Keep the experience in mind
Gone are the days when sales are made quickly and in the scarcity of information. Today, customers have access to a plethora of information from multiple sources, and will take their own time comparing different products and services before making their choice. Therefore, organizations should not just consider the transaction but the experience the customer gains when interacting with the them. Instead of making it bland and uninspiring, marketers can offer a great customer experience in the initial phases. First impressions matter, and when prospects look at your website and scroll through it, they should be having a great experience.
This includes the way you are offering information to them, the way you place your tabs and buttons, the colors and themes, and so on. You might also look to include forms or widgets on the home page to allow the customers to give their details out if they so decide.
Personalize
As mentioned earlier, customers often miss the human touch when it comes to digital transactions. Therefore, it might be a good idea for organizations to offer them this touch by personalizing experiences and transactions for the customer. In all communication with the customer, he or she will be addressed by name, and if possible, with individualized messages. This helps the customer remember you, and recall you when making the final decision.
Collect feedback
Transactions and communication are not always one-directional. Sometimes you need to listen to the customers more than you tell them something. Your website or point of transaction should have a mechanism to collect feedback from customers on how to improve your service or for other general comments. If you show them that you are working on the feedback they offered, there is that much more chance of them forming an attachment with your brand and acting as ambassadors for you.
Monitor periodically
Customer engagement is not something that is done and dusted once. Strategies have to be dynamic and flexible, and keep changing with the changing times. To understand how effective the engagement efforts are in a given period, and if there needs to be any change in planning or execution, these engagement efforts have to be measured periodically.
Organizations that think that engagement ends with implementation will face the prospect of lagging behind in a constantly changing world. Customer engagement is not an exact science – there is no certain number or type of efforts that would guarantee you a certain amount of results. You have to be constantly testing new approaches, and blend with your current ones to reach the right combination.
