Customer engagement is a topic marketers can’t afford to ignore. This is because it underscores the “why” of the marketer’s market – to build customer relationships that ensure these individuals choose you instead of the competition, benefit and enjoy what you offer, and continue coming back time and time again while telling others about their experience. If you want to acquire successfully, convert, and retain customers and have the best chance of turning them into brand advocates, you must engage them first. This means you have connected with them in an effective, meaningful, and appropriate manner.
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It’s no longer enough to create a catchy slogan or have celebrities endorse what you offer. Thanks to innovative technology, such as mobile phones and social media, marketing professionals must always be “on” and ready to take advantage of new engagement opportunities with customers at any location and at any time.
While this may sound like a huge challenge, you shouldn’t be too worried. There are more than a few methods and tactics you can use to help boost engagement. What’s even better is that these don’t have to be complicated. The key is to make sure the tactics come from an authentic place, that they are targeting the right audience, and that you provide compelling reasons for people to engage. This will make them want to.
It doesn’t matter what you are marketing or trying to build engagement for. It may be for a new pressure washing service, top-of-the-line rugged laptop, or something else. Keep reading for some tips to help digital marketers provide superior customer engagement and ensure it continues. Knowing what to do to build engagement will pay off in the long run and help you continue to see success.
Create and Use a Customer Engagement Strategy
If you want to engage your customers successfully, you must create and follow a digital engagement guide that outlines your goals and the strategies you plan to use. Ensure the goals are actionable and based on real information and data, with trackable KPIs and metrics. You should also have clear expectations so your support staff knows what to do at all steps along the way. When you implement a customer engagement strategy, you can feel confident that you and your team can remain on track. It will also help ensure your customers are receiving consistent and streamlined service through their entire journey with your business.
Provide Superior Customer Experiences
Do you want proof that the experience your customers have is essential to customer engagement levels? If so, consider this – with companies that improve their overall customer experience, they see an increase of 84% in revenue. If you think about it, this makes sense. Chances are you have had a bad experience in the past with a business and vowed never to return. Issues like waiting too long on hold or speaking to a real person, a complicated online checkout process, or a transaction that did not go through after entering all needed information are classic examples of poor user engagement. As a marketer, you must make sure this is not an issue. If you want to provide a good customer experience, you must list all the ways that customers can and do interact with your brand or business. This can be done with a thorough analysis. Once you know what these interactions are, you can take steps to improve them, increasing customer engagement.
Create a Meaningful and Relatable Brand
Quality customer engagement isn’t just about ensuring you provide a smooth user experience; even though that is a big part of it, you must also create a brand personality that your customers will want to get to know more about and engage with. At this point, you need to consider brand awareness. Before a customer can engage with a business, they have to be aware that it exists.
They also have to realize that the business offers something useful, relevant, or special.
As a digital marketing pro, you must work to create that sense of connection and meaning with potential customers to help attract their attention and encourage ongoing engagement opportunities. A part of this relies on your ability to create a sense of authenticity for the brand. If you successfully convey this authenticity, it will shine through in how you do business.
For some, this may mean sourcing your materials from suppliers that support your ethics or values. For others, it may be the personal story or a special passion that started the brand. As a marketer, it is up to you to figure out what this is and then find a way to use it to increase engagement.
Invest in a Customer Engagement Platform
With a customer engagement platform, you have software that will allow your business to engage with customers through several touchpoints. This ensures you are engaging with them throughout the interactions. You can also use the platform to track your audience as they move from one step to the next. Customer engagement platforms’ top features include workforce management tools, automation tools, intelligent routing, reports and analytics, and omnichannel capabilities.
Use Conversational Marketing
The sophistication of digital marketing is growing. So are customer expectations. No longer is the concept of a nine-to-five store still relevant. Customers desire more, and they want to connect with brands when and where it best suits them. If someone purchases something online at midnight, and an issue takes place, they want to ensure it is handled as soon as possible.
Improving Customer Engagement
As a digital marketer, it is essential that you continually take steps to improve customer engagement. Doing this will help ensure you know what your customers want and need and what they are looking for. It will also ensure that your business, or the business you represent, continues to grow and thrive. Use the tips and information here to help you with these customer engagement efforts. Being informed is the best way to get things right when it comes to customer engagement.