5 min read
Oct 4, 2022
Whether it’s sharing reviews on social media, using AI-powered chatbots to solve problems, or participating in contests and promotions on smartphones, customers have more ways to connect with your brand than ever. And they expect you to deliver consistent and rewarding experiences at every touchpoint.
Here are four ways marketing can increase brand engagement in today’s omnichannel environment.
How Marketing Can Power Up Your Customer Engagement Strategy
1. Personalize the Customer Experience
91% of consumers say they’re more likely to shop with brands that deliver personalized experiences. No matter when, where, or who they shop with, customers expect relevant offers and product recommendations.
But to deliver the level of personalization shoppers crave, you need data.
Dedicated customer engagement platforms enable you to collect valuable first and zero-party data throughout the buyer’s journey. For example, receipt processing and validation tools offer powerful insights into purchase and behavior data captured at point of sale (PoS). While machine learning algorithms let you review past interactions to predict future trends.
This helps you segment customers to deliver personalized messages and experiences for every shopper, at every touchpoint, and at every stage of their journey. Customers feel more connected and valuable to your brand and are more likely to shop with you in the future.
“In this world of growing consumer demands, changing demographics and the cultural shift in the markets, brands must enthusiastically engage their customers with more personalized experiences and innovative campaigns.”
Tom Treanor, CMO, Snipp Interactive
2. Create a Consistent Customer Journey
Most customers are channel agnostic. Some like to view products in the flesh before they make a purchase. Others enjoy the convenience and flexibility of mCommerce. But most prefer a mixture of the two.
74% of customers use multiple channels during a transaction. A typical customer might evaluate their options online before visiting the nearest store to complete their purchase via click and collect.
The right combination of martech solutions makes the transition from online to in-store seamless. This allows you to instantly connect with customers on their preferred devices, so they’re engaged with your latest product updates, promotions, and news.
3. Elevate Your Customer Rewards Programs
Traditional gift-with-purchase reward programs were all about free merch and coupons. But today’s customers expect more.
The smartphone has transformed how customers engage with promotions. Convenience is king. Customers are no longer content with physical coupons they must redeem in-store. They want relevant, digital rewards they can redeem when and where they choose.
Experiential reward programs have also gained traction as brands search for new ways to engage their customers.
UK insurance company Vitality offers customers Vitality Points for being active.
Once the customer links their fitness tracker to their Vitality account, they can earn up to 8 points per day by completing a certain number of steps, exercising for a set amount of time, or visiting a partner gym. They can exchange their points for discounts on fitness products, access to exclusive sportswear collections, Amazon Prime memberships, and a host of other rewards.
Rewards platforms have everything you need to develop tailored omnichannel programs that increase brand engagement and incentivize customers.
“We all live in an experience-driven, socially connected world. Brands that don’t listen to their customers also risk facing consumer backlash.”
4. Analyze Non-Purchase Engagement
Non-purchase engagement can tell you a lot about your customers.
For example, social media interactions give you unfiltered access to your customers’ opinions:
- How they perceive your brand
- What they think about your products
- What their biggest pain points and challenges are
- Where they think you can improve
Brand engagement platforms let you track non-purchase engagement across your brand. They provide a treasure trove of behavioral data you can use to enhance your reward and loyalty programs and increase brand engagement at every stage of the customer journey.
What Should You Look for in a Customer Engagement Partner?
Customer engagement platforms differ in ease of use and technical capabilities. Finding the one that’s right for you depends on your requirements and objectives. At the most basic level, you need something that lets you:
- Activate and validate customers in any channel
- Access granular data to segment and target customers more effectively
- Personalize every stage of the customer journey
- Enhance engagement with preferred reward systems
- Seamlessly integrate new technology
Take a look at these top customer engagement examples.
You Know How to Improve Customer Engagement. But Why Should You Care?
Fully engaged customers represent a 23% premium in wallet share, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth over the average customer. The more engaged your customers are, the better it is for your bottom line.
With the right solutions, you can create effective and scalable brand engagement strategies that provide the insights you need to:
- Refine your products and services
- Build lasting customer relationships
- Streamline the path to purchase
- Increase brand loyalty
Contact us to start brainstorming your next customer engagement campaign.
Nov 14, 2024
5 min read
