What It Means To Increase Customer Engagement

To increase customer engagement is about returning your customer to you, getting feedback to improve your company, and ultimately turning that customer into a brand loyal client. It is easy to dismiss your website and other digital channels as something you had to do, and not what it is; Your website is a salesperson. If you start to think about it as a salesperson, it will change your world, and these are just a few ways to make it useful!

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Increase Customer Engagement Through Email Marketing

If you saw your salesperson make a new contact at an event and they never followed up with that contact, they failed right? So why isn't your website? Four simple emails make engagement experience. No, this isn't "Thanks for your order," really do you ever care when you get that one?

 Welcome Email

Seems simple right, there are a lot of sites out there that don't send this one. Sending an email to welcome the user is good, but give them more, this is your follow up sales pitch. When they get that welcome email tell the user what they can expect from you. Hit the key benefits of your company, reinforce your care about them by asking for feedback, and let them know what is coming, be it deals, news, specials, or events.

Feedback Email

These are four fundamental values to make to increase your feedback engagement. And getting feedback is what will make you a better company.

1. Tell them you are there to make your company better for them.
2. Ask for help.
3. Tell them they are valued.
4. Thank them in advance.

Why these four? The email is clear and concise to its purpose. Ask for help people like helping others. Tell them they matter. And say thank you before they respond. Those four simple steps make people more likely to give feedback.

Abandoned Cart Emails

If you use Analytics tools, you can see the user who put something in their cart and didn't buy it. It is a frustrating feeling. Why didn't they buy it? What didn't they like? Will they come back? The only way to know is to do something about it. Send an abandoned cart email; they are unbelievably successful. Almost half of the abandoned cart emails get opened. More than 21% click through, and half of those who click through completed the purchase. (Moosend.com) The two things you must have in your cart email is an easy call to action to get them back, and if they don't want to buy, give them a way to tell you why not.

Retention Emails

Would you ever tell your salesperson not to upsell? Email can do it too. Gaining new customers can cost five times more than keeping your current ones happy. Add that to the success rate of selling to existing customers is 60-70% vs. acquisitions is 5-20%. (Invespcro.com) Useful retention emails focus on drawing users into your product. Sending coupons is great, but send them things that can use too. Getting a user back to your site is half the battle, once they are there, you can create that engagement feel. Send newsletters, ask for feedback, offer them discounts to participate in something, keep them entertained and they will come back.

Increase Customer Engagement Through Texting

So your website is your salesperson, and they sent all the emails, but you still need more. Texting is the next step forward. Companies like Twilio offer easy to use texting features to send messages to your users. Better yet, they have API's that let other products integrate to make it easier. For example, AutomateWoo integrates with Twilio to enable a user to decide if they want a Text to remind them to order.

Why does text marketing matter? The open rates are up to 98% and 45% click through, whereas email is about 20% and 6%. (Gartner) No matter how you look at it, five times more contact is better at any time.

Increase Customer Engagement Through Social Media

Honestly, it doesn't matter if you are B2B, B2C, C2B, or C2C using social media will increase your engagement. Using social media right is what makes the difference. The first thing you need to do is identify your market and find out where they are.

Do The Research

If you are posting your content in the wrong place, you are not only not getting an impact, but you are wasting your time too. There is research on almost every kind of market available on the internet. Look for reputable sources, but you can find all the high-level things you need to. Like age, gender, location, access, time on the social channel, and on and on it will go.  Here is an article to get you off the ground on your research.  https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/social-media-channels-business-223554094.html 

Pick The Messaging

Once you figure out what channels are the right ones, then find out what the messaging is. It might be videos, it may be articles, or quips to get their attention. Ensuring your content is worth paying attention to is what will matter when it comes to how many people you can attract. If you only post sales, those won't get the same level of shares or likes as the information they can use. Sometimes, it is best for your post not to sell anything at all, but instead, help the reader.

Make Your Call To Action Count

You have one shot with that reader to get them to take action, use it wisely. Having done your research and understanding your market, you should know what their objections are, with this, you can create the right CTA. If the opposition is price, then "Try it free" or if it is timing, "Get it Now!". Conveying urgency, negating the objections, or merely making the ask, a good CTA will get more clicks than "Click Me."

Engage Your Customers

These are a high starting point, but as I said if you are not treating your digital presence as a sales member; you are losing out. Websites, digital anything, they all need love, care, and attention.

Before you start buying tools and randomly posting content and videos and memes, start your Digital Marketing Strategy and understand what your customers want and how it will make the most impact.