Customer Engagement Builds Emotional Bonds

Engagement means creating involvement. Customer engagement is the effort taken by the company to involve their customers and the brand beyond regular purchase and use. Traditional marketing practices rarely encourage active participation of customers. Marketers are often quite content with the regular purchase of the product by the customers and the level of engagement with those customers is limited to handling inquiries, complaints and if any, loyalty programs.

Customer satisfaction is just the start. A business should aspire to engage its customers. Engaged customers ensure a sustained and profitable growth. Customer engagement is when a significant number of satisfied clients are proactively promoting the company to others with similar desires. It is not enough that they declare that they are willing to promote your business. Only when they go out to spread the word and encourage others to try your product or service do they prove that they have become engaged.

By listening to its customers, a business can learn a great deal. However, many struggle to convert these conversations into something that can really impact marketing, branding, and advertising in a meaningful way.

One valuable tactic is “Customer Collaboration” – private online communities made up of selected customers passionate about a company’s products or services. Consider this strategy a customer advisory board by those who understand the brand and whose input can help the company make the most effective marketing decisions.

GALLOP studies reveal that customers who are fully engaged represent an average 23% premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth than the average customer. Actively disengaged customers represent a 13% discount in those same measures.

Simply put, engaged customers help you build your business.

There is much misunderstanding about the use of networking and social media such as LinkedIn, Viadeo, Facebook and Twitter. SM is not about marketing; it’s about building meaningful relationships with your customers.

It acts as a complement to your marketing activities, and should be integrated according as a strategic position. Facebook has +320 million active users. Twitter has +3 million. Both networks have become the world’s largest commercial channels and should be harnessed in order to influence prospects and to reinforce brand loyalty for existing customers.

If you do not use these networks or are unsure how to maximize their potential for your business, my advice is to learn. It is easy, but it takes time, patience, and a targeted strategic approach.

An excellent case-in-point for how older, established companies can put social media to work, consider Samsung Electronics from South Korea. It’s not enough for a company to simply add Facebook and Twitter buttons, expecting users will flock to “click”.

The reason that it appears to work for Samsung is that the company is using social media by the methods that we, as consumers, want it to be used. The Samsung Tweets account on Twitter is not simply utilized for public relations pitches – it’s a real tool being used for dialogue.

Samsung employees read reviews with comments left in a timely manner. As a result, the company appears to be learning from constant customer feedback. This in turn has deepened Samsung’s consumer relationships. Social media is not a separate and distinct entity. Various departments work together online and offline to develop and implement plans devised to fully engage the community. In a nutshell, there are three activities to bring to mind: Follow – Share – Engage.

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James D. Roumeliotis is a dynamic and innovative marketing and customer service consultant to diverse industries worldwide including insurance, merchant & leisure maritime, business services and the luxury domain.
Visit his blog for additional articles and commentary.

Tags: Customer Service, Marketing