Customer Engagement
What is customer engagement?
Customer engagement is a term that describes the ongoing interactions between a company and its customers, starting from the first encounter and extending beyond the point of purchase. It also represents the emotional connection between customers and a company’s brand. The more highly engaged customers are, the more they will buy of that particular brand, demonstrate loyalty to it and promote it to others.
Why is customer engagement important?
To promote and sustain customer engagement, it’s important to provide a positive customer experience. Many companies and small business owners create a customer engagement strategy that outlines how to build and promote positive customer engagement on a continuous, long-term basis. Such a strategy can ensure that you aren’t missing out on opportunities to interact with your customers and build or nurture a relationship with them. After all, fully engaged customers can significantly contribute to your revenue.
While there is no one-size-fits-all customer engagement method that works for every company, there are several areas of focus that are relevant across all industries and especially when starting a business. For instance, a genuine focus on clarity, empathy, and simplicity in your communication (including business writing) and interactions with current and potential customers should be at the heart of all customer engagement activities. It’s also important to keep your efforts positive. Many popular brands use various channels (social media, email, website, etc.) to engage with their customers, and/or offer personalized discounts and offerings to promote brand loyalty. You can use Wix to help you create a website that engages and supports your customers, while helping your product look great.
The key to effective customer engagement is offering your customers added value - beyond your products and services. Doing so will attract - and retain - customers and, in turn, boost your revenue and grow your business.
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How do you build customer engagement?
We’ve established that customer engagement strengthens your customer base and can, consequently help when you are starting and growing your business. If you want to start incorporating customer engagement into your business, here are a some tips to help you do so effectively:
01. Differentiate your brand voice. Customers are more likely to remember and respond to a brand that has a distinct personality. Many popular brands use a unique, even quirky, brand voice to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Your business should do the same to help customers remember your brand and want to engage with it. For example, Target stands out from other mid-level retail chains by showing off a playful, fun, peppy personality. Their commercials show a fun shopping experience, which is an added value beyond their low prices.
02. Share your brand voice. Now that you have an attractive brand voice, you’ll want to share it with others. An effective way to reach and engage with more customers is to build a presence on social media. Post content that matches your brand voice, personality and values. Whether your tone is lighthearted or serious, social media is a great way for current and new customers to get to know and connect (or even reconnect) with your brand.
03. Offer personalized customer experiences. This element speaks for itself. The more personalized a customer experience is, the more positive it will be - and remain - in the customer’s mind after the fact. This will surely strengthen brand loyalty. Asking customers how you can help them, via questionnaires or quizzes is a good tactic. Their feedback can help you personalize products or offerings for them.
You can also use customer engagement marketing to share timely, relevant and personalized messages with consumers. A prime example of successful customer engagement marketing is when, in 2014, Coca-Cola replaced its company logo on its bottles with 250 of the most common names in America and across the world. The campaign was a success because of its highly personalized and customized customer engagement.