Happy customers are loyal customers, so it follows that if you can make the experience of engaging with your business more entertaining, you’ll also see revenues rise over time. The same goes for employees; a workforce that’s in good spirits is more motivated and productive.
Knowing this is not enough on its own, of course, so here are some actionable strategies to add humor to your operations, winning more business and boosting team morale with the power of fun.
Have a Funny Tip Jar (for Cafes, Restaurants, Bars, and More)
The hospitality industry requires a lot of face-time with customers throughout the day, and while tipping culture can be controversial, it’s a reality of the ecosystem for the time being.
It’s also perfectly reasonable to allow people to express their satisfaction with the experience they’ve had by giving a little extra when it’s time to pay.
This is where having a funny tip jar can pay dividends, as if it grabs the customer’s attention and gives them a chuckle, they’ll be more compelled to reach in their pockets.
There are some tried-and-true tip jar ideas you can follow, such as adding a pun to the label, or even simply drawing a doodle or a smiley face. It’s all about giving your tip jar a bit of personality, and not just making it a bald faced request for more cash.
Inject Humor into Email Campaigns
Another area where you’ve got the opportunity to give customers a giggle, or at least soften the edges of an otherwise perfunctory interaction, is with your email marketing efforts.
Regardless of the industry you occupy, having a carefully crafted email marketing strategy will stand you in good stead, and humor can be a useful tool for breaking the ice and making recipients feel less like they’re being sold to, and more like they’re getting a unique opportunity to buy into your brand.
Various newcomers to the market have even managed to carve a niche that’s entirely based on making people laugh, whether that’s the likes of personal grooming brand Manscaped, or even established entities trying to reframe their brand image, like Old Spice.
You don’t have to use wacky wording throughout a message to achieve your aims here; knowing when to be sparing with gags is just as important as including them in the first place.
Test any changes to tone to see if they click with customers before rolling them out broadly.
Make a Splash on Social Media
Getting a grip on social networking sites is one of the things that all budding entrepreneurs need to do. And humor has proven to be an alluring aspect of brand identity on sites and platforms as diverse as Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and TikTok.
For some reason it’s fast food chains that have managed to make best use of humor on social media, with interactions from the likes of Wendy’s and KFC managing to go viral.
And the intriguing thing about many of these instances is that they don’t always come out of some long-planned campaign, but rather as the result of a spur of the moment post made by an experienced member of the marketing team.
This shows that sometimes you don’t need to overthink your brand-building efforts if you want to get positive results.
The other side of the coin is that social media does leave room for snafus to occur, and while big corporations might be able to recover, small brands don’t have the same luxury, so care is needed in this context.
Final Thoughts
The point here is that the humor you use in email marketing should be brand-appropriate. If what you’re selling isn’t really suitable for cracking wise, don’t feel you have to take this route.
There are also gradients of humor, from very gentle and family-friendly to a more in-your-face approach which may or may not fit in with the personality you’re seeking to convey.
Don’t be afraid to experiment, and do remember to research how rivals are using humor if you’re unsure of how to proceed. You might be surprised by what new angle you’ll discover this way.
About the Author
Sarilaya Cada is a freelance content writer. She is interested in a wide range of fields, from project management, to education, to engineering.
