Engaging customers should be a number one priority for you and your team. In order to attract the right people to buy your product or come to your restaurant, you need to show you appreciate their custom and presence.
You want to create customer interactions that are engaging, unique and certainly memorable, all in a positive way. These positive impacts will put you at the forefront of their minds when they require your product or service again, or even share their positive experiences with friends and family.
Let’s explore ways you can engage your customers at every stage of their journey!
Build a community with you Engaging Customers
People love to be included and building a community is the way to do this. Community forums or Facebook groups are great ways to allow those like minded individuals who enjoy your product or service to come together, connect, share ideas, tips and tricks or suggestions. They will enhance the brand and they will be more inclined to spread positive words about the business.
You can also use the Questions you get in the group to use as FAQs on your website and internally as well.
Monitor your social media platforms
We acknowledge that social media has so much power in today’s world. As a business, you should use it to your advantage to promote what you have and as a feedback tool. Monitor what people are writing about your business, and it is a great opportunity to show your presence online and who you are as a brand too.
By responding to tweets, writing under instagram posts or sharing instagram stories, you will make your customers feel appreciated. If someone is voicing any negative thoughts around your brand, you can also use this to resolve the customers frustrations delightfully. The wider audience will see how you manage with these negative comments in a positive way, which can lead to further business and free word of mouth marketing – just make sure to handle it well!
Industry events
When you attend trade shows or exhibition days, most of the time members of the sales or marketing team are sent to represent the company. It might be an idea to send a Customer Success Manager, they are directly dealing with customers constantly and would have more insight into the day to day nitty gritty problems which can be answered at the industry events. It can be another great way to attract new customers and educate them about your product or service.
Gain feedback
Feedback straight from customers is a great way of identifying areas that are going well and where you can improve. Especially if the feedback is anonymous, customers will be honest and direct.
Send out surveys via newsletters, have people in store approaching customers; even if it starts off by asking them about their day. Creating more personalised and engaging opportunities never goes unnoticed.
If you receive negative feedback, as account manager, you should act fast and identify several ways you can prevent any churn.
Chew on This are a great example of improving customer experiences with Bizimply, read their success story below
Loyalty programmes
Customer loyalty programmes are truly an engaging way to get customers to keep coming back. For example; if you own a coffee shop, having a loyalty program in place where, say, you get the tenth coffee free, it means that customer has to visit nine times previously. Without the programme in place, they may not have felt any benefit to revisit or choose different coffee shops each day.
You’ll always stay front of mind with these dedicated customers, whether they are actively looking to purchase your product, attend your restaurant or consider your service or not. You will have their top considerations when typing into Google or Maps or suggestions to a friend.
Are you trying to re-engage?
Videos
Creating product videos or behind the scenes videos are really engaging ways to attract your customers. On social media, still images are getting less engagement, whereas video is a quick and simple way to keep your customers up to date with the latest news, tips and tricks, or new products in store. When you create a video, make sure that your audio has been converted. It’s annoying for customers when they have to turn up the volume just to hear what you’re saying. You can always look to use video services, to improve the quality of video content, thereby increasing viewer engagement and ultimately boosting their impact.
Emails
Emails are a great way to gather and maintain more engaging customers. Send an email that goes straight to their inbox and make sure to personalise it!
Write them a short note or an update to what you’re getting up to, accompanied by something valuable, such as an article they’d be interested in, special offers you have on or some other item that you feel would benefit them.
Special Discounts
Who doesn’t love a discount? Whether it’s their birthday, Mothers Day, Valentines Day or just a day to celebrate, send your customers a discount code well in advance of these fun filled days. This will put you at front of mind for considering whether to use or buy your product or book in for your services.
Share or engage with them on social media
Recognise a customer and they share something on their social media? Why not engage by liking or commenting on the post. This will give a subtle, but nice reminder to them of your business.
Customer Events
Events seem to be the new way to gather engaging customers, especially the younger audience! If this is your target market, why not host an event and invite lots of influential people to it, if they have a high social media presence this will be extremely beneficial.
Rent out a cool location or restaurant, plan activities, drinks, food and create a fun atmosphere. If you host private events like these, you’ll definitely engage with your customers, as well as creating a span of new customers as they will share on social media and attract other audiences to try out your business. Win-win!
