At this point it’s no secret that customer engagement is critical for business retention and growth. According to one study, companies with the strongest omnichannel engagement strategies retain about 89 percent of their customers while companies with weak strategies only retain 33 percent.
It’s one thing to recognize the need for customer engagement, though, and another thing to execute it effectively. Many marketing departments today are trying very hard to encourage dialogue with their customers, but a large number are failing in their efforts. Engagement needs to be done very carefully in order to invoke valuable responses from customers.
Is your team struggling to engage with customers? It’s time to start thinking outside of the box. Here are three strategies you can try to encourage customer engagement:
Expand your horizons: Some companies today are rather limited in terms of the subject material they have to talk about online. That’s because certain industries simply have little industry news, and products that are pretty self-explanatory.
Engagement for companies in this situation, however, is not impossible. It just requires taking a different focus. One company that does this very well is The North Face, makers of outdoor athletic gear. Instead of talking about their industry or their own products, the company’s blog highlights all of the amazing professionals who are using North Face gear in the wild. There are stories and interviews with mountaineers, snowboarders and even conservationists. The content is interesting and highly sharable online.
Value customer input: When you think of customer engagement, your first thought may be Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Understand, though, that customer engagement needs to extend beyond social media.
One of the best places to engage customers is over the phone, with the help of a dedicated contact center. Give customers direct access to support specialists, technicians and even managers. Provide direct opportunities for feedback and suggestions. Then, show customers how you are taking their input seriously. In doing so, you will make customers feel like they are part of your team. And in response, they will be much more likely to reward your company with brand loyalty.
Host a webinar: Take customer engagement to the next level by hosting an online webinar where you zero in on an important subject and provide a comprehensive educational experience. You could offer commentary from your own team members, outside industry experts and even customers who are using your products on a daily basis. A webinar is an excellent way to attract new customers, retain current ones and penetrate new markets.
While it may take some effort to engage with your customers, it certainly won’t be impossible to get them to interact with your team members. The more you do it, the more interest you will generate in your products and services.