3 Ways to Deliver a Deeper Customer Relