Customer engagement and loyalty, as the words themselves suggest, are important for the sales and promotion of a company. The more your customers engage with your firm, the more they contribute to the growth of your firm.
Before we get started on our guide on customer engagement and loyalty, it is necessary to understand these terms. In this guide, we’ll be exploring the engagement and loyalty of consumers, the impact they have on your brand and how can you effectively increase their influence.
What is customer engagement and loyalty?
Customer engagement basically means engaging with your customers. It refers to the ongoing interactions between a company and the consumer, through which you build a relationship with them. These interactions build a deeper connection with the brand which indirectly leads to more purchases and word-of-mouth advertising. Customer engagement includes social media pages and contests, brand emails, targeted discounts, sales messages, etc.
Customer loyalty, as it sounds, refers to consumers who are loyal to your brand. Good user engagement strategies lead to an established relationship between your brand and the consumer, making them loyal to your company. These customers are the ones that visit you frequently for various purposes and don’t seek to replace you with a competing brand. Implementing loyalty programs is one strategy that businesses often use to boost customer loyalty.
How does customer engagement and loyalty affect my business?
When you bring in new customers they become potential leads for your brand, but not necessarily customers willing to buy your products on a frequent basis. To convert these leads into loyal consumers you need to develop engagement techniques for the consumer to connect emotionally with your brand. When this happens, the leads become loyal customers, subsequently boosting sales.
A good engagement plan can contribute enormously to your profits. Almost 73% of consumers say that customer experience plays a key role in determining their loyalty to a brand. When consumers experience good engagement they are more inclined to buy from that particular brand. Companies that have an effective customer experience program can bring in much more revenue than others.
What more motivation do you need to have already started working on a customer engagement plan?
What are the easy but effective ways to increase customer engagement?
Customer engagement techniques differ from brand to brand because every company has different consumer experience requirements. We have listed some result-driven ways for consumer interaction which are quick and simple to apply.
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Establish a loyalty program
You might be aware of how a loyalty program works and the extraordinary results it can bring. Most big name brands offer exclusive loyalty programs to their customers as a part of their customer engagement plan. 70% of consumers say that they are likely to recommend a brand if it has a good loyalty program.
You can create a scheme in which a customer is rewarded with points every time they make a purchase. This helps strengthen a consumer’s understanding that they also benefit from buying your products. Reciprocation of gain incentivizes customers to return to your brand, which is why a good loyalty program is a must. For inspiration, you can check out the incredibly successful programs offered by Sephora and Starbucks.
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Social Media connect
As the world is moving towards a ‘We can do everything from our phone’ mindset, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many consumers spend lots of their time on social media. Therefore, launching campaigns on social media platforms can be extremely beneficial for your business.
Getting started is easy. You simply need to create an account on each major platform and establish a presence. Quality content, contests, giveaways, and other calls to action, if used correctly, can be a huge boon to your business.
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Encourage word of mouth referrals
Nothing works better than word of mouth referrals because it is seen as authentic and genuine recommendation of a brand after a positive experience.
But most customers won’t begin spreading the word until they have something in it for them. You can try encouraging your customers to spread the word by offering them special offers or discounts if someone from their recommendation list switches to your brand. This provides customers with a reason to advertise your brand voluntarily. Many big companies do this. For example, Uber offers customers a discount on their next ride if they recommended the app to someone who becomes a customer.
How do I know if my strategy is working?
Retaining customers and converting them into loyal ones is much easier task than acquiring new consumers, however, the strategies mentioned above can generate guaranteed results only if properly carried out. This requires effective implementation of your strategy, meaning you’ll need to keep track of your customers and their purchases.
There are different methods through which you can calculate the effectiveness of your strategy, such as the repeat purchase rate (RPR). RPR is the percentage of customers who have made purchases at your stores more than once in a year. It gives you a clear picture of your loyalty program’s efficacy, but these methods can also be time-consuming. It is advisable to use an automated software that can analyze, personalize and segment your customer data and generate reports. Most software also has features to notify when customers begin losing interest and need to be given incentives to re-engage with the brand. Why tire yourself if you can use technology to good use?
Wrapping up!
Customer engagement programs do not follow a stiff line of techniques. You have to keep experimenting and improvising your plan, looking at what works best for your brand awareness and your customers. Once you have figured that out, there’s nothing that can stop you from boasting a large list of customers that will remain loyal to your brand and not switch to one of your competitors. It is a process that takes time and patience, but I hope this beginner’s guide helps you get started.
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