Do you see every customer interaction for the potential it really has for your business? Pleasing your customer is more important now than ever. With stiff competition in the marketplace and the potentially devastating effects that negative customer service can have on a business, it is critical that companies make a concerted effort to maximize customer engagement.
Social media has changed the impact that each customer engagement has on a business, according to a piece by ACCENT Marketing Services. Studies show that when customers are happy and engaged, they are likely to recommend your brand four times as often to others.
Those who are dissatisfied or disengaged, however, are four times more likely to take to their Facebook (News - Alert) and Twitter accounts to let the world know. Consider that Facebook currently has over 500 million users and that Tweeters post an average of 600 messages every second. The viral impact and reach are staggering.
Gone are the days of telling and product dumping to achieve a sale. Marketers have had to learn a whole new set of rules to get their products and services noticed. People aren’t interested in having information pushed off onto them; they are more interested in genuine customer engagement.
ACCENT Marketing Services is a company that focuses on this new approach and has solutions for businesses trying to reach their customers through social media and other non-conventional sales platforms.
The company offers many solutions that extend beyond driving repeat business off single transactions, influencing how the customer perceives the brand, and creating customers for life. While these are good starting points, relying on a business-focused approach versus one centered on customer engagement will not get you very far.
For ACCENT, every customer interaction marks an opportunity for engagement that will strengthen the affiliation with your brand. The ACCENT model is Listen, Learn, Connect, Influence, and Optimize. Through this process, the company uses information it gathers about the customer to create a personalized conversation that leaves the customer feeling more like a friend.
This is accomplished by experts in the industry who work with ACCENT to provide data analytics, monitor social media sites, help provide consistent quality monitoring and knowledge management, as well as assist your business with printing and fulfillment details.
ACCENT’s process drives ROI and prevents precious investment from being wasted. Study data is clear regarding the value of customer engagement: engaged customers are more forgiving of problems they might encounter. They are also likely to frequent your website twice as often and make online purchases from you at a rate of three times that of others.
Finally, a disengaged customer can cost your business anywhere from 25 to 75 percent in lost sales each year as each dissatisfied customer tells an average of three people not to shop with you.
The bottom line is truly customer engagement. Access constructs a branded online interaction that can assist businesses in delivering a seamless, positive, and consistent customer experience across all marketing channels.
Edited by Carrie Schmelkin