What is Customer Engagement?
Customer engagement might well be a hazy concept or a trendy buzzword. It does not, however, have to be as vague as most businesses perceive it to be. Customer engagement, in its most basic form, refers to every connection your customers have with your business, as well as how those interactions affect people's perceptions of your brand.
"Customer engagement is the ongoing interactions between company and customer, offered by the company, chosen by the customer." Paul Greenberg from Hubspot
It's pointless to force someone to engage with your brand. However, the more opportunities you allow them to interact with you, the more likely you are to establish a real connection with your customer.
Why Customer Engagement?
Customer engagement can take various forms, but it always necessitates time and effort on your part. The good news is that the cost of driving engagement is outweighed by the benefits it brings. Here are a few of the most important advantages:
- Customer service should be improved. Exceptional engagement puts you in regular direct contact with your clients. And as you spend more time with your clients, you'll have a better understanding of their needs, wants, desires, and pain areas. These discoveries pave the door for better customer service, which in turn encourages repeat business.
- Reduced churn and higher retention. A satisfied customer is much less likely to defect to a competitor. The more you invest in customer interaction, the less likely you are to lose customers and the more likely you are to keep them for a long time.
- A higher level of commitment. Customers want to feel appreciated and looked after. A successful customer engagement plan can significantly boost loyalty, which can help mitigate minor customer service or experience difficulties.
- More traffic via referrals. Your brand is relevant for an engaged customer. This increases their likelihood of talking about your business (naturally) and bringing in new customers by word-of-mouth marketing.
- Improved profit margins. Each of these advantages leads to increased income and profitability in the long run. According to a study, companies that improve employee engagement had a 22 percent boost in cross-selling and a 51 percent rise in upselling.
When you place a high value on client interaction, you'll see excellent results all over your company. The most challenging part is figuring out how to do it effectively.
How to engage with your customers
If you're interested in ideas on how to increase customer engagement and develop your business, here are a few suggestions:
- Inquire, hear, and act. Listening to your customers is the best thing you can do. Asking for feedback, assessing that feedback, and then strategically using it to make business improvements can demonstrate to your customers that you understand and value their opinions. A survey is one of the simplest ways to gather feedback and analyze brand loyalty. This simple survey can be distributed via social (link), email, SMS, in-app, or in-store kiosks or pads and ask questions like, "How likely are you to recommend (your brand) to a friend?". This can be answered in many ways, like smiley faces, stars, 0-10 or even open-ended questions. As feedback comes in, you'll have a consolidated view of real-time customer data, thanks to reporting. You can easily find trends and repeated improvement requests to include in future service or product updates from there. Ultimately, follow up with your customers and let them know that their feedback is essential. Keep them engaged by sending a personalized "Thank you" message or make the customer feel affirmed by informing them that their input significantly impacted upcoming strategic decisions.
- Create content that is focused on the customer. Although content marketing is essential, few brands get as much benefit out of it as they should. Create compelling content that speaks to your customers' needs, pain points, and desires if you want to engage them through content. Fortunately, with your newly gathered feedback, guessing what customers want is no longer an issue.
- Surprise your customers. Make them feel special. A pleasant surprise, no matter how tiny, can change how buyers think about your brand. Customers will be more engaged than ever before as a result of surprises and tailored experiences.
- Align yourself with worthy causes. While you should never do anything that isn't genuine to your brand's identity, partnering with worthy causes has customer-facing benefits. According to Google, 46% of shoppers make a conscious effort to do business with companies that share their beliefs. Don't be hesitant about mentioning a charity, organization, or community cause that you support. Although not all of your customers may be concerned, many will. Those that do will be even more invested in your company.
Service Systems
We're a consulting and technology company that partners with customer-focused industries. We aim to complement and improve customer experience by developing or implementing various hardware and software technology solutions. That elevates a data-driven approach to business management and customer engagement, ultimately forging the roadmap to success.
Pose key performance-based questions in a simple and effortless format with our Customer Feedback Pads, providing a convenient and discreet way for your visitors or staff to give you insight into their experience.
If you are keen to learn how we can help you succeed, mail us ninja@servicesystems.co.za or call us at +27872374783.
