5 Tips to Engage Customers

Over the previous two decades, consumer purchasing habits throughout the world have been drastically changed by the internet. Customers have come to expect a higher level of quality and satisfaction from providers and businesses as a result of access to information at our fingertips and an expanding number of distractions.

Instead of the standard push marketing approach of advertising and product placement, businesses have been advised to use a new strategy to pique their consumers' attention. Companies have discovered a unique approach for addressing and satisfying clients' demands and wants by engaging them where they are.

The concept of engagement marketing gives businesses an edge by connecting with customers on an emotional level, getting a strong emotional reaction, and learning from their thoughts and feedback. It is important to understand how to effectively engage with customers through social media, storytelling, problem-solving, conversation, and offering assistance.

5 Tips to Engage Customers

1. Value. Customers are more concerned with what you have to offer them than simply the product or service itself. They are searching for the actual value of your brand. They want knowledge, goods, and content that truly delivers value in exchange for their time. Customers are pickier in the digital world, with thousands of images, messages, logos, and videos competing for their attention. They give their attention to just those that offer them something worthwhile. They want to know how your product will solve their problem.

1. Brand image. What distinguishes your product from the competition? What unique service or information is it providing above others? Your brand should represent more than simply a money-making machine looking to sell enough products to make a profit. No! Customers want to link your brand with a concept, such as helping people or making the world a better place. They want to be inspired by the effect that you are having on the planet or the footprint that you are leaving behind. They want to believe that your firm is more than just taking their money, but rather fighting for a cause that touches their souls.

1. Community. Despite the fact that technology has made it easier for individuals to interact with one another, we are all still human and want to interact with others. Companies can use chat rooms, forums, email responses, social media postings, storytelling, and compelling content to interact with customers. Customers want to feel acknowledged, appreciated, and heard by their company. Companies may develop connections with customers that result in devoted followers who are eager to share their experiences and content with others in order to convert them into customers.

1. Relevance. Online customer relationships, like any other personal connection, must be nurtured. Communication should be timely, relevant, instructive, genuine, and responsive. Why would a client return to a website or forum if the knowledge was stale, out of date, and irrelevant? Keep the material up to date and ensure that it provides useful information to your customers.

1. Attraction. Customers are bombarded with so many distractions throughout the day that it's difficult to hold their attention. To distract them from the hundreds of others vying for their attention, your appeal must be attractive, inspiring, and visually appealing. Perhaps your website entices them by providing a compelling offer, an appealing promotion, a rewards program, or a new opportunity.

Customers have the ability to spread information more quickly than any other form of marketing through word of mouth. You're turning existing consumers into devoted fans who are eager to promote and talk about your company and goods by engaging them where they are. In a competitive market, customer engagement is the instrument that will help you differentiate your company from the competition.

However, engaging customers requires hard work, commitment, and dedication at every level of the organization. You may have heard of several companies who have gone the extra mile and have become customer engagement champions such as Sephora, Lenovo, and Hubspot. Let’s take a closer look at what makes these brands stand out when it comes to meeting customers where they are.

Case Study:

Sephora’s obsession with the customer experience has propelled it to the status of “Best-in-Class” when it comes to customer engagement. The leadership of this French retailer of beauty products has established the company’s values, marketing, and business strategy around the concept of a consistent, engaging customer experience. They have created the perfect complement of customer content and contact including email, mobile notifications, rewards, and an in-store experience that keeps customers coming back for more.

In this technology-driven world, Lenovo has utilized its greater access to information to bring it closer to its customers. Through a “customer cascade” comprised of key managers and customer-facing personnel, leadership has identified several KPIs to encourage employees to share in the customer experience. The goal was to create effortless experiences for each customer to select and order a Lenovo product. According to Dilip Bhatia, Chief Customer Officer, the philosophy revolves around “taking the product out of the center of our decisions and moving the customer into the center of all our decisions.”

Conclusion:

Expanding business through technology with the use of the internet is the new trend nowadays. Engagement marketing helps to build customer engagement by how distinct your product is to others and how you present your branding to your target customers. You should also consider the relationship and connection of your product to your customers and how you can catch their attention. Customers can give you positive and negative feedback on how you handle customer service and the product you offer. Remember customers can spread good news with just word of mouth and by recommendations.

To know more about how to increase engagement to customers, contact me for consultation.