本文源引自Michelle Hawley在《CMSWire》2024年4月4日的刊文，采用中英双语排版，由ImmersiveTranslate提供翻译支持。
The Gist 要旨
- Rising costs impact perceptions. Increasing fees and changes to loyalty programs can lead to dissatisfaction and distrust among consumers.
成本上升影响人们的看法。增加费用和改变忠诚度计划可能会导致消费者的不满和不信任。 - Transparency and communication are key. Open communication about price increases fosters understanding and empathy, helping to maintain customer loyalty.
透明度和沟通是关键。关于价格上涨的公开沟通可以促进理解和同理心，有助于保持客户忠诚度。 - Focus on added value. Providing enhanced services or loyalty rewards justifies price increases and reinforces the value customers receive.
注重附加值。提供增强的服务或忠诚度奖励可以证明价格上涨是合理的，并增强了客户获得的价值。
The cost of goods is going up. Labor is going up. And, for the consumer, that means the price of everything is skyrocketing.
商品成本正在上涨。劳动力正在上升。而且，对于消费者来说，这意味着所有东西的价格都在飞涨。
Just take a look at inflation over the past several years. In June of 2022, the rate of inflation hit a staggering 9.1%. And while we’ve steadied out — currently sitting at around 3.2% — it doesn’t seem like the price of anything is dropping. In fact, it feels like the opposite.
看看过去几年的通货膨胀就知道了。 2022年6月，通货膨胀率达到惊人的9.1%。虽然我们已经稳定下来——目前约为 3.2%——但似乎任何东西的价格都没有下降。事实上，感觉恰恰相反。
Multiple airlines have raised their fees for checked bags. Costco has considered increasing the price for membership. And Wendy’s announced new digital menu boards in an attempt to introduce dynamic pricing — which the company quickly backtracked on after customer outrage.
多家航空公司提高了托运行李的费用。 Costco 已考虑提高会员价格。温迪宣布推出新的数字菜单板，试图引入动态定价，但在顾客愤怒后，该公司很快就收回了这一做法。
These rising costs make a big impact on customer perceptions of brands, leading to distrust, frustration and looking to competitors to get staple products for lower prices.
这些不断上涨的成本对客户对品牌的看法产生了重大影响，导致不信任、沮丧，并希望竞争对手以更低的价格获得主要产品。
Prices Are Going up, up, up
价格上涨，上涨，上涨
You’ve probably heard people say that inflation is down, said Marbue Brown founder of The Customer Obsession Advantage. So why are prices up?
The Customer Obsession Advantage 的创始人马布·布朗 (Marbue Brown) 表示，你可能听过人们说通货膨胀已经下降。那么为什么价格上涨呢？
“The rate of inflation peaked at 9% at one point, now it’s down in the threes,” said Brown, a CMSWire Contributor. “But what does that mean? It doesn’t mean that the prices that went up when they were 9% have come down. What it means is that prices are increasing at a slower rate. What it means is those prices that went all the way up when inflation was 9%, they’re still baked in. They didn’t go down.”
“通货膨胀率一度达到 9% 的峰值，现在已经下降了 3%，”CMSWire 撰稿人 Brown 表示。 “但是，这是什么意思？这并不意味着9%时上涨的价格已经下降。这意味着价格上涨速度较慢。这意味着，那些在通货膨胀率为 9% 时一路上涨的价格，仍然受到影响。它们并没有下跌。”
And there’s another problem we’re not taking into account, Brown added. To bring inflation in check, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. And when that happened, it raised the cost of the two biggest expenses that families have: housing and transportation.
布朗补充说，还有一个我们没有考虑到的问题。为了控制通货膨胀，美联储提高了利率。当这种情况发生时，就会增加家庭两项最大的开支：住房和交通。
“Bottom line is that there’s certain things that are baked in,” he explained. “So therein lies the problem for the businesses. All of the components that are going into what they produce for you have increased. They are racking their brains to figure out how to keep from passing all of these costs on to you.”
“最重要的是，有些东西是经过烘焙的，”他解释道。 “这就是企业面临的问题。他们为您生产的所有组件都增加了。他们正在绞尽脑汁想办法避免将所有这些成本转嫁到你身上。”
Baseline inflation, Brown continued, overwhelms businesses’ ability to tweak here and there to keep from passing those costs on to customers. “And if that’s the case, they’re going to have to do it at some point.”
布朗继续说，基准通胀压垮了企业四处调整以避免将这些成本转嫁给客户的能力。 “如果是这样的话，他们将不得不在某个时候这样做。”
Rising Costs Impact Customer Perceptions
成本上升影响客户认知
Fee increases and changes to loyalty programs significantly impact your brand’s image and customer perception, often leading to dissatisfaction and perceived broken promises, said Brooke Sellas, founder and CEO of B Squared Media and author of “Conversations That Connect.”
B Squared Media 创始人兼首席执行官、《Conversations That Connect》一书的作者布鲁克·塞拉斯 (Brooke Sellas) 表示，费用增加和忠诚度计划的变化会极大地影响品牌形象和客户认知，通常会导致不满和被认为违背承诺。
“This is particularly true if your customers feel that the value proposition of the loyalty program diminishes,” she explained. “It’s not just about the costs; it’s about how these changes are communicated and how they align with your customers’ expectations and values.”
