Customer Engagement – what is it and how to increase it? 5 effective ways

Strong customer engagement is something that every brand would like to achieve. Not surprisingly, this can be hindered by many factors, including high competition and distractions, especially in the online world. So let’s check what customer engagement is and what strategies can be used to increase it.

What is customer engagement?

Currently, there is only one generally accepted definition for Customer Engagement. One of them indicates that it is about combining customers’ behavior and emotions toward the brand. However, it is best to show this with an example. Namely, an engaged customer is willing to invest his resources (including time) in contact with the company. Often he also becomes its ambassador.

Why is customer engagement so critical?

There are many reasons why this issue is so crucial for companies. The most important of them are:

• better customer retention – high engagement leads to greater loyalty and binds them to the brand. Satisfied and engaged customers are thus more likely to return to the company, thanks to which you can reduce losses to the competition,
• positive brand image – when customers are engaged, they are happy to share their positive experiences. Their satisfaction and active recommendations help build a positive brand image, which is essential in the digital era, where opinions are widely available and have a significant impact on the decisions of other buyers,
• increasing the rate of repeat purchases – an engaging customer service strategy makes them feel more value offered by the company, which in turn leads to an increase in the number of repeat purchases,
• acquiring new customers – positive experiences attract new customers through recommendations and positive opinions, helping to gain more market share.

How to increase customer engagement?

Putting the customer at the center of attention is the best way to build customer engagement. The most important thing is to get to know your audience, find out who exactly they are and what their needs are, and on this basis, build activities that will increase engagement. Such an analysis always leads to the conclusion that our clients are always different and their needs may differ, e.g., regarding reach channels. They should be different, although if the company has limited resources, it is better to focus on quality rather than the number of channels.

You will also learn the basics of building a collective experience and how modern marketers perceive them from our text.

Omnicommerce, i.e., many points of contact

Omni commerce can enhance customer engagement, a strategy of reaching across channels, devices, and formats. Thanks to this, they have more points of contact with the brand, thanks to which they can choose the ones that suit them best.

Betting on personalized offers

Customers like to be treated individually. For this to be possible, a viewer about consumers is necessary, which can be obtained primarily thanks to various types of data collection and analysis tools. Based on such data, personalized, better-tailored offers can be built.

Betting on valuable content

Customer engagement can also be enhanced by offering valuable and helpful content. Those in which our product does not necessarily play the leading role. An example is the content on the blog, which in practice, can attract users from the search engine (the so-called organic channel) and provide helpful information and build greater engagement.

Feedback communication

Customer engagement increases when the customer knows that his involvement is not unnoticed. Many customers are willing to communicate with their favorite brands, but mainly if they receive a return message. Therefore, responding to notes left on social media channels and passing on reports using our brand products (Instagram) is worth it. If the customer notices that the company uses such strategies, they may be more willing to interact, which is one of the critical factors in building engagement.

Bonuses for opinions

Opinions are precious for business because they increase the company’s credibility. If the company is new, it is worth encouraging customers to leave them, e.g., through additional rebates and discounts (a good solution, especially in e-commerce). It is also worth responding to comments about the company’s offer, both positive and negative.

Engaged customers are the goal of most brands. However, achieving it without a well-thought-out strategy and continuous work isn’t easy. As you can see, many systems can help with this, although much depends on the specifics of the brand and its customers. Building engagement may look a bit different in different groups.