Ways to Increase Small Business Customer Engagement - GIP Blog
Written by on Saturday, January 1, 2022 12:00 AM
Written by on Saturday, January 1, 2022 12:00 AM
The phrase “client engagement” has definitely come up while you’ve been promoting your small business. Customer engagement includes all of your interactions with clients, whether they take place offline or online.
This marketing strategy capitalizes on the demand for personalization and in-the-moment communication across all sizes of enterprises. Understanding how to increase engagement, though, is quite a different matter. The obvious first step is to use traditional customer service channels, but there are innumerable alternative ways to increase interaction and cultivate loyalty.
What is the first action you take when a customer enters your business? Certainly, you would start by letting them know they are welcome in your business! The same applies to your email marketing plan. Send a welcome email as soon as someone subscribes to your newsletter or makes a purchase. This is a terrific approach to demonstrate to your consumers the value of your business and the care and attention you will devote to them.
Welcome emails set the tone for your connection with customers. By being a gracious host, you lay the groundwork for an enduring connection. Make it known that you welcome customer feedback. Use a personalized email account in the sender box instead of a “do not reply” address for this purpose. Humanizing your brand by putting a name behind your customer service increases engagement. To further personalize the experience, include the customer’s name in the subject line or body of the email to enhance this level of customization.
Pro Tip: Ensure that the messages you send are suited for mobile devices, as people check their email on mobile devices as well as desktop computers. Consider employing a design that automatically adapts to different screen sizes, so that it will appear fantastic on all devices.
Whether you’re sending an email, a social media message, or a blog article, generating relevant content for your consumers is one of the most effective methods to increase customer interaction and demonstrate your expertise. Before taking any action, you should determine what would resonate with your audience and then develop a content strategy.
Video is one of the most captivating forms of content that you can make. When developing helpful content, give video a shot, whether you’re creating videos for your website or experimenting with TikTok.
Recognizing that your clients have chosen to engage in business with you is quite fundamental in business. It also generates positive connections with your brand. In addition, your customers will appreciate a personalized, surprise message that does not require them to do anything other than feel valued by your business. Just as you would welcome guests into your home, be sure to express your gratitude to your customers.
This form of outreach aids in humanizing your business and communicating its vision and values to your customers. An intentional and sincere gesture of appreciation goes a long way toward developing customer loyalty and attracting and encouraging people to interact with your business. You can go the electronic route and send a thank-you email, or you can choose a note written by hand to leave a more traditional feel.
Rewarding clients for their loyalty is an excellent marketing strategy…and it can also increase customer engagement. In addition to expressing gratitude for consumers’ continuing patronage, a rewards program will persuade them to choose your company over a competitor. Whether you provide a punch card for every tenth transaction or additional bonuses throughout the year, a loyalty program can help clients feel connected to your brand. You can even create a custom experience with our gift card holders or punch cards.
We’ve all heard the concept of striking while the iron is hot. Many of your engagement techniques will be enhanced by paying attention to scheduling and send times. Utilize platform-specific analytics and insight tools to determine when your audience is most active on social media, and then adjust your posting schedule accordingly. If fresh content is published while your followers are on the site, they are more likely to engage, comment, like, or share it than if it were published hours or days later. Incorporate these particular times into your social media posting schedule to ensure consistency. Followers are more interested in real-time updates because they want to be the first to like or comment, and sometimes they even share an update with their network.
Pro Tip: Try to send your email communications during the week, preferably on Mondays or Thursdays. On weekdays, people are more likely to open your email and engage with your business than on weekends. Timing is crucial, and paying close attention to activity periods will increase client engagement.
Conversations with customers are one of the most effective strategies to boost customer engagement. Start a dialogue by adding a Q&A button to your Instagram story or by replying to social comments and direct messages, an email from a customer, or a Yelp review. Remember that customer engagement is all about communicating and demonstrating that you value your customers’ time and interests. In addition, communicating with customers individually is an excellent approach to remind them that there is a real person behind your business.
Take your efforts to the next level beyond simply listening and replying. Take your communication one step further by proactively requesting feedback. You can accomplish this in a less formal manner, perhaps by running a poll on social media. Or, you may delve further with a customer survey; send one periodically to your email list, or include a QR code that links to a brief survey on the bottom of client receipts. When you solicit feedback from clients, you make them feel appreciated and encourage them to participate in your business.
It’s not difficult to improve your engagement and enhance your customers’ experience. It does take intention and effort, though. We can stand out from all other businesses in our industry if we become different, and being different simply requires being memorable.
With the tips above, you will have the opportunity to create a gap between you and your competition. Customers will not only recognize your efforts, they will appreciate them. Take these tips and start improving your elevated customer engagement practices immediately. Need help standing out in other ways? Our online printing services team can show you how to create memorable stationery, business cards, flyers, and more. Reach out to the Gold Image Printing team for a free consultation on your next project.