Look, it takes a lot of effort to engage and attract customers. That’s because your prospects have endless choices in the online world. Plus, they get constantly bombarded with content via social media, emails, web apps, etc. So whether you run an electronics shop or an online book store Book of Ra, you need to find ways to distinguish yourself from the sea of competitors. And the best way to do that is to keep creating memorable experiences for your customers.
However, coming up with something unique can sometimes tune out your existing customers. The fresh approach might seem too unfamiliar or edgy for them. So if you want to delight the clients you already have and connect with new audiences, it’s vital to find the right balance. And we’re here to help you with that. Here’s our top advice on engaging new customers while maintaining good relationships with the old ones. Let’s get started.
What Does it Mean to Engage Customers?
Every marketer wants to engage with customers online. But what does it actually mean to do so? Here’s the thing: you can measure the engagement. There’s a wide variety of data that shows you exactly how successful you are with it. For example:
- The bounce rate on your website indicates how many people click away after seeing a few pages. A low number shows that you’ve got engaged customers, meaning they’re happy to stick around consuming your content.
- The number of likes, shares, and comments on Facebook and Instagram posts shows your engagement rate on social media.
- You can even measure how many people open your marketing emails and whether or not they’re engaged enough to get to the bottom of these.
- Another number that shows engaged customers in digital marketing is how often they post reviews, testimonials, and other user-generated content.
Once you become aware of all these measurements and the factors that change them, you can engage customers and experience higher conversion rates with both new and old clients. Maybe your emails need a better copy. Or perhaps your website navigation is off. You can look at the analytics and see immediately what works and what doesn’t.
Customer Loyalty Programs Encourage Repeat Purchases
Customer loyalty programs are an excellent way to keep your customers interested in your content after they’ve made a purchase. And look, you don’t even need to sell them another item right away. The goal is to enhance the overall experience your clients have with your brand. They get to receive your newsletter full of relevant information and develop a relationship with your business. So when comes the time to buy the types of products you offer, your company will be the first one that comes to their minds. It works equally well on the people who have only bought from you once and on clients you’ve had for years.
If you enjoy playing online video games, you’re probably well aware of the customer loyalty programs of the gaming sites. These usually include discounts and promotional deals that you can not access from anywhere else. Regardless of your industry, you can copy this approach. There’s nothing more effective in gaining new clients and making existing ones return for a juicy promotion.
Deliver What the New Generation Wants While Keeping the Products (Pretty Much) the Same
Your current buyers fell in love with your products for a reason. And whether they enjoy the comfort of the shoes you design, or the thoroughness of your marketing work, you should know what attracted them to your business. An email survey, for example, works well to gather this type of intelligence. And once you’ve got the answers, it’s pretty simple to keep your existing customers. You only need to keep giving them what they love.
However, every business needs to keep widening its audience to stay competitive. And you don’t always need to change up your product line to do that. For example, maybe you produce popular handbags and want to appeal to a younger audience who are not yet familiar with your brand. Is it possible to engage these new customers with a product that isn’t fresh? Yes, it is. Firstly, you could keep the bag design pretty much the same it was a decade ago. That way, your loyal fans would keep buying from you. But then, you can add a new technical gadget to the product. Something like a smartphone charger could appeal to the younger generation.
Let the Old Customers Introduce You to New Ones
There’s a nifty way to generate quality leads, knowing that they’re most likely into the same type of content that your existing customers like. And that’s asking for recommendations. The clients who are happy with you wouldn’t mind convincing their colleagues, friends, and family to work with you. And the cool thing is that whoever new gets aboard does it for the same reasons that led the old clients to discover you. So you don’t even have to change your marketing approach to engage these customers and boost sales.
Also, asking for a recommendation is a great way to reconnect with your clients. And no, whether you do it via a phone call or an email, people won’t get annoyed by this. It can be pretty flattering when they get asked if they know someone who might benefit from your services. The confidential question makes people feel important and, most importantly, re-engages them with your brand and all the good things you provide.
A Community Forum Brings Everyone Together
What is a community forum? In a nutshell, it’s an event that brings together people who share a passion for your industry. So you get a room full of people who are already very engaged with what you’re doing. And here’s the best part: the people who have already fallen in love with your brand will share their excitement with those without prior knowledge about your specific business. So your fans will do the marketing for you.
Establishing and hosting a community forum also gives you a chance to address the issues you haven’t yet clarified on your website. These can be technical specifications of your products, news about future releases, etc. And again, customers who use this information to create their own promotional videos and articles will do you a big favor in engaging new leads.
Obviously, to engage customers during covid with a community forum can be a bit tricky. However, even in a limited capacity, it can still be a worthwhile endeavor. At least some of your audience can come together and feel like a close community. And you get the chance to engage customers with examples of your upcoming work, free brand merchandise, etc.
In Summary
Remember: sometimes your products only need a tweak, and they’re ready to attract a whole new generation. But the bottom line is this: if you want to engage customers, the strategy that keeps everyone aboard is building a community of fans. That way, the older clients will start doing the marketing work for you. They’ll recommend your business to their friends, create content around your doings, etc. Once you get people to come together to support you, there’s no stopping to what you might achieve. And what could be better?
How do you engage and activate new customers while keeping the existing ones aboard? Share what has worked in your business in the comments.
