of their target audience, the process 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.”

“Every organization has a common goal of keeping customers happy and engaged. In Singapore, there is a significant gap in successfully delivering happiness to customers as many brands shy away from using humor," said Jay Tuseth, Vice President Cloud Applications, Oracle ASEAN. "It is evident from our results that most business leaders want to make their customers laugh but are fearful of getting it wrong. Technology can be a true enabler. By harnessing data and the insight to contextually deliver a happier experience, business leaders can drive lifelong loyalty."

Learn more about this global report here