The Cheeky Monkey Media Blog
A few words from the apes, monkeys, and various primates that make up the Cheeky Monkey Super Squad.
7 Creative Customer Engagement Strategies That Will Skyrocket Your Sales
October 17, 2018 / Treena BjarnasonNot getting the results you’re looking for in your business?
Perhaps it’s time to stop worrying so much about integrating SEO and SMM and start focusing on your customer engagement strategies.
As you’ll see, engaging with your customers is one of the best ways to make them happy, which turns them into repeat customers and brand ambassadors.
Keep reading to learn seven strategies you can implement today to start engaging with your customers.
Why Customer Engagement Strategies Matter
Before we jump into the strategies, let’s take a moment to discuss why these strategies matter to your business. According to Forbes, customer engagement is the key to reaching all of your business goals.
When a potential customer is engaged with your brand, they’re far more likely to buy from you. Current customers will stay with you when they feel that you’re investing in them and will promote your brand to others.
Fortunately, it’s easier than you think to engage with your customers. These seven tips are just a few of the ways, so get creative once you’ve read this list to come up with more ways that your business can interact with your customers.
1. Make Memorable First Impressions
Whether a customer’s first impression of your business involves them walking through your door or clicking on your website, you need to make a memorable first impression.
It’s going to look different for every business, so think about what you want people to remember about your brand. In some cases, it’s simply asking a question other than the usual “How can I help you?”.
In other cases, it’s eye-catching graphics. Later, we’ll talk about creating an interactive website. Having something for your customer to engage in when landing on your site will also make a memorable first impression.
2. Create an App
Apps are great ways to engage with customers. With the number of smartphone users well into the billions, this is a great way to get a direct line to your customer.
There are a few ways to do this. One is to create a rewards program, so customers use your app to earn points every time they purchase from you. These would then be exchanged for prizes or discounts.
You can also use an app to notify customers of special sales you’re having. This helps keep customers engaged and excited about what you have to offer them. Push notifications go directly to a customer’s phone so you know they’ll see them.
3. Listen First
When a customer calls your business with a problem, how long does the representative wait before offering a solution? 1 minute? 5 minutes? What about 10 minutes?
Everybody wants to be heard, and you can ensure that your customers are listened to by setting up a 10-minute listening policy for your helplines. Once you’ve spent 10 minutes listening and understanding your customers, you’ll be better equipped to help them.
4. Do Live Streams
Nearly every social media platform now has live streaming capabilities, and it’s the perfect way to engage with your audience. Whether you host a Q&A session or talk about a new product you’re offering, a live stream will get everyone involved.
Be sure to announce your live stream in advance for the best engagement. Get customers excited about what you’re going to be doing. Then, during the live stream, be sure to have staff dedicated to answering questions that come up.
5. Avoid Sales Talk
Whenever you’re interacting with your customers, you need to be careful about the way you talk to them. Today, people are more sensitive than ever about sales talk, and most people don’t like being sold to.
Instead of trying to sell things to your customers, focus on educating them. It could be about your product or something else within your industry. People interested in what you’re selling will love hearing more about it.
Another reason to educate rather than sell is that when you show your level of expertise in your industry, it builds trust. Customers want to see that you know what you’re talking about before they buy from you.
6. Create Surveys
Surveys will help you understand your customers and their pain points better. Send them through emails, post them on social media, and have them fill them out in person if you have a brick-and-mortar business.
Don’t end things there, however. Once you get their answers, use them. Your customers will see that their opinions and feelings matter, which will leave them wanting to interact more with your brand.
These survey answers should help you come up with new content for your blog by answering questions that people have. They can also help you improve the customer experience as you can see areas in which your business is weak and work to improve them.
7. Have Interactive Web Content
No matter what type of business you have, you need to have a great website. On top of that, it should be interactive. The more a customer engages with your website, the more they engage with your brand.
Your website should have more than your contact information and blog posts. They should have ways for your customers to interact with your site and brand. This can be as simple as having a video greeting visitors or an animated logo.
Another way to create interactive web content involves creating a game for visitors to play that will teach them more about your product or service. No matter how old someone is, it’s hard to resist a game, and they’ll have a positive memory of your website because of it.
Want More Marketing Tips?
Now you have a better understanding of why implementing customer engagement strategies is important. You also have seven creative ways that you can start interacting more with your customers.
If you want some more marketing tips to help you reach out to more new potential customers, then be sure to check out our blog. There, you’ll find a ton of content aimed at helping you get your business in front of the right people.