How do you balance your customer engagement mindset with your other priorities and responsibilities?

Crafting a winning customer engagement strategy means aligning two critical dimensions: 1?? Customer Relationship Stages: Acquisition, Growth, Retention, and Win-back. 2?? Customer Journey Stages: Pre-purchase, Purchase, and Post-purchase. This framework harmonizes these elements, paving the path to effective customer engagement and lasting success.

Customer engagement is about humanizing the customer experience by treating them as unique individuals with specific needs and desires, rather than faceless numbers. It involves building relationships based on trust, and respect, and delivering value that resonates with them. By personalizing interactions, being responsive to inquiries, going the extra mile to help, and making customers feel valued and appreciated, you create a memorable experience that fosters loyalty and advocacy. This professional and impactful approach not only keeps customers coming back for more but also encourages them to recommend your business to others.

?? Setting clear, achievable goals is the cornerstone of any successful customer engagement strategy. Whether it's boosting customer loyalty, enhancing satisfaction, or driving sales, defining what success looks like for your business is crucial. By establishing specific metrics for success, you can tailor your customer interactions to be more effective and meaningful, ensuring that every effort contributes positively towards your overarching business objectives. Remember, a goal-oriented approach is not just about reaching targets—it's about creating value that resonates with your customers and aligns with your brand promise.

In my experience, customer satisfaction and trust were ever present. However, I witnessed too many promises made, just to make the sale. Then once the contract was signed came the scramble for resources and solution testing. I believe before you promise a customer a solution will meet their needs, you should first be 100% certain the solution will work, through vigorous testing, and determining the availability of resources, both materials and staff, and only then can you realistically and confidently present your solution to the customer, and not damage the customer’s loyalty, when a solution fails.

Imagine a juggler keeping balls, flaming torches, and even a chainsaw in the air. Quite a spectacle, huh? The show runs smoothly because they know what each object requires to stay aloft. Similarly, balancing customer engagement with other responsibilities demands a masterful act of setting clear, achievable goals. You define KPIs for engagement metrics and align them with your broader business objectives. This isn’t just about sales targets or satisfaction scores; it’s about crafting a symphony where each note—or goal—contributes to a beautiful composition.

In my own opinion, if it is about message, it cost almost nothing to send message to one customer when sending bulk messages. Why not send bulk message to all the customers and that refreshes some that has forgotten you to come back and patronize you? Customers are not equal, agreed. You can segment customers based on patronage and incentivize accordingly in respect to their value and impact in your company. But for the message, send bulk message to all, either text, email or broadcast via WhatsApp. Segmented salutation is not healthy.

A key point in this section is recognizing that not all customers are equal. Depending on your industry or revenue setup, it's important to recognize early in the discovery process whether customers will be in a position to transact sooner or later. This is where you can use automation tools to engage them with relevant information while not taking away from your most important activity - prospecting.

?? Understanding the unique value, potential, and needs of each customer is crucial for business growth. By prioritizing and segmenting customers based on key criteria like lifetime value and engagement, companies can more effectively allocate resources and tailor communications. This strategic approach not only enhances customer satisfaction but also boosts profitability. Embracing automation tools for segmentation allows for personalized interactions, ensuring that customers receive content and offers that resonate with their preferences and behaviors, fostering a stronger, more lucrative relationship.

Ah, the fine art of customer triage! Not all customers are created equal. Some are loyalists, others are potential big spenders, and let’s not forget the high-maintenance ones. Understanding these categories lets you tailor your approach. For instance, your VIPs might get the red-carpet treatment, while the high-risk churn candidates receive targeted retention efforts. In the crowded cocktail party that is your customer base, knowing who to schmooze with and how can make all the difference.

Each customer tier requires a different level of engagement and distinct channels. In luxury retail, customers generally fall into three value tiers: VIPs, potential VIPs, and aspirational shoppers. VIPs and potential VIPs are assigned sales associates for both in-store and online communication. Aspirational shoppers access the store via appointment or walk-in. True VIPs enjoy special event invitations. Sales associates must place customers in appropriate channels, ensuring tailored engagement that aligns with each tier's expectations, enhancing the overall shopping experience.

Having consistent times for meetings and designated channels for communication, discussions, and questions then gives you the tools to guide your customer on how best to engage with you. "Let's come back to this on our Monday call next week." "I'm going to be answering product questions during Zoom weekly office hours on Thursday." "The details will be in the monthly newsletter." "Use this form to let the team know about your feature request." "If there are any problems, send an email to ____ and someone from the team will look into it within 24 hours on weekdays."

Automation helps you stay on track. Manual tasks require time and attention. Of course, you want your customers to feel like you are giving them a personal touch. But that is not always possible. The next best thing? Designing automated strategies to ensure the contact occurs regularly.

You can’t be everywhere at once, despite what your team might think! Automation is your trusty sidekick. Whether it’s chatbots handling routine queries or automated emails nudging customers through their journey, tech tools can take care of the mundane. This leaves you free to dive into the high-stakes discussions or innovate on your engagement strategies. But beware; automation isn’t a substitute for human touch—it’s a force multiplier. Balance is key; you don’t want to turn into the Skynet of customer engagement.

??Customer engagement thrives on teamwork. It's a dynamic dance where each member plays a crucial role, harmonizing their unique skills and availability to the rhythm of the customer's needs. By leveraging collaborative tools, teams can orchestrate their efforts, ensuring clarity and cohesion in their service. This not only enhances efficiency but also elevates the customer experience, fostering loyalty and trust. Remember, a symphony of coordinated efforts often leads to a crescendo of customer satisfaction.

If you look after your team and instil the right values, they will look after you by delivering the right service. In my experience, when striving to achieve excellence, many managers and supervisors forget this. When they’re under pressure, the first thing they overlook is their team and the individuals that make it. This is a huge mistake, your team will respect and value you as much (or as little) as you respect and value them. Get this right and you have the foundation to achieve whatever you want.

Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, nor by a single person. Your team is an extension of your goals and vision. Empower them with the skills, tools, and, most importantly, the trust to handle customer engagement. A well-coordinated team can achieve the engagement goals far more efficiently than any lone ranger. It’s like assembling a crew for a heist movie; everyone has a specialty and when combined, you pull off the ultimate “engagement caper.”

We try to assign roles based on each member's strengths—like managing social media or handling email communications. We use Monday.com and hold daily huddles to keep everyone aligned and informed. Get your team to share insights and feedback, which can refine strategies. Most importantly, empower them with decision-making authority. This leads to quicker resolutions, boosts morale, enhances productivity, and improves customer satisfaction.

Customer engagement is the lifeblood of your business. First, lean on automation to help trigger communication, notification and gamification so your customers feel supported and motivated throughout the experience. Then, use the same automation systems to trigger notifications for the team so that they can take action and engage with customers in a timely manner at pre-defined times. This not only enhances the customer experience but also sets your team up for success so they aren't 'guessing' when a customer needs them.

Tailoring your approach to customers is key as its not about 'one size fits all'. You need to show that you can do more than just resolve an issue, or provide good customer service. You need to offer value and exceed their expectations . Many companies will not evolve in their approach if feedback is received and will just brush it aside, or only ask for feedback if it is required for say audits etc, when things go wrong or the customer has become lapsed. Ask for feedback on a regular basis , digest this and see how you can incorporate and tailor it into your approach to evolve.

Ever heard of “wisdom of the crowds?” Collecting feedback is akin to mining for gold. Every nugget—be it praise, criticism, or downright confusion—holds value. Treat your feedback loop like an open mic night. You’re the star, sure, but you also want to hear from the audience so the show keeps improving. Implement the learning, tweak your strategy, and keep that engagement wheel rolling. It’s a never-ending spiral, but one that leads upwards.

Learning from customer feedback involves collecting, analyzing, categorizing, and prioritizing data. Root causes are identified, goals and action plans set, and changes implemented across teams. Progress is tracked, and further feedback is gathered for fine-tuning. Ongoing iteration and innovation are vital. Closing the feedback loop with customers, transparency, and employee input foster a culture of customer-centric improvement, enhancing engagement and maintaining competitiveness.

I’ve found using feedback involves a few key steps. Collect through surveys, social interactions, and direct communications. Analyze this data to pinpoint areas for improvement. Make informed changes, such as revising communication methods or enhancing services. Involve your team in this analysis to gain diverse insights and innovative ideas. Continually assess the impact of these changes on customer satisfaction and engagement. This loop of feedback, implementation, and review creates a responsive, customer-focused approach.

By setting up a strong customer engagement strategy, you will have a strong base that serves your customers so that their basic needs are met. This will ultimate freeing up the team to focus on taking the customer experience to the next level which increasing the customers satisfaction.

Navigating the customer engagement landscape demands a compass of four key metrics: 1?? CLV (Customer Lifetime Value): Gauge long-term customer value. 2?? CRV (Customer Referral Value): Harness word-of-mouth impact. 3?? CIV (Customer Influence Value): Identify advocates. 4?? CKV (Customer Knowledge Value): Leverage insights for growth. These metrics shape customer-centric strategies, ensuring sustained success.

During my early days as a hotelier, a weary guest shared her love for coffee. As a surprise, I arranged a complimentary cup of her favourite blend at our coffee shop, forging a meaningful connection. Upon check-out, she expressed deep gratitude. Her positive feedback and advocacy reinforced our reputation as a hotel that understands and cares for its guests. This highlights the power of treating customers as individuals, creating memorable and impactful experiences that turn them into brand promoters.

The most important aspect to realize in customer engagement is, we are all customers. The way we expect to get treated when we are customers is the way we all should treat our customers. For those in positions where they have to manage customers as well as their teams and other responsibilities within the organization it is all about prioritization. This is why there are ticketing tools now where customers can raise tickets for the problems they are facing with the appropriate priorities. Tickets with high priority will have high business impact which will need to be addressed quickly. Using ticketing tools is an excellent way to balance customer engagement with other activities.

When you create a strong customer 'throughline' in your business, you will ultimately bring them through the experience to get them the promised results, as well as retain them and ascend them to additional offers and experiences. This increases the lifetime value of each customer which increases the success of the business.

Do the small things in customer service : Remember Important Dates : Personalized Thank You Notes, Birthday greetings. A simple, handwritten note shows appreciation. Send a birthday or anniversary message, flowers for a personal touch.Trust me, it works miraculously. Follow-Up Calls/Emails: Check in after a purchase or service to ensure satisfaction. Surprise Discounts: Offer unexpected discounts or perks to the. Quick Responses:Respond promptly to inquiries or issues to show you care. Going the Extra Mile:Exceed expectations with small acts of kindness. Always have an empathic & holliastic approach in business. Never take advantage of customers' situations. Trust me, you lose them forever.