Businesses connect with their customers through a variety of ways. Website contact pages show company details and allow customers to message directly. Marketing materials display the brand and the best ways to reach the company. And social media allows customers to communicate in real-time. How well a company leverages these mediums for customer engagement and interaction will play a big role in its success. But just because a company has all these avenues for communication doesn’t mean that clients are connecting in the way they’d prefer – and this is what companies should aim for.
To truly reach their demographics, companies need to look beyond themselves and adopt a customer-first perspective in these matters. So here are a few ways you can do so and optimize your customer engagement process to make life and business easier for everyone:
Just Ask Them
This seems like a no-brainer but it’s something that can get taken for granted. Want to know which avenue your customers prefer, so you can optimize your system? Just ask them and you’ll find out! So pose the question on your social media accounts, post surveys and questionnaires, and embed them in your website as well. See what they say and respond accordingly.
Knowing the Customer Engagement Cycle
This cycle is the four-part sequence in which your company generates leads and creates customers. It begins with marketing, which is how it becomes visible to potential customers or leads. Then these leads make contact with the company, or vice versa, and this is when deals are made. Up next comes delivery, when the customers get the actual product of service. The fourth phase is customer support, which ensures their satisfaction, answers their concerns and helps ensure that they come back for more.
By knowing this process well, you can tailor it and make the necessary tweaks to reach more customers. What type of marketing resonates well with the demographics you are looking for? Do they respond better to traditional advertisement or do online ads work better? By knowing your customers well, you’ll have great ideas for new products and services that might click with them and drive your business up. You can also expect the concerns they might have, or what customer support can do to really satisfy them. And by understanding your process, you can optimize it to make it hassle-free for your customers.
Delegating to Specialists
If your startup is under-staffed, or if you have to take a hands-on approach to affairs, then there’s a chance that customers might not get timely responses, so you won’t make as much sales or their concerns might go unanswered for some time. This isn’t ideal for any business.
Thankfully, with Virtual Assistants you’ll have the personnel needed for these sales and customer service roles. Have them spend more time with customers so your brand will build genuine relationships. Avoid canned or scripted responses if possible. Let your VA gather more information on your customers’ preferences and tailor your strategy accordingly. Delegate away and see the productivity rise, while customers get the care they need. At the same time, you and your in-house staff can be freed to take on tasks you are better suited for.
Strengthening Customer Relationships
This is the ultimate goal of a customer-centric approach. By engaging with them with a coherent strategy and process that’s optimized and considers their preferences, your brand will get recognition and win their loyalty. And this is a big win, since loyal customers translate to guaranteed sources of revenue. Beyond that, genuine relationships are also key to
making work meaningful – so there’s more to it than cold, hard numbers. With this edge in customer engagement, you can make your brand truly stand out. Watch your business rise!
-John Li
