Lindsey, our Client Services Manager, is on hand again to give you essential insight from inside the world of advertising, marketing and design. This issue’s theme is the important idea of customer engagement. One not to be missed, we’re sure you’ll agree.

Blog- Customer Engagement
Can’t get no (customer) Satisfaction
“The customer is God,” as the old Japanese saying goes. And it’s an idea that needs to be heeded. In business it is imperative that you nurture a relationship with your customers. It helps reinforce your brand and increases brand loyalty. If, in contrast, you view your customers as one faceless whole you won’t have a brand for long.

But how do you connect with your customers?
Here are my five tips for great customer engagement:

1. 'Respect' your most precious asset
Respect. Countless people talk about it. Aretha Franklin sang about it. Some people even have it. One thing’s clear – it’s vital. What contributes most to customer engagement is how customers feel about the way you treat them. Where a problematic gap exists between brand promise and customer experience, the customer will probably say it’s down to a lack of respect. By listening and responding to their opinions and feedback you will drive your brand proposition forward.

2. If a job’s worth doing it’s worth doing well
Many businesses have trouble developing a system of customer engagement. They don’t have the time or resources to manage an integrated marketing strategy that allows them to consistently keep in touch and communicate with their customers. Yet if done well and consistently, successful customer engagement will have a direct impact on sales.

3. The times they are a changing
Times are changing fast in the world of marketing and the fundamental changes brought about by the internet, forums, blogs, and social networking sites, mean that branding has become a two-way communication. The customer is now in the driving seat and they have high expectations of what a brand should offer. Embrace this and you will reap the benefits: stand still and you will be left behind.

4. Focus on the customer, not the competition
Companies tend to view sales, market share and volume growth as the real indicators of success, forgetting a crucial factor: that the customer is the real owner of the brand. By connecting emotionally with the customer, consumers develop a passion for your brand. If this passion dies or is never established the strength of your brand (and therefore your future success) is significantly compromised.

5. Move from ‘customer satisfaction’ to ‘customer engagement’
When businesses evaluate brand success they often talk about ‘customer satisfaction.’ But it isn’t about satisfaction: it’s about engagement. You and your competitor will always have very similar customer satisfaction ratings. You have to find a way of demonstrating that you do a better job than them. You have to truly engage with your customers. This means creating a genuine dialogue between you and your customers, asking their opinion, finding out about them and acting upon this information. The continued health and future prosperity of your company is dependent on having a truly engaged customer base. Satisfactory is not good enough.

Whatever your opinion I’d love to hear what you think. Please email me at: Lindsey@liquidsolution.co.uk