MAKE IT HAPPEN |
September 2023
How To Craft A Fool-Proof Customer Engagement Strategy In Four Steps
Brandon Wright
When you walk into your average jewelry store, you’re likely greeted by a sales associate as you walk in, asked if you need help finding anything, and maybe even told about a sale or promotion going on that day.
As a store owner, if your customer engagement ends there, then you’re missing out on a big opportunity to build relationships with your buyers and retain them long-term.
So what else is there to customer engagement than a friendly greeting? Read on for the tips you need to build a solid customer engagement strategy.
Why is engaging with your customers important in retail?
Investing in customer engagement efforts is certainly a lot of work for both you and your sales team, but it’s well worth it for more reasons than one.
- Customers will pay more for a better experience: Data from a PwC report found that U.S. consumers are willing to pay up to 16% more for a product or service if the business offers a great customer experience.
- Disengaged customers can cost you: Forbes reported that businesses lose up to $75 billion in revenue due to poor customer service. What’s more, 67% of consumers are willing to switch brands because of a poor customer experience.
- Engaging with customers is the best way to learn about them: If you want to learn more about your target audience—what motivates them to buy, any emotional connections they have, or people in their life they shop for—there’s no better way to find out then by directly engaging with your current customers.
Building better customer relationships starts with a solid customer engagement strategy. These tips will help you turn your average customer into a regular buyer with your brand.
1. Set a formal business goal around customer engagement
The best way to turn a nice idea into an actionable plan is by tying goals to it. By setting a business goal for your customer engagement, your sales team is far more likely to invest the time and effort into making it happen.
While goals related to sales and customer acquisition are important, dedicating goals to customer relations also goes a long way financially. Data from Bain & Company found that increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25%.
2. Make it personal
Once you have a goal in place, creating personalized experiences for your shoppers should be the first step of your customer engagement plan. It’s what today’s consumers expect from retailers—and they’ll likely spend more than they would have otherwise if they find it at your store.
According to the Business Impact of Personalization study, people are 40% more likely to spend more than planned when they identify the shopping experience to be highly personalized.
Smiling Rocks
14k white gold 2.50ctw. LGD Air Collection
bracelet
MSRP $2,499
smilingrocks.com
800.872.6840
Jewelry Innovations
Serinium® men’s ring with
cabernet and turquoise
inlays, feather engraving
MSRP $927
800.872.6840
3. Engage both in and outside the store
While it’s natural to engage with customers when they’re in your store, it’s easy to forget that customer engagement shouldn’t end there. After all, customer retention is all about staying in touch with past customers on their channel of choice to make sure they keep coming back.
What’s more, customer feedback often doesn’t come to you when you’re with a customer faceto- face. Instead, online review platforms and social media channels are where you’ll find this insight. That’s why online engagement is just as important as in-store interactions.
4. Get the timing right
Finally, it’s important to get the timing right when engaging, or reengaging, with customers so you don’t communicate too much—or too little. A survey from Emarsys found that a lot of retailers haven’t quite figured out how often customers want to hear from them.
The survey found that 61% of retailers surveyed think their customers want to hear from them multiple times a week. However, only 31% of consumers agree with that schedule. Most prefer to be contacted once a week or less.
Paying close attention to the open, unsubscribe, and unfollow rates on your emails and other digital channels will help give you an idea if your customer engagement marketing strategy is in line with your customers’ expectations.
Black Label Kelly Waters
Platinum finish silver micropave
open link bracelet
with simulated diamonds
MSRP $230
800.647.7017
How do you measure customer engagement?
Once you’ve got a customer engagement platform or strategy in place, how do you know if it’s working?
Below are a few common customer engagement metrics you can use as a measuring stick to see how your team is doing on both your in-store and online customer engagement efforts:
- Conversion rates: How many of your customers completed an action you have tied to your campaign goal, like signing up for an email newsletter?
- Social media metrics: How many of your customers are following you on your social media channel of choice, or better yet, commenting on and sharing your posts with their friends?
- Customer reviews: How many five-star reviews have you received in a given month or quarter?
Samuel B.
Sterling silver labradorite woven
design hinged bangle
MSRP $299
516-455-2615
Conclusion
Launching an effective customer engagement plan can seem like a big undertaking, but it’s well worth the effort—especially if you utilize a clienteling tool like Clientbook to make it that much easier. By following the steps in this article, you’ll make deeper connections with your customers and create relationships that will last a lifetime.
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