Keeping Customers Engaged Is Easier Than Ever
Some people think of customer service and are still reminded of face-to-face sales, returns, and inquiries that are common in-store, as well as customer hotlines with elevator music. Meanwhile, everyone’s engaged on their mobile devices, and it seems to be an impersonal world where customer service as we know it just doesn’t figure in. The truth is, the dependence on computers, tablets, and smartphones has opened up amazing new ways to engage with customers at any time, not just when they reach out to you.
Customers Are Marketers
Half of all small businesses still don’t have an online presence, and a smaller percentage of these have a web presence that is actually mobile friendly. This means that among all small businesses, maybe 30% of them have the opportunity to compete with larger businesses online. By utilizing customer engagement software, you’re placing your business in the running to compete with larger, trusted companies in your industry.
The big guys know something many of the smaller guys don’t. That’s that marketing is now best performed by the customer, the customers are your real sales team. Customers became marketers when they went online, where they have unlimited options at their fingertips. Now, more than ever, they can educate themselves on a product, who sells it, for what price, and with what reputation, within minutes.
On one hand, this can mean that your customer will have a greater appreciation for the effort you put into your offerings, particularly if you spend on web content features like high quality videos, photos, and detailed product descriptions and instructional materials. This appreciation translates into more sales.
Leveraging Great Customer Experiences
On the other hand, and this is a big one, it means they have no qualms about clicking away from your site in a split second. They know they can be served elsewhere. Customer engagement is designed to keep them with you, where they can derive even more value, and spread the news about this value to other potential customers over and over again. They can do this with a simple “Thanks so much!” on social media, a favorable review, or a follow that their friends notice.
Data analysis and trend spotting is one way to see what your customers are most likely to engage with. This way, they’re not sidetracked by things that don’t interest them. For example, an app that targets them for certain offers and promotions based on their location can be a boon for businesses who are seeing slow growth in a certain area.
Furthermore, despite the fact that customers are often staring into their phones, they don’t want you to forget their humanity. Using a software platform to promptly and personally reply to any communications they send your way will always make them feel as though they are a priority. This can flip the feeling that they are serving themselves online on its axis.
From social media to emails, ads, and blogs, customer engagement needs to be a driving factor for every aspect of your online presence. Customers should either be learning, having fun, or feeling a part of something greater when they engage with you. Engage the customer, and you’ll see much better returns on your marketing efforts.
