Terms such as customer engagement, omnichannel engagement, or brand engagement are commonplace as we discuss today’s empowered consumers and their behaviors and actions across channels.
However, while we may hear the terms often, what they mean is sometimes difficult to define. Is it driving loyalty? Or providing great experiences? How do you measure it?
Customer Engagement 101
At its core, customer engagement describes each and every interaction a customer has with your brand. Engagement is the process of building loyalty and strengthening retention. For many businesses, this means it begins with the first interaction and includes every interaction after the point of purchase.
However you choose to define it, consumers want to be known across channels, expect to be rewarded for their loyalty, and are looking for seamless experiences.
Here are some great statistics that showcase the power of exceptional customer engagement:
- Customer-centric brands report profits that are 60 percent higher than those that fail to focus on providing a great customer experience (CX Index)
- 80 percent of leaders plan to increase customer service budgets over the next year (Zendesk CX Trends Report 2023)
- 90 percent of businesses, regardless of the vertical they are operating in, have stated that they have made the customer experience their primary focus. (CX Index)
- 41 percent of customer-obsessed companies achieved at least 10 percent revenue growth in their last fiscal year, compared to just 10 percent of less mature companies. (Forrester)
5 Customer Engagement Strategies
Here are some key strategies that can help you more effectively engage with customers:
1. Personalization
Personalization is at the heart of modern customer engagement. Today’s consumers expect brands to understand their needs, preferences, and behaviors. This can range from personalized email campaigns and product recommendations to custom content and offers based on a customer’s past interactions with your brand.
Research shows that 89% of marketers see a positive ROI when they use personalization in their campaigns and 60% of consumers say they’ll become repeat customers after a personalized shopping experience.
2. Customer Data
Leveraging data and analytics is key for creating personalized experiences that resonate with individual customers.
Brands will need to fully leverage marketing data -their own 1st party data supplemented with other types such as 3rd party data – to gain insights into customer behavior, preferences, and needs.
Brands must be diligent in collecting and using first-party data. This is often considered the most valuable type of data by marketers and includes information such as contact info, demographics, and transactional history.
For a more comprehensive customer view, first-party data should be supplemented with third-party data assets such as demographics, lifestyle information, behavioral insights, life event triggers, and purchase intent data.
3. Omnichannel Experiences
Customers interact with brands across multiple channels, including email, social media, websites, mobile apps, and physical stores. To engage customers effectively, it’s important to ensure consistency across all these touchpoints.
Omnichannel strategies involve integrating these channels – and the data produced by each – so that the customer experience is seamless, whether they are interacting with your brand online or offline.
For example, a customer might start browsing products on your website, continue the journey on your mobile app, and complete the purchase in a physical store.
4. Loyalty Programs
Loyalty programs are a powerful tool for driving customer engagement. Rewarding customers for their repeat business is a powerful way to incentivize them to return and stay loyal. Research shows that 57% of consumers spend more on brands or providers to which they are loyal.
Loyalty programs can offer discounts, exclusive perks, early access to new products, and personalized rewards that are tailored to the customer’s preferences.
For example, a tiered loyalty program that offers increasing rewards as customers move up levels is a great way to motivate them to engage more frequently with your brand.
5. Customer Feedback and Surveys
Customer feedback is a great resource for understanding how well your engagement strategies are working and where there might be room for improvement.
By regularly asking for feedback through surveys, reviews, and direct interactions, you can gain insights into customer satisfaction and identify areas where you can enhance the customer experience.
Conclusion
Effective customer engagement requires a deep understanding of your audience and a commitment to creating value at every touchpoint. The brands that succeed are those that prioritize customer engagement and continuously adapt to meet the evolving needs of their audience.
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