5 Steps to more Engaged Customers

11th February 2020

Many companies overlook the potential depth of interaction that can be achieved when dealing with their customers, often not capitalising on these opportunities.

In treating every purchase interaction with a customer as a purely transactional and close-ended exchange, you risk missing out on generating a competitive advantage. Improving your interactions can encourage repeat purchases, brand loyalty and potentially constructive feedback on your product or service.

So what can be done to ensure that you are making the most of these interactions whilst cementing your customer base? This blog will introduce 5 opportunities to promote customer engagement.

Step 1) Increase the number of communication channels between you and your customer

It may sound obvious, but by increasing the level of interaction with your customer, you open the door to higher engagement. Customers are more likely to engage with a business they feel is active and responsive. One way to do this is by creating channels to submit feedback on your product or service post-purchase.

By introducing a forum for their views, customers can share their experiences of using the product. Not only does this make customers feel valued, it drives user-led improvements to be considered when devising your next product or making adjustments. You may even discover a use for your product you were not previously aware of! 

Producing a regular newsletter which contains engaging and valuable content can increase interaction. It doesn’t have to be sales-focused, simply something that users will find entertaining. This will increase the visibility of your brand even while your customers are not actively using the product. Newsletters can also drive traffic to your social media channels.

Step 2) Improve your customer service response

If there’s one thing that can keep customers engaged with your brand, it’s the delivery of efficient customer service. While automation is providing so much benefit for businesses across different functions, customers still prefer to know that when issues arise, they can communicate with a real person who is responsive to their needs.

A quick and inexpensive way to apply this is by adding a chat function to your website, so your customers receive real-time answers to their questions and even suggestions on product selections and usage. Business West has successfully installed a chat function on it’s website, dealing with enquiries daily and aiding with internal referrals to other services.  

Craig Hawthorne, Customer Experience Director at consultancy Insight6 also highlights the benefit of delivering quality service: “Back in 2013 Walker Info, an international management consultancy conducted a research exercise into customers and their behaviour. "By the end of 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator" was arguably the biggest statement to come from that research. 

Nobody wants to compete on price for quite obvious reasons.  Competing on product is getting harder too as competition increases and technology advances at an almost alarming rate.  So if you really want to get ahead start investing in your customer's experience, it’s been Amazon's sole focus since day one and look what it's done for them!”

Step 3) Introduce a customer loyalty scheme

Encourage repeat purchases by offering benefits in reward for customer loyalty - an effective way of distinguishing your brand from the competition. Sure, not every business will have the budget or scope to offer this, however it can be as simple as giving key customers exclusive early access to your product or allowing them to benefit from discounts on future purchases.

If as a result their repeat business is secured, the overall long-term revenue from that customer (even with one discounted order) would still be greater than if they made only a single purchase and therefore didn’t establish brand loyalty, being content with switching to a different product they perceive as identical! 

It is common practice in some industries for businesses to list primary customers on their website as a way of deepening a relationship. In certain cases whereby a business customer offers a complimentary service which purchases your products as components, there can be scope for onwards customer referrals - an effective means of promoting an engaged relationship between the parties.

Step 4) Hold an event

Setting up an event where your customers can participate is an excellent way of raising customer engagement. Examples include events which support the launch of a new product or service, or a focus group meeting to test your product and offer feedback and insights into how customers view the product. 

As an example, Chamber of Commerce member ALD Automotive held an event earlier in the year in which they invited key stakeholder groups to participate in a discussion about key changes facing the car industry around the introduction of clean air zones.

They effectively encouraged attendees to debate while at the same time positioned some of their product as solutions. The event proved valuable for customers and did well to showcase the company’s expertise in this area. 

Step 5) Gather useful and relevant data on your customers 

Holding a reasonable level of data of your customers is an extremely effective way of knowing your customer’s consumption habits, and which product benefits they value most. By matching these needs more closely with your product offering, and even using them to predict customer buying behaviour, you can ensure that you are catering more effectively for your customer’s needs.

Customers will feel more engaged if they feel that the product that they are receiving is specifically tailored to them and takes into account and values their needs and opinions. Conducting product surveys are a common way of putting this into practice.

Conclusion

You may not have the time or resources to incorporate all of these methods, but assessing each activity and thinking about which would be the most effective for your business to employ could certainly be a useful exercise in helping to channel your efforts to bring your customers closer to your brand and achieve your end goal of repeat, loyal customers.

 

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