It's often assumed that the most crucial thing to a growing business is to get new customers. After all, customers are the lifeblood of any business out there and customer acquisition in particular is put as a main priority.
While this is important, customer retention is probably more important. In fact, keeping existing customers costs your business significantly less than acquiring new ones. The ROI is worth the effort as well.
At the heart of customer retention is customer engagement. Engaged customers are likely to be more loyal and satisfied. They are also likely to refer the business to other people. The following are five things you can do to increase customer engagement and grow your business at scale.
1. Communicate in Real-Time
Customers today can be quite unforgiving. More than 50% of customers will abandon a brand after one bad experience. While what makes a bad experience varies from customer to customer, communication is a key aspect.
Your customers expect your business to be responsive virtually 24 hours a day. And there's no denying, it can be challenging to have a customer service team on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's expensive as well.
This becomes a prime area to leverage technology. And there’s nothing more suitable than an AI chatbot. These bots use natural language and can simulate human conversations.
2. Tag-a-Friend Contests
While two-way communication is good, opening your business up to more communication networks is even better. A great way to engage your customer is by bringing them in on a more active role that helps widen your reach.
One way to do this is by running tag (News - Alert)-a-friend contests. These can quickly be done on social media. Aside from posting sales, promotions, new products, changes in operating hours, and so on, social media is excellent for such campaigns as well.
To get started, find a giveaway product. Post this on social media and ask followers to tag their friends to enter the draw. This not only encourages active engagement but also increases your visibility.
3. Engage on Different Platforms
Even with a specialized client base, not all your clients will be found on the same platform. This calls for businesses to invest in several channels of engagement. But a multi-channel approach is not enough if you do not have a firm handle on everything.
If you are having challenges with this, think about getting an omnichannel contact center to bring all customer communications in one place.
4. Be Serious About Customer Feedback
Customers want to engage with businesses that not only listen but demonstrate responsiveness. To do this, you need to efficiently collect feedback and find ways to encourage your customers to give you candid reviews regarding your business.
If you do this effectively, it will be helpful on two fronts.
The first is that the more customers feed heard, the more important they feel to you. Appreciated customers become loyal customers.
The second is that feedback gives you a snapshot of what you are getting right as a business and highlights areas of improvement. These are essential ingredients for success.
5. Find Avenues for Alignment
People are naturally drawn to familiarity. This extends to familiarity with ideology, values, belief systems, and so on.
Think deeply about what you stand for and what your personality is as a business. With a firm handle on this, amplify these on marketing campaigns, websites, and social media platforms. Customers will want to align with companies with shared interests.
While this does not guarantee that they will come flocking, it will give them a reason to want to do business with you. And when they come knocking on the door, they will feel at home.
Final Thoughts
An investment in customer engagement is also an investment in customer trust and loyalty, brand experience, and funnel velocity. The numerous gains from it make it worth pursuing for any business regardless of size.
