Business is no longer just about having the best product or the lowest prices. What truly sets you apart is your ability to connect meaningfully with your customers.
Customers today prefer brands that know their preferences and always go the extra mile to make their experience memorable.
McKinsey & Company highlights that 71% of customers expect personalized interactions. Around 46% of brands believe they offer customization, but only 15% of customers actually agree that they do.
With endless options at their fingertips, customers can now easily switch to your competitors. Therefore, engaging them on a deeper level has become essential to retain their loyalty. In this guide, we will uncover all about customer engagement and discuss the strategies to keep them coming back for more.
- What is Customer Engagement?
- Why is Customer Engagement Important in 2024?
- 6 Ways to Boost Your Customer Engagement
- Conclusion
What is Customer Engagement?
Customer engagement involves building a genuine interaction between your brand and your customers.
Put simply, the goal isn’t about getting people to buy your product once. Instead, it should be to create a relationship that retains them and makes them feel valued.
For instance, if you have a friend who calls you only when they need a favor, that relationship would feel pretty one-sided. However, if they check in regularly, share their stories, and show genuine interest in your life, you’re more likely to spend time with them.
In business, engaged customers are precisely like those friends. They’re more likely to buy from you again, tell their friends about you, and give you valuable feedback.
Why is Customer Engagement Important in 2024?
Customer engagement has always been the bread and butter of successful businesses. However, with the world moving at warp speed, building meaningful connections is now more vital than ever. Here’s why:
- Social media has given customers a megaphone to share their experiences – good or bad – with a massive audience. This public feedback loop means companies are under constant scrutiny to perform well. Besides, with platforms like Google Reviews and Yelp, people can easily access information. They can compare businesses in a snap. As such, companies are bound to step up their game to meet the increasing expectations and not to mention, avoid negative publicity.
- Customers today have endless options, whether looking for a new pair of shoes or a streaming service. This means if one business doesn’t meet their expectations, they’ll quickly jump ship. Companies know this, which is why they’re uplifting their game. This puts more pressure on existing businesses to tweak their current strategies.
These and a number of other factors have evolved customer expectations, such as:
- 80% of consumers now prefer personalized experiences.
- Some customers are increasingly prioritizing sustainability, as highlighted by Harvard Business Review.
So, when you have got your customers fully engaged, you can solve most, if not all, of their problems and meet their expectations.
6 Ways to Boost Your Customer Engagement
Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur or just dipping your toes into the business, boosting customer engagement can help you scale.
Below, we discuss some tried-and-true strategies to create meaningful connections with your audience.
1. Level Up Your Social Media Marketing Game
When it comes to reaching your audience, social media is a place to be.
According to Statista, social media is the leading marketing channel for businesses, and for obvious reasons. With over 4.89 billion users, it’s the ultimate platform to grow your brand and drive results.
But how to go about it? Consider these strategies to up your game.
- Memes: Who doesn’t love a good meme? They instantly put a smile on your face. The same is true for your audience. Incorporating memes in your social media strategy is a great way to engage customers. After all, meme marketing is a thing. In fact, it helps marketers drive engagement. It shows that you aren’t another corporate robot but a fun, relatable brand.
- Video Content: Video marketing is a growing industry, and why would it be? 90% of consumers say that product videos affect their purchase decisions. But that’s not the only reason. According to Statista, watching videos is one of the most popular activities among internet users. In other words, videos grab your audience’s attention in a way that static posts simply can’t compete. You can share behind-the-scenes videos of your brand, customer testimonials, or live-stream videos to engage them. In fact, 89% of marketing leaders rely on live stream video to engage customers.
2. Invest in a Captivating Web Design
Investing in a captivating web design is no longer just about aesthetics (although that’s important too). Instead, it requires you to create an experience that draws people in and makes them stay. Your website often gives the first impression of your brand, so why not make it memorable and lead to customer engagement?
Make sure you:
- Add high-quality visuals that reflect your brand’s personality and style. After all, a whopping 73% of consumers like brands that use high-quality images for marketing.
