In 2020, a lot of brands and businesses have realized that engagement with their audience and customers is the way to succeed in the future.
Engaging with customers can be difficult for some businesses, especially considering that not all industries are the same. In some really technical industries, some uncertain and fairly new businesses choose to completely ignore their customers, which is a big mistake.
Making sure that your customers, as well as your audience, are happy and pleased with your performance and products, is critical for the longevity of your business. Assessing customer engagement is one of the ways that you can get a deeper understanding of your audience and their pain points.
Want to engage better with your customers? Here’s what you’ll need to do:
Establish multiple communication channels with your customers
To pursue proper engagement with your customers, you will need to establish as many communication channels as you possibly can. But what does that mean exactly?
A communication channel with your customers allows you to establish a way to understand your audience on a much deeper level.
How many communication channels can you have at a time? As many as you can manage with ease.
For starters, you might want to have your contact details listed on your website. A contact form is another great way to get the conversation between you and your customers to get started.
Social media is the next thing that you should target. Social media platforms allow you to communicate one on one with your customers, addressing their individual needs at a time.
Social media platforms, all of them, are a great way to let your audience know what’s the latest news that your business or personal brand has to offer.
An intimidating but even more beneficial communication channel to have emails. By using emails, you’re able to engage with different kinds of customers who have different preferences, among other things.
Communication channels with your audience are essential for your success as a business. Start with one and add other communication channels once you get used to using the prior ones.
Remember that new communication channels don’t mean instant engagement from your audience; they’re just a way to get you metaphorical foot into the door of your customers and audience. It will take time to increase customer engagement, but it is well worth the effort and resources.
Motivate your customers
Motivating your customers is an essential step in getting communication from your audience.
Your goal as a business leader should be to motivate your employees and team, as well as your audience and customers.
Your customers need to be motivated on a regular basis. But why is that important?
Your customers not only help keep your business afloat by buying your products and services, but they also promote your brand within their circle. However, you must realize that not every customer will spread the good word about your business; only a motivated few will.
One quick way to motivate your customers and increase engagement is to hold a giveaway or something like a lucky draw. This might not be the most sustainable way to increase engagement, but it does allow your business to get a quick burst of attention from your customers.
Offer your customers incentives for their engagement.
If you want something from someone (your customers in this case), you have to give them something in return.
When it comes to giving out incentives, you don’t necessarily have to break the bank to get a lot of engagement.
Simple things like an ebook on a topic that your audience will find helpful, a webinar, free consulting sessions, there are loads of things that you can give out as incentives to your customers.
For example, if you want to run a user-generated content (UGC) campaign for your products on social media, you may have to give something in return to all of the people who give you their content. A giveaway or a monetary prize might entice loads of people to participate.
Ask your customers for their opinion
Asking your customers and audience what they want is one of the best and most beneficial ways to improve your relationships.
A big reason for wanting engagement from your customers is to find ways to eliminate as many pain points as you can. And who better to tell you about their pain points than your customers themselves?
Ask your customers the things that bother them the most when it comes to interacting with your business and brand. If a lot of your customers have the same problem when they come into contact with your brand, you should immediately eliminate that problem.
Another thing that you can learn from your customers is what they would like to see next to your business. If you’re struggling with new ideas or lack any creative direction, just ask your existing customers.
These customers love your business and probably have several products that they would like to see from you.
Facilitate your customers as much as possible
The key to getting engagement from your audience is to facilitate your audience as much as possible.
There are many things that you can do and steps you can take to facilitate your audience.
Facilitate your customers by providing top of the line customer support. Great customer support is all about putting your customers first. The more you steer your business towards a customer-centric model, the more engagement and loyalty you’re going to get from your audience.
Having a live chat app on your website will help your dear customers connect with you. Your customers will be able to tell you exactly what they’re having problems with, and your business will have a chance to make a good impression.
Conclusion
Customer engagement is important for businesses of all kinds, shapes, and sizes. Engaging with customers is not a difficult task in today’s society, where everyone is connected all the time.
Knowing how to effectively communicate with your audience is an acquired skill. It will depend on your business’s unique style.
Hamzah Adil is a digital marketer who enjoys learning and writing about all aspects of business. He’s currently working with a startup that has developed a new live chat app called SwiftChat.
