Why Customers love Engagement and how it translates into Great Customer Experience

Why Customers Love Engagement and how it Translates into Great Customer Experience

Imagine this scenario: A customer has a query and the first thing he does is to find your social media page and write a post. It goes unanswered for a few days. What impression does that leave of your brand with that customer? Especially if you have spent time in establishing that your brand is warm and friendly? And if this customer has the power to influence a lot of people, imagine the kind of damage that can be done.

One bad review may not spoil your brand’s reputation, but how you have failed to engage with a customer may lead to missed opportunities.

Engagement is when you’re able to generate contextual conversations around your brand to create brand recall, brand building and brand evangelists. It is the elephant in the room that you can no longer afford to ignore.

So what?

The number of mobile internet users in India is expected to reach 478 million by June 2018 says a report by IAMAI (source). Thanks to cheaper smartphones, affordability, and penetration of data services in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, and 4G, India is fast becoming a mobile-first country.

Consumers are increasingly engaging on social media, reading reviews, blogs, etc. and taking ‘real’ and ‘human’ opinions to decide their purchasing behaviour. Word of mouth has never been at its strongest than now and if you are not using these platforms to engage with potential customers, you are ignoring a major arena where they are present but you are not.

Businesses have been increasingly trying to create a human element to their brands. Consumers are engaging in real-time with brands, either to fix issues or praise them. It is a great way to not only bring them in on how you do what you do, it helps in building relationships and establishing the value proposition that you bring to the table. It satisfies an innate curiosity humans have on how things are run.

Why should you care?

Engaging with what your customer is saying, listening to their feedback and most importantly asking them what you can do differently ultimately leads to improving business processes based on insights.

Survey forms were the traditional way of closing an after-sales loop but engagement works a little differently. It is not limited to a customer who is already purchasing a product or service but also loops in potential customers.

In a world where there are a number of apps selling clothes online, how have you differentiated your brand? By engaging with the customer, you build trust and competitive advantage. Think about it. Why wouldn’t a customer go to a brand that will answer his or her queries than stay with one that doesn’t bother to respond?

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt

If your business processes are responsive to what your customers are saying, you create a space for them to start thinking of building a long-term association with your brand.