According to Harvard Business Review Analytic Services’ “Future-Proofing Businesses with Modern Customer Engagement” report, 88% of global business leaders recognize that customer engagement has a significant impact on their organization’s bottom line, while 92% see very effective customer engagement as critical to their company’s success.
So marketers are looking for different ways to boost customer engagement in order to hoist their organization’s financial results. More specifically, organizations are looking to customer engagement efforts to increase customer loyalty and retention (69%), increased revenue growth and profitability (59%) and improved brand reputation (42%).
Yet only 9% say they have excellent customer engagement today. Additionally, less than half said they are investing in new or improved customer engagement technologies.
Below are four strategies marketers say companies can use to increase their customer engagement effectiveness:
1. Use an Omnichannel Approach to Customer Engagement
Pursuing an omnichannel approach is a major strategy that CircleIt has used to boost customer engagement, said Joe Karasin, head of growth. “This is not simply about being on every marketing channel, but rather, centering the content you produce around the customer rather than products and services.”
The company’s platform is designed for those with terminal illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. By adding caregivers to the platform, customer engagement increased, Karasin explained. “It was one thing to highlight what our platform does, but it was something entirely different when a caregiver would tell others how they were using the platform to better their lives.”
One caregiver who was taking care of her mother had a special video of her mom singing “Happy Birthday.” She has saved the video and scheduled it to be sent to herself every year. She also has other videos of her mom that she is saving and scheduling to be sent to her own kids so that they will have memories of their grandmother in a healthier and happier state.
As a follow-up, CircleIt remarketed to these communities via high-quality YouTube content. While many in younger generations tend to be drawn to the short TikTok videos, CircleIt’s customers tend to be baby boomers, mothers, those affected by terminal illness and those with dangerous jobs, such as police, firefighters and military service members, Karasin said. “These customers tend to be over 35 years old, and they respond and engage with more produced content, which we promote on our YouTube channel.”
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2. Focus on Convenience for Better Engagement
Convenience can be the most essential strategy. If customers find too much friction, they’re likely going to go to competitors that offer easier engagement.
“Posting a review should be done with the click of a button, from whatever channel you are talking with your customer,” said Johan Liljeros, Avensia general manager and senior commerce adviser, North America. “That means that any surveys must be short and easily accessible. Teach your customers that any mail you send is specifically for them as this increases engagement exponentially.”
Done right, building a community around your brand is something that creates great engagement. In this strategy, it is important to not blindly focus on your conversion rate, Liljeros added. “You will start driving much more traffic to your brand which initially (or permanently) will affect your conversion rate, it will, however, build a stronger relation to your brand and drive sales in all channels whether that is resellers, stores, or marketplaces. Communities can be built in many ways, around your products, related to the usage of your products, and knowledge-sharing — to name a few.”
3. Ratchet up Engagement With Call to Action
One popular sales mantra is “always be closing.” A way to do this in a digital environment is to offer multiple places a customer can go further down the sales funnel, including making the purchase.
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Call-to-action buttons on your website and on your landing pages help guide users toward conversion.
“Use as many call-to-action buttons as possible,” recommended Christy Pyrz, Paradigm Peptides chief marketing officer. “For example, if you're offering a promotion, advertise it on the homepage, and have the call to action lead to a bestsellers page. Or if you recently launched a new product, send the call to action to the single product page. Use these buttons to your advantage and focus on the consumer journey.”
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4. Recognize Customer Feedback as Path to Better Engagement
Pay attention to customer feedback and gather it continually, said Linda Pophal, Strategic Communications founder. “You can't engage customers if you don't understand what engages them, and what doesn't. This doesn't have to mean conducting formal, and often expensive, research.”
In digital settings, analytics can provide great insights into consumer behaviors in terms of what content they engage with, for how long, what information they respond to, what collateral they request, etc., Pophal added. In physical settings, simply observing — and speaking to — customers can provide ongoing insights.
Companies also need to be responsive to customer feedback, Pophal said. “I've seen marketers waste their marketing dollars on tactics promoting something and then fail to respond promptly when inquiries come in. Consumers today have a myriad of choices, literally at their fingertips.”
Pophal added that fast responsiveness is necessary for follow-up on requests, as well as complaints.
Conclusion: Personalized Customer Engagement the Expectation
As customers engage with leading brands that provide exceptional accuracy in their personalization and recommendations, they’ve come to expect that same level of service from all companies. Following the strategies above can help improve the relevant engagement.
