5 Ways to Enhance Customer Engagement

Customer engagement has many definitions, which vary according to the industry and service/product provided. However, it doesn’t matter how you define it, what matters is its importance regardless of the business type. As a company owner, you know that your most valuable assets are your customers. Making sure that your customers are happy and satisfied is the main target of any successful business. Good customer engagement is an indicator that your customers enjoy your product/service.

It doesn’t matter if you have 20 or 20,000 customers when it comes to a one-to-one relationship. Keeping a personal relationship with every customer is simply impossible, however, that doesn’t mean that you can’t engage them in a meaningful way. As Paul Greenberg defined customer engagement for Hubspot, it is “the ongoing interactions between company and customer, offered by the company, chosen by the customer.” What is good about this definition is that it highlights that there must be an ongoing interaction. An emotional connection with your brand is what really differentiates your company from others. And like any connection, it can’t be a one-time thing, but rather a long-lasting process.

There are many ways how you can boost customer engagement. In this post, we will reveal the 5 ultimate ways how to improve customer engagement with your brand.

1. Use Text Messaging for Customer Engagement

Texting services are one of the best ways to engage your new and old customers. According to a research, SMS marketing has a quite impressive high engagement rate. The click-through rate (CTR) in messages is 10 times higher than in emails. With a 98% open rate, SMS services create a huge potential for increasing the engagement level with your brand. Simply make sure that your messages are useful and engaging.

There are many ways how you can use text messaging for customer engagement. Firstly, SMS services create a personal space between you and your customer. Consider sending customized messages to your clients, so that they feel special and valued by your company. Also, make sure to inform them about different promotions that are happening and provide them with special coupon codes, that will increase their engagement level.

There’s a number of other benefits texting services can offer. By improving customer engagement, SMS marketing will also help to succeed in retention marketing and boost the loyalty of your customer. Understanding the emotional aspect of your customers, you’ll be able to create the most useful offers and provide satisfaction to them. In the meantime, you’ll earn their trust and boost your sales.

2. Humanize Your Brand

Don’t underestimate the power of emotional attachment. Every customer wants to know that you care about their wants and needs. It’s not about selling, it’s about providing value. To let your customers connect with you on an emotional level, you need to become their “friend”. Personalize your brand based on the product or service you provide.

Think of a personality and a human voice you want your brand to have. Since these qualities are hard to assign to a corporate name or a logo, imagine your brand as a fictional character who will represent your brand. Think of all the possible details regarding this character: his/her name, favorite food, preferences, dressing style, what makes them excited, happy or sad. Answering these questions will help to identify the actual personality and mentality of your brand’s avatar.

Another important aspect that helps to humanize your brand is humor. Be funny and make your customers smile to create a strong bond with them. Don’t be afraid to set aside the formal professionalism and become more chill. Of course, you need to know the limits not to turn your brand into a comedian, but showing that you enjoy humor just like anyone else will definitely pay off.

3. Create Loyalty Program

Customer engagement and loyalty are interconnected. Creating loyalty programs will boost customer engagement, and vice versa, having engaged customers will ensure to boost the loyalty level. Here are some effective loyalty program examples:

• Point system - the idea behind this method is the following: when frequent customers purchase something, they get a specific amount of points for each purchase. The number of points is usually decided according to the price. For example, the customer earns a single point for each $1 spent. When they reach the targeted number of points, these points are then translated into a reward as a discount, a gift or a special customer treatment. The point system is most applicable to those businesses that encourage short-term and frequent purchases.

• Membership cards - also known as member-only cards, these give the cardholder access to exclusive discounts and promotions. In order to receive this card, customers need to give contact information.

• Non-monetary programs - although customers love promotional coupons and discounts, yet, if you can provide them value in ways other than dollars, they will appreciate it much more. Providing value in non-monetary terms is what truly connects you with your customers. For example, some companies have a donation program, where with each product sold they help a person in a need.

Loyalty programs are very effective, however, they don’t work for many companies. The reason is that many companies focus on transitional rewards only. They fail to engage the customer beyond the purchase. So, in order to have an effective loyalty program, make sure that it’s long-lasting and doesn’t concentrate on purchase rewarding only.

4. Don’t Forget About Social Media

Considering the role of the Internet in our daily life, social media is one of the most effective communication channels that can help to engage your customers. Social media platforms aren’t for sharing news and quotes only. You can use them to promote special events, provide coupon codes and organize contests and giveaways. Social media is also useful for collecting feedback. Find out what people say about your brand, how they perceive your image and what is it that should be improved.

5. Make Your Content Useful

However you decide to improve customer engagement with your brand, you must ensure that your content is always outstanding. improve customer engagement with SMS marketing or social media, if your content is not engaging enough? Your content is your first priority when it comes to boosting your customers’ interest in your brand. You must educate them, tell them something they don’t know and pique their curiosity. You need to create irresistible and fascinating offers. Valuable content is your ultimate way towards the hearts of your customers.

Conclusion

Customer engagement is the base for the success of your business. It improves the loyalty of the customers, retention rates and it boosts your sales. The most important aspect of ensuring good customer engagement is creating a valuable customer experience. These two come hand in hand. So if you want your business to prosper, make sure you provide your clients with the best customer experience.