The most important part of your business is your customers. Without them, you don’t have a business. Your customers are unique and different, so your approach to customer engagement should be as well. With that in mind, here are 4 non-negotiables that you need to apply to your customer engagement strategy.
Be personal
There is a reason your favorite brands are the ones that you can relate to—because they know how to make you feel special.When engaging with your customers, make sure you’re personal and genuine. Customers want to feel like you understand them, their needs and wants, and the challenges they are facing.
They also want to be treated as individuals rather than just another customer number in a database somewhere; this means paying attention to details about them such as their name or where they’re from. You can then use this information in for your communication with them so that it doesn’t seem automated and reflects who they are as human beings.
Be helpful and show genuine concern
You need to show the customer that you care. Don’t tell them what they want to hear, but instead show them that you’re listening and empathizing with them. Don’t just say “I understand” and move on: explain why you understand how they feel. This is what sets apart a good company from a great one.
Measure engagement
Measure engagement with your customers, products, marketing campaigns, employees, and community. This is a big one: If you’re not measuring the impact of your customer engagement strategy and initiatives, how can you know if they’re working?
You need to measure this engagement in several ways. You should start by finding out how many customers engage with your brand on social media. You can then analyze what percentage of those customers convert from a social media interaction into an actual purchase or sale (online or in-person). You can then use this data to extrapolate how many people are viewing your products or services from both social media, SEO, PPC, and other channels based on the content you are putting out.
Remember that everyone is different
To truly delight your customers, you must understand their needs, wants, and expectations. What do they value? What are they looking for in a product or service? And how can you provide it better than anyone else?
These customers want something specific from your business but they may not know what or how much yet; think about the characteristics of “early adopters”. They’re always looking for new products or services or ways to improve existing ones, they want faster delivery times, and if something goes wrong with their order there should be someone available 24 hours per day and 7 days per week because these people never stop working hard at whatever job pays for their predilection for early adoption.
Conclusion
While it’s important to remember that every customer is different, there are some commonalities you can rely on when engaging with them. It all starts with being personal, helpful, and showing genuine concern for your customers. Next comes measurement: you need to know how well you’re doing to make improvements over time. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, remember that everyone is different—including your customers.