- Create an intuitive design. Visitors should be able to find what they are looking for quickly and easily. Easy navigation is a crucial factor in web design, according to Forbes. Your site should have clear menus, logical page layouts, and a seamless user experience.
- Share compelling content. Your website should be more than pretty pictures. It should tell a story, educate, and inspire (more on this below).
3. Build an Email Newsletter
If you want an engaged and loyal audience who can’t resist buying from you, you can’t miss out on this one. Email newsletters offer a great way to build a long-term connection with your favorite customers right in their inbox.
You can share the latest news, updates, and exclusive offers straight from the heart of your brand. However, keep these things in mind:
- Keep them Personalized: Personalizing your content can make your subscribers feel special, and let’s be real, who doesn’t like to feel special? Address them by their name and tailor your messages based on their interests. Besides, make sure you segment your email list to send targeted content that resonates with each subscriber.
- Focus on Value: There’s no point in building a newsletter if your aim is to bombard your subscribers with a sales pitch. Make sure you share valuable content that educates them and solves their problems. Give them a reason to eagerly anticipate your next email.
4. Create Compelling Website Content
Content might be king, but quality content is the ruler of kingdoms and the key to customer engagement. Here’s how to write one:
- Quality over Quantity: Some people think blogs are so last decade, but let’s get real – you’re here for a reason. Put simply, quality blog content never goes out of style. 77% of internet users read blogs almost regularly. So, make sure you write content that’s not just filler but adds value to your audience’s lives. Besides, check for typos and grammar before publishing. They can be a huge turn-off for visitors and affect your brand credibility negatively.
- Personal Insights: Don’t just regurgitate information. This implies that if you are a travel blogger, consider sharing your personal anecdotes (like the time you got lost in a foreign city or stumbled upon a hidden gem off the beaten path) instead of just listing tourist attractions. A personal touch keeps your content memorable for readers.
- Authentic Web Copy: Infuse your web pages with your unique voice and personality. It could be a quirky tagline, a heartfelt mission statement, or a cheeky CTA. Let your brand’s personality shine through every word. After all, these little details make your company stand out in the sea of sameness.
5. Integrate AI Chatbot
Customers today expect lightning-fast responses. And if they don’t receive an instant reply, they jump ship to a competitor quickly. 80% of consumers say they would do business with the competitor after just one bad experience. Integrating an AI chatbot can, however, save your day.
An AI chatbot can automate interactions with customers and solve their queries. For instance, the VOC AI chatbot is available 24/7, never takes a sick day, and can handle multiple inquiries without breaking a sweat. So, while your competitors are busy scrambling to keep up with customer demands, AI chatbot is keeping your customers engaged (and satisfied).
6. Analyze & Tweak As You Go
Customer preferences are always changing. What worked like a charm last year might not have the same impact today. If you are not keeping tabs on what’s working and what’s not, how can you expect to grow?
Analyzing metrics and tweaking your strategy is an essential part of customer engagement. Here are some metrics to measure your progress.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): This metric measures the likelihood of customers recommending your products or services to others. It typically gauges by asking customers to rate – on a scale of 0 to 10 – how likely they are to recommend your business to a friend or colleague.
- Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT): This metric determines how satisfied customers are with a specific experience with your brand. You can measure this by asking customers to rate their satisfaction on a scale (often 1 to 5 or 1 to 10) after a specific interaction (think a support call or purchase). This will help you identify the areas for improvement in customer service or product offerings.
- Customer Retention Rate: This metric tracks the %age of customers who continue doing business with your company over a specific period. You can calculate this by dividing the number of customers at the end of a period by the number of customers at the start of the period, subtracting one, and multiplying by 100.
- Support Channel Usage: This metric identifies the channels through which customers reach out for support (such as phone calls, live chat, or social media). Analyzing this metric helps you discover which channels are most popular among customers. As a result, you can ensure adequate resources and support available on those channels.
Conclusion
The right customer engagement strategy lets you turn your casual customers into die-hard, loyal fans. However, make sure you stay true to your brand and open to new ideas and opportunities. After all, the road to nailing your customer engagement strategy won’t be smooth sailing. A dash of creativity and flexibility (to fine-tune the strategy) can take you a long way.