In the current marketing landscape, it’s become imperative to understand customer experience and overall customer engagement. With the pace of today’s business environment, it can be hard to keep track of individual customer interactions, much less be able to connect them in a meaningful way. For most businesses, customer engagement translates to better conversions, more profits, and more satisfied customers. However, with so many models out there and so many companies offering customer engagement software, it can be hard to determine which one’s right for your company. .To help you figure that out, we’ve created this guide on the seven most effective models of customer engagement.
What is a Customer Engagement Model?
A customer engagement model is a process by which your business interacts with and services customers. The internet has completely revolutionized how companies interact with their customers, but it’s also ushered in a new era of customer engagement.
Today’s customer engagement models are more advanced than ever. From omnichannel customer engagement and customer experience platforms to next-gen techniques, businesses are utilizing more than one strategy when it comes to engaging with their customers. Utilizing multiple methods not only increases a company’s reach but also provides a stellar customer experience. With today’s customer engagement, there is no longer just one way to effectively engage customers;
Here are seven proven models for customer engagement that you can use for inspiration for your own strategy:
1. Touchpoint Analysis (Know Your Customer Journey) :
It’s critical for customer-centric companies to first and foremost know their customers, how they engage with businesses, what types of digital or physical touchpoints they use (in other words: wherever and however your customers connect with you). Customers have changed so much in terms of their expectations, desires, and behaviors; it’s now more important than ever that you know who they are. And once you do, it’s vital that you then consider all of their needs during every step in their journey. In a world of omnichannel engagement—think about voice assistants, chatbots, and wearable devices—it’s crucial that you don’t just think about where your customers are today but also where they will be going tomorrow as consumers continue to change over time.
A customer experience platform (CXP) is a single place where organizations can begin to collect and analyze real-time data about their customers. The more touchpoints an organization has with its customers, the more challenging it can be to consolidate all of that data into one platform for analysis.
CXP enables companies to identify patterns and trends from across channels so they can understand what resonates best with customers at each stage of purchase. When you better understand your customer’s motivations throughout each journey phase—considering what worked during each step along the way—you have an opportunity to improve upon current experiences while enhancing future interactions. Using omnichannel customer engagement platforms, brands are gaining new insights into how they can create a unified customer experience in every possible interaction point.
2. Emphasize Customer Retention :
Customer retention is more important than customer acquisition, as it is much cheaper to keep a customer than acquire a new one. It costs six times more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. A better approach is to focus on what you can do in your business to create positive and memorable experiences for your customers – an effective way of improving their overall perception of you and inspiring them to continue using your services. The majority of customers will tell you how much they like or dislike your service; these reviews are just as valuable, if not more so than newly acquired customers.
3. Using the Cloud-Based Communication System :
Modern businesses understand that providing customers with a positive experience is crucial for building loyalty and long-term profitability. But not all businesses have a clear, efficient way of reaching their customers. Unfortunately, relying on outdated, time-consuming methods of communication can be costly and confusing for both customers and staff alike. One method that’s rising in popularity is cloud-based communication platforms. While these technologies aren’t new, it’s only now that they’re gaining widespread appeal in helping businesses optimize their customer engagement strategies. Using a cloud-based communication system allows you to create innovative ways to connect with your customers across multiple channels and devices.
4. Implement Chatbots :
In recent years, a lot of buzzes have been generated around artificial intelligence and chatbots. A combination of these two technologies could potentially revolutionize how we interact with customers—and it’s already starting to happen. The easiest way for companies to incorporate chatbots into their customer engagement strategy is through a cloud-based CRM (customer relationship management) platform. This type of software helps companies manage their entire customer journey from lead generation, through marketing automation, and eventually up until support is needed.
5. Omnichannel Voice :
Today’s customer isn’t loyal to just one channel; they want a seamless and consistent experience across all their preferred channels. An omnichannel voice platform helps businesses deliver an exceptional customer experience by enabling them to engage with customers through multiple points of contact. By providing a central view of all inbound communications, call routing, and management, companies can personalize interactions for each individual customer and deliver information based on their preferences.
6. Nurture Email Campaigns :
Email nurture campaigns let you send automated emails to your customers based on previous behavior. When someone visits your site but doesn’t make a purchase, for example, you can send them a series of emails over time that offers encouragement to come back and shop. This can improve customer engagement and create brand loyalty.
7. Textual Marketing Automation :
The best way to engage your customers is to talk to them directly. Textual Marketing Automation allows you to send marketing messages directly to a customer’s mobile device using text messaging. With SMS, you can provide any kind of information and make on-the-spot offers that will be more relevant than traditional emails or letters. It also allows for an engagement at just about any time of day, which will increase your customer experience and encourage repeat business.
Conclusion :
Engaging with customers online is all about balancing multiple touchpoints. If you’re having trouble finding new ways to engage with your customers, here are seven proven models for customer engagement. Hopefully one of these models will be a good fit for your business. The key is to have a strategy and be consistent in your messaging across all channels—and don’t forget to measure what works so you can further refine your customer engagement plan!
