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New small businesses are emerging at a rapid pace. With a significant increase in the number of companies now operating, small businesses have to work harder than ever to reach their potential customers and stay competitive. One of the biggest challenges small businesses are facing is customer engagement. The good news, however, is that some of the top customer engagement strategies to implement for your business aren't nearly as challenging as you may think.
What does customer engagement look like?
Engagement is a critical part of the customer experience. It can come in various forms, including:
- Interactions between you and your audience via social media (commenting on posts, hosting live videos, etc.)
- Email opens
- Partaking in surveys/polls
Any form of interaction between your business and the customers can be categorized as customer engagement. The ultimate goal of these interactions is to give each customer a unique, personalized experience.
Benefits of regular customer engagement
Studies show that approximately 45.9% of businesses plan to prioritize their customer experience within the next five years, and for good reason.
Not only does investing in the customer experience have the potential to double your revenue within 36 months, but 86% of buyers say they are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.
Top customer engagement strategies to implement
With approximately 83% of customers now expecting immediate engagement when they connect with a new brand, customer engagement has never been more critical. If you are trying to form a better relationship with your customers, these top customer engagement strategies will help you get started:
Prioritize the customer experience
Your customers will spend more time on your website than on any of your other marketing channels. If your website was not designed to provide a seamless customer experience, however, they will not want to stay on your site to make a purchase. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that your website is designed to engage with your customers.
To improve your site’s engagement, use a good mix of content types, including video, photos, and written blog posts. The more you can encourage your customers to interact with your site, the more likely they will be to make a purchase.
Make proactive use of social media
Social media is a powerful tool for engaging with your customers. Approximately 70% of people in the U.S. and 57% of people worldwide use social media, which means if you haven't started including these platforms in your customer experience strategy, you need to start.
Social media is one of customers’ preferred methods of interacting with brands. They use social media to share information, discuss products and services, and get answers to questions. Social media also allows brands to start conversations with customers and resolve any issues that may arise.
Consider gamification
Gamification utilizes game mechanics to engage your customers. Game mechanics include functions like leaderboards, points, achievements, and leveling up to earn special rewards and perks.
Personalization is crucial
Customers expect brands to recognize and adapt to their personal needs and preferences. If you can't provide a unique and tailored customer experience, it will be challenging to stay competitive.
Creating a personalized experience isn't as difficult as you may think. You can implement personalization in several different areas of your customer experience, including:
- Product or service recommendations
- Email content
- Social media
- Advertisements
Create interactive content
To improve your customer experience, you need to create interactive content that boosts your engagement. Interactive content is a powerful way to give customers the personalized experiences they are looking for, and it goes beyond your standard blog or social media content.
Interactive content includes:
- Surveys
- Questionnaires
- Games
- Livestreaming
- Live video
- Virtual reality
- Interactive ads
Interactive content is an effective way to create a unique customer experience and promote your products and services.
Encourage feedback
Giving your customers the opportunity to provide feedback on your products and services is the ultimate way to build a loyal customer base. Customers want to have a voice, and by providing feedback, they have the chance to share their experiences.
Feedback is also one of the most effective ways to build your brand and establish your credibility, as it builds trust between you and your customers. It also helps you better understand what your customers are looking for and where you need to improve.
Don't be afraid to go Live and interact in real-time
Livestreaming video is a powerful way to engage with your customers and create a unique customer experience. You can use live videos to host educational seminars, provide answers to customer questions, and even host comåpetitions.
Livestreaming video is a great way to connect with your audience and share your brand with them while interacting with them in real-time.
Increase your customer engagement with more tips from the BBB
The BBB is committed to providing its members with up-to-date information on the latest customer experience tools. From helping you get your small business accredited by the BBB to providing tips and tricks for keeping your brand running smoothly, we have you covered!
Check out the BBB business news feed for more actionable tips and tricks!