“如果您的客户认为忠诚度计划的价值主张减弱了，情况尤其如此，”她解释道。 “这不仅仅是成本的问题；还有成本的问题。”关键在于如何传达这些变化以及它们如何与客户的期望和价值观保持一致。”
Right now, added Brown, we’re in a period where customers are not too trusting because they’ve already been burned in many ways.
布朗补充说，现在我们正处于一个客户不太信任的时期，因为他们已经在很多方面受到了伤害。
“There’s shrinkflation, which has been kind of like a stealth way for companies to maintain their profits. But at the same time, kind of blunt the effects of inflation.” This tactic may have worked for a while, he explained, when the smaller packaging was less noticeable. But once those smaller packages became noticeable, people started complaining.
“存在收缩性通货膨胀，这有点像公司维持利润的一种隐形方式。但与此同时，某种程度上削弱了通货膨胀的影响。”他解释说，这种策略可能已经奏效了一段时间，当时较小的包装不太引人注目。但一旦这些较小的包装变得引人注目，人们就开始抱怨。
“Then on the other hand, you’ve got the fast food group, which of course Wendy’s is included in, that have been quietly raising prices. And so the moment Wendy’s talks about [dynamic pricing], people won’t think about it potentially in the context of discounts, they immediately think of it in terms of ‘Oh these guys are figuring out how to raise prices.’ Because we’ve already broken trust with the customers. We’ve already undermined our basis of trust with the customers.”
“另一方面，快餐集团（当然也包括温迪）一直在悄悄提高价格。因此，当温迪谈论[动态定价]时，人们不会在折扣的背景下考虑它，他们会立即想到“哦，这些人正在想办法提高价格。”因为我们“我们已经失去了客户的信任。我们已经破坏了客户的信任基础。”
How to Maintain Customer Loyalty Amid Rising Costs
如何在成本上升的情况下保持客户忠诚度
Brands need to increase costs, but customers aren’t happy about it. So what’s the solution?
品牌需要增加成本，但客户对此并不满意。那么解决办法是什么呢？
To make rising prices and new pricing models more palatable, brands must focus on transparency, communication and added value, said Sellas.
塞拉斯表示，为了让不断上涨的价格和新的定价模式更容易被接受，品牌必须注重透明度、沟通和附加值。
- Transparency: Be open about the reasons behind price increases, which can foster understanding and empathy from customers.
透明度：公开涨价背后的原因，这可以促进客户的理解和同理心。 - Communication: Should be proactive, clear and empathetic, providing customers with advanced notice and explanation of the changes.
沟通：应主动、清晰且富有同理心，向客户提供有关变更的提前通知和解释。 - Added Value: Can come in the form of improved services, exclusive offers or enhanced loyalty rewards that justify the price increase and reinforce the value customers are getting for their money.
附加值：可以以改进的服务、独家优惠或增强的忠诚度奖励的形式出现，以证明价格上涨的合理性并增强客户的物有所值。
“Brands can manage this balance by focusing on operational efficiency and customer-centric strategies,” Sellas added. “This might involve investing in technology (AI, anyone?) that improves service delivery or streamlines operations to reduce costs. At the same time, engaging with customers to understand their needs and preferences can help tailor the customer experience in a way that maximizes satisfaction, even when prices are higher.”
“品牌可以通过关注运营效率和以客户为中心的战略来管理这种平衡，”塞拉斯补充道。 “这可能涉及投资技术（人工智能，有人吗？），以改善服务交付或简化运营以降低成本。与此同时，与客户互动以了解他们的需求和偏好可以帮助以最大限度地提高满意度的方式定制客户体验，即使价格较高。”
Brown seconded the importance of transparency. When in a situation like this, he said, businesses have no choice but to raise prices or offer smaller portions. “But when the customer feels like they’re doing it in stealth, then the customers don’t trust you. And this is a scenario where, if there were more open communication between the brands and the customers, it might be more palatable to the customer.”
布朗赞同透明度的重要性。他说，在这种情况下，企业别无选择，只能提高价格或减少供应量。 “但是，当客户感觉他们在偷偷地做这件事时，客户就不会信任你。在这种情况下，如果品牌和客户之间有更开放的沟通，客户可能会更容易接受。”
If brands actually took the time to listen to customers, Brown continued, they might find out what customers are willing to accept. Then, they can make the right choices. At the same time, he said, they can also communicate what they’re already doing in an attempt to keep prices in check.
布朗继续说道，如果品牌真正花时间倾听顾客的意见，他们可能会发现顾客愿意接受什么。然后，他们就能做出正确的选择。他说，与此同时，他们还可以传达他们已经采取的措施，以控制价格。
Building Customer Trust in an Evolving Economic Landscape
在不断变化的经济格局中建立客户信任
In times of change, said Sellas, whether due to rising costs or shifting markets, the importance of listening to and truly understanding your customers cannot be overstated.
塞拉斯表示，在变革时期，无论是由于成本上升还是市场变化，倾听并真正理解客户的重要性怎么强调都不为过。
“Brands that succeed are those that maintain a dialogue with their customers, showing empathy and a willingness to adapt,” she said. “It’s also vital to remember that trust, once eroded, is hard to rebuild. Therefore, every decision, especially around sensitive issues like pricing and loyalty rewards, should be made with the long-term relationship in mind.”
“成功的品牌是那些与客户保持对话、表现出同理心和适应意愿的品牌，”她说。 “同样重要的是要记住，信任一旦受到侵蚀，就很难重建。因此，每一个决定，尤其是围绕定价和忠诚度奖励等敏感问题的决定，都应该考虑到长期关系。”
