The term “customer engagement” is a popular buzzword in today’s business landscape. It is so commonly used that many people think that it is a simple checkbox item to tick off. Customer engagement, however, is an ongoing process and relationship between a company and its customers. This is predominantly driven by customer preferences and behaviour.
Customer engagement comprises of actively and purposefully engaging with an audience through messaging that sparks their interests, educates, or helps them. It is up to businesses to encourage two-way communication and to figure our what the customer wants and providing it at the right time.
This may seem simple, however, in today’s world, where majority of a business’s customer base consists of “millennials and zoomers,” the consumer has a short attention span for complicated processes in the name of customer engagement. So how can your business adapt to this new market reality and ensure engagement techniques are engaging?
Be mobile-friendly
Mobile usage has surpassed laptop and desktop usage and today’s target audience is more likely to search up something on their phones rather than open a laptop. The mobile market in Sub-Saharan Africa will reach several significant milestones over the next five years: including half a billion mobile subscribers in 2021, 1 billion mobile connections in 2024, and 50% subscriber penetration by 2025. As a result, your business needs to have a mobile-friendly website and customer support portals.
Talking to an “always-online” generation
Being accessible to current and potential customers is the most essential aspect of customer engagement. This poses a challenge in today’s world as time and geography pose no limitation and the customer expects businesses to be reachable at all hours of the day and night.
Chatbots come in handy in these instances – a simply auto-response lets the customer know you will get back to them at soonest.
Personalise your messages
Personalisation is regarded as a great method for customer engagement, it’s all too easy to cross the line between being helpful and being intrusive. Ensure that your conversation is relevant and provide timely information to your loyal customers.
Use a CRM tool
A Customer Relationship Management tool provides a holistic view of customer data and helps to prevent any missteps in data management and customer communication.
A customer engagement strategy is critical to the success of any business. Customers who are actively engaged not only spend more money, but also become a company’s brand ambassador and will recommend the business readily.
