With information overload comes decreased concentration and an even worse attention span. In fact, it was found that the attention span of an average person has fallen from 12 seconds to 8 seconds in the past few decades. The constantly dropping attention span prompts marketers to rethink their advertising campaigns to maintain customer engagement that brings results.
But the task isn’t as easy as it seems. Capturing a customer’s attention and making sure their experience interacting with your company is more than just satisfactory can be tricky. Whether it’s an email newsletter containing information about the new product release or a social media post that gives a glimpse of the behind-the-scenes about how the said product was developed, you have to make an effort to not only draw the attention of the customer but also make him want to stick around and browse for longer.
Here’s where implementing certain customer engagement strategies come in handy. Designed to promote customer loyalty and positively influence your KPIs, take a look at the following tried-and-tested ways to improve customer engagement:
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Come up with relevant and engaging content that strikes a chord
It’s a known fact that customers don’t buy products or services — they buy solutions. They’re more likely to be searching for answers to their questions instead of a product or a service. This is where leveraging the power of blog posts and insightful landing pages can make a world of difference in attracting and engaging the right audience. You can even use the most commonly asked questions in your FAQ page and ‘how-to’ videos for better exposure.
When talking about content, we mean regular articles, user guides, ebooks, webinars, and even video content. The better you’re able to connect with your customers via content you create, the higher are the chances of them sticking around to learn more about your offer. The point is to share knowledge that resonates with your audience on a deeper level.
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Deliver personalized service tailored to customers’ needs
Personalization goes beyond mentioning a customer’s name when addressing an email or a social media message to him — it stems from listening to him and leveraging that data to provide him with tailored solutions. This is self-explanatory — customers are drawn to companies that prioritize delivering personalized offers that are relevant to their specific interests.
From location-based ads to shopping discounts sent on their birthday, there are plenty of ways to appeal to your customers. You can even go as far as to use AI along with machine learning to personalize customer service to the maximum. If you find out that your customer is interested in sustainable beachwear and you’re able to supply him with just that, consider sending him either a pop-up notification or a targeted ad on Instagram about the new swimsuit you have on sale.
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Improve customer experience you offer
Businesses — as many as 84% — that improve customer experience (CX) tend to see an uplift in revenue. This is directly related to the quality of customer service you provide and the degree to which your customers are engaged in the process. Just look at the companies that don’t take CX seriously and end up losing clients due to making them wait too long on hold to speak to a customer support agent or making a checkout process complicated.
To ensure that the customer experience you offer is indeed top-notch, use customer journey mapping (more on this later) and embrace omnichannel communication. It also pays to empower your employees and implement their ideas to improve the overall relations. If you want to hear more on how you can improve, consider sending out surveys with open-end questions to your customers.
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Map your customer journey for a better understanding of customer behavior
On the topic of customer journey mapping, it’s vital that you have a well-strategized plan for identifying every single touchpoint, including victories and challenges your customers come across. It’ll help you figure out what their inherent needs and wants are and enable you to plan your customer service strategy accordingly. Besides, it’s a proven way to determine where the opportunities to engage with customers lie so that you can use them to your advantage.
Once you’re familiar with your customers’ behaviors and patterns, you get the upper hand in establishing a buyer persona. Cues like their income level, geographical location, and shopping preferences will guide you in the right direction when choosing the right communication approach for optimal engagement.
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Create a community of loyal followers on social media
Every marketer under the sun is well aware of the importance of having a solid social media presence, no matter how small or big the brand is. This pertains to consistent posts, timely responses, and a smart marketing strategy. The better your social media game is — Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok are the platforms to use — the higher are the chances of your audience becoming genuinely interested in what you have to offer and sticking for the long haul.
Determine what the best time to post is, decide what content you’ll be focusing on the most (images or videos), and use the right content scheduling tools to provide an interactive experience to your followers. Invite them to participate in polls, contests, and other quizzes that will prompt an even higher engagement.
In a nutshell
If customer engagement sounds foreign to you, you might want to apply the strategies mentioned above gradually. The point is to start pursuing customer engagement strategically so that there’s no doubt that your customers stay loyal to you for long. Get a metric dashboard to keep track of all the strategies you implement so that you can always come back and check which ones are working and which ones need adjusting.
Begin with building your social media presence if you haven’t done so yet and improve the customer experience you already provide. Then you can move on to developing relevant content that’s engaging enough to keep your audience hooked from the very first word. Add a touch of personalization to your offers and keep in mind your customers’ journey all along to have a good understanding of their behavior and buyer persona. You’ll soon be able to reap the benefits of your labor by obtaining loyalty, trust, and, you guessed it, engagement from your customers.
