Customer engagement is a broad term that covers any number of business functions, customer experience, customer success, marketing, and more. Wikipedia defines "customer engagement" as a business communication connection between an external stakeholder and an organization across various channels.
That connection can show up as a reaction, an interaction, an effect, or an overall customer experience, happening both online and offline. For this article, we'll use customer engagement, or consumer engagement, to mean doing something that grabs your audience's attention and motivates them to engage with your brand, whether through a sale, a sign-up, an in-store visit, a live activation, or any other marketing tactic.
Customer engagement keeps shifting toward more digital experiences to engage and activate consumers. These tips offer insight into what marketing professionals should consider in their engagement strategy to compete in today's market and set their brands apart.
Here are 5 tips from customer engagement experts driving business efforts forward in the age of digital transformation:
1. Personalize Communication
“Track every customer touchpoint. Collect data to identify individual personas. Make sure they’re on the correct path, and use that data to programmatically scale amazing experiences across the entire customer lifecycle.” — Mathew Sweezey, Principal of Marketing Insights at Salesforce
Our take: Data reveals each stage of the customer journey, and allows marketers to better optimize content to offer more engaging, more personalized experiences through the 360 degree view of the customer. By collecting, analyzing, and segmenting data, you have a better chance of engaging and activating audiences.
2. Create Two-Way Engagements
“The digital era has […] led to consumers having very limited attention spans. We therefore are finding ways to engage them like never before. This change in our approach enables us to go from simply having one-directional conversations to creating two-way engagements that are more fulfilling to our consumers.” — Raja Rajamannar, CMO of MasterCard
Our take: Live video or “in the moment” marketing, is a huge driver of engagement, especially with the super-connected Generation Z. Consumers value authentic marketing, and live streaming is a great way to show your “true authentic brand” to audiences. It allows for a two-way conversation between brand and consumer. Marketers cannot hide behind the veil of corporate communications, and instead must answer to consumers in the moment.
3. Tell a Story
“CX of the future should be designed like a Disney or Pixar movie, complete with character and story development, storyboarding, and integration into a thoughtful and methodical universe where the experience is consistent, integrated, and enchanting in every moment of truth” — Brian Solis, Principal Analyst and Futurist, Altimeter
Our take: Today, AR and 5G are paving the way for experiences to become more immersive. Thus, allowing marketers to tell more engaging stories because:
- You can now deploy AR on a consumer’s personal mobile device or tablet without the need for a headset.
- The speed of 5G allows for the creation of content that supports AR experiences.
4. Give Digital Experiences Meaning
“Use digital technology to create and scale authentic, meaningful experiences for the sophisticated and unimpressionable Gen Z audience. They prefer brands that stand for ideals that they care about.” — Ben Foo, CMO, Taylor’s University
Our take: In today’s politically charged environment, it’s important to give context and meaning to the experiences you create. Not every brand has to be political. However, consumers are more interested in brands that align with their own preferences. So, having purpose-driven experiences are sure to engage and retain the consumers you want. Also, be sure to check out these great examples of purpose-driven marketing.
5. Use the Psychology of Persuasion
“Engagement demands our customers take an action, to both initiate and maintain an engaged relationship, but how do you encourage action? An understanding of the principles and subtleties of the psychology of persuasion can be invaluable. Our ability to ethically use concepts like scarcity, consensus and reciprocity can help immensely when trying to engage audiences.” — Richard Sedley, Director of the Customer Engagement Unit at cScape
Our take: Contests, sweepstakes, and interactive gamified elements are a great way for consumers to engage with your marketing. It’s worth investing in experiences that trigger a reaction and drive consumers to action. To see how brands are accomplishing this, be sure to check out these campaigns from the most trusted brands in the business.
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