Too often when marketers think about increasing customer engagement, they tend to err on the side of selecting promotional options. That, though, is often premature and can result in a lot of money spent unnecessarily. Worse, in some cases, their efforts can also work against them.
A reporter recently asked for my “top three” strategies for engaging customers. I thought I’d also share them here.
Having a strong product or service to begin with.
It should go without saying, but it doesn’t. No amount of ad spend can help you achieve success with a product or service that fails to meet market needs. You may generate initial sales but, when those customers don’t return or spread positive word-of-mouth, you will ultimately fail.
Your products and services must meet customer needs in ways that stand out favorably when compared to your competition. A lot of money can be spent to raise awareness and even generate sales but if customers aren’t with the product or experience they won’t be back. Worse, they’ll tell others about their poor experiences.
A great product or service is the price of entry when it comes to customer engagement.
Paying attention to customer feedback and gathering it continually.
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.
In physical settings, simply observing–and speaking to–customers can provide ongoing insights. I worked with a healthcare system once that spent a lot of money on formal surveys, but had no strategy in place to effectively collect, aggregate, and analyze the real-time insights staff were obtaining on a daily basis.
Too many companies of all types and sizes, fail to recognize the powerful feedback resources that have in front of them every single day.
Be responsive.
Another way I’ve seen marketers waste their marketing dollars on tactics is to promote something and then fail to respond promptly when inquiries come in. Consumers today have a myriad of choices, literally at their fingertips.
Fail to respond quickly and, chances are, one of your many competitors will get there before you. That responsiveness should extend to responding to inquiries and follow-up requests, as well as complaints. It’s not just about being responsive when a sale is being made–it’s about being responsive always.
Yes, most companies will need to invest in advertising or promotion of some kind to spread the word about their products or services. But don’t make that investment until you’re absolutely sure that you’ll engage rather than disappoint–or even enrage–your customers.
About Us
Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We work with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content. Whether on- or offline, or both, we’ll help you achieve desired results.
(Strategic Communications is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through the Wisconsin Department of Administration.)
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Recommended Reading:
21st Century Secrets to Effective PR
Direct Mail in the Digital Age
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Strategic Planning
The Everything Guide to Customer Engagement
Best Practices in Influencer Marketing
Tags: customer engagement, Customer Service, existing customers, new customers, serving customers