Customer engagement has long been the holy grail of business. And for good reason: companies that engage their customers are more profitable and resilient in the face of competition than those who don’t. But many brands still struggle to develop meaningful relationships with their buyers, leaving them at a disadvantage compared to competitors who understand how important it is to get closer to their customers. Here’s how customer engagement can help your bottom line—even if you’re not a customer-facing business.
Engaged employees make happy customers
Engaged employees are more productive, satisfied, and likely to stay with your company longer. They’re also more likely to refer businesses or provide valuable word-of-mouth referrals.
Engaged employees are also more motivated than their disengaged counterparts—they want to do a good job because it’s the right thing to do (not because they fear being fired). You can expect them to take on new projects or accept extra responsibilities without hesitation.
It’s easier to improve what you can measure
One of the biggest benefits of using customer engagement as a metric is that it makes it easier for you to see what’s working or not. You can use this data to improve how you get feedback from your customers, and ultimately, reduce churn. In addition, knowing how engaged your customers are with your business will help you identify areas for improvement in the customer experience.
Loyal customers are more likely to buy again
Keeping your customers engaged and loyal is important for a company, as it’s easier to retain customers than it is to win them over from competitors. Customer engagement can help you retain customers in multiple ways:
For one, customers who are regularly engaged with your brand are more likely to buy again because they like what they get from your business. If there’s something wrong with their purchase—either physically or in terms of customer service—it’s easier for you as the brand owner to step in and fix things before they become too negative. This is because when people feel like their needs are being met by the brand, they’ll be more inclined to come back when they need something else
Customer engagement improves professional and personal relationships
You’ll be surprised to learn that customer engagement has a positive impact on your professional and personal relationships.
Take your relationship with your customers, for instance. When you engage with someone, it’s not just about what you say—it’s about how you say it and how they perceive both how you engage as well as the brand that’s doing the engaging.
For example, if this person is a loyal customer who has been purchasing from your company for years, then there’s no need to bother them with messages that are overly promotional or sales-like (unless they’re specifically asking for these types of communications). Instead, focus on building up trust with them by responding quickly and providing helpful information when possible (like where their package is located or whether or not it was delivered).
This kind of positive interaction will help establish an emotional connection between both parties. The result is that your customers will feel more connected to your business than ever before.
Smarter customer service can lead to referrals and word-of-mouth advertising
The first contact a customer has with a business is often through customer service. When you have great customer service, it’s not just an opportunity to make people happy; it can also be an opportunity to get referrals and word-of-mouth advertising.
There are several ways you can use your team’s skills in the most effective way possible to drive this kind of engagement. One way to do so is to ask for referrals from customers who are happy with their experience—and follow up on them. The worst thing you can do is leave a satisfied client hanging without following up with them about how they liked working with your company or if there was anything else that could improve their experience. Make sure everyone on your team knows how important this part of the process is so no one gets overlooked or forgotten about after closing out an old sale or conversation.
You should also make sure everyone on staff understands how important it is that they treat every person who contacts them as if they’re going above and beyond when serving them—even if they don’t know where the relationship might lead yet. You never know what connections will come from just being friendly or helpful over the phone; remember that word travels fast nowadays thanks to technology platforms like Facebook and Twitter which give people the ability to make comments online instantly, both positive and negative.
Engaged customers are your best marketers when they share content
When you’re able to create a positive experience for your customers, they are more likely to share the content they consume with friends, family members, and coworkers. As this happens, word-of-mouth sales can multiply. This is especially true when it comes to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
If you have an engaged customer base on these platforms then there’s a higher chance that your brand will be shared on those platforms as well—and not just by one user but multiple times by different users.
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