Do you like to purchase from a company that is lifeless, barely showing any energy or passion?
The chances are that you don’t like to do so. A business that doesn’t inspire you is one that can’t move you towards the act of buying their product or service.
You would rather be a customer of the business that makes you feel like they are providing you with an offer that has immense value. The owner and employees of the company believe so passionately in their business that it shows through their interaction.
Unfortunately many business owners don’t know how to represent their business in this exciting manner. They operate a business that is stale and unappealing to the consumer.
Therefore, such businesses have a hard time converting people into customers, because their representation is so boring.
Now you don’t have to hire the circus and skydive from an airplane to promote your business as being super fun. But you do have to captivate the interest of your target audience and constantly keep them engaged with your business’s brand.
This will help your business develop loyal followers and engage your customers, which means long-term customers.
The following 4 strategies are the best ways to engage your customers – developing them into staunch supporters of your business.
1. Engage Your Customers
A business that shows appreciation for its customers is one that will have the most loyal customers in the world.
The fact that people chose your business as the preferred provider of the particular product or service you offer should be acknowledged.
There are various other competitors that they could have chosen to be a customer of, but your company won their patronage. Let it be known that you appreciate their support.
There are many ways that you can show your appreciation for your customers. Some include:
- Have a customer of the month. Put their face on your company’s walls or a designated page on your website for the entire month
- Send appreciation through email. Single out a handful of customers who made large purchases during the month or quarter, and publicly congratulate them through your email list, so that your other customers see this act.
- Have a customer appreciation day. Invite all your customers out to a day celebration, where they can have fun and enjoy being around other customers of your business.
2. Leverage the Power of Technology
The advancement of technology has made it very easy for businesses to engage your customers.
A business can connect with customers practically anywhere in the world almost instantaneously. So there is no excuse for your business not to leverage the power of technology.
How to leverage the power of technology:
- Mobile Marketing. Smartphones being used as people’s primary device for all their social needs is continually increasing. Therefore, your business should take advantage of mobile marketing, so that it can engage with its customers on the device that is always by their side. Once a notification alert goes off on their phone, people pick it up to see what they have received. The message they are seeing needs to be a text notification from your business promoting some new offer or special.
- Social Media Engagement. Social media is where people go to converse with like minded people and share their ideas. Your business needs to be their topic of conversation. Talk with your customers, create engaging content that they will want to share, show your company in action mode handling its customers needs. Your business most actually be active and social on social media.
- Interactive Content. You may have heard content is king. While that is true, interactive content is what sets all-star businesses apart from average businesses. Create online contest, provide quizzes and assessments, show fun videos; do things that get your customers involved with your business.
3. Build a Community
Today’s consumers want the businesses that they purchase from to be invested in their concerns.
This means working to understand their needs and constantly involving them in your decision making process.
This gives your customers a feeling of empowerment and makes them feel like they are more important to your business than an exchange of money.
How to build a community:
- Establish the Passion. Give your customers a reason to join your community. Let them know that your company is excited about further enhancing their experience with your products and services. Communicate that the community’s goal is to make them better users – working to increase the results produced from the use of your product or service.
- Give Users Power. Don’t try to dictate the conversation of your community users. Give them the opportunity to engage with one another, starting their own conversations and engaging how they choose. Only step into moderate and guide the conversation when things are getting out of hand.
- Solve Problems. The community is where people should be able to come to get in-depth answers. They are willing to invest their time within your community because of their desire to want to completely understand how to use your product or service to its full capacity. Consistently provide them with the knowledge that helps to achieve this goal.
4. Create Events
Bring your customers to you.
There is nothing better than being directly in front of your customers.
And doing it in a fun way makes them bigger fans of your business.
They are now able to talk with the people who provide them with products or services of great value – which helps to develop a deeper connection.
Ideas for events:
- Networking Event. Have your customers come out for an informal event. Just to socialize with you, your employees, and one another. You may be introducing a new product or service, but you want to keep it light and focused on them having a good time.
- Webinar: While this is not an in-person event, it gives you the opportunity to talk directly with your customers as they ask you specific questions. Giving them this time shows that you care about helping them succeed.
- Product Launch: Having your customers around as you reveal your product helps to build the excitement and enthusiasm. Letting your customers experience your passion first hand shows them that you are very serious about providing them with the best product possible.
Conclusion
It is very important that you actively engage your customers.
You create loyal customers by constantly showing your focus is on providing them a consistently great experience with your company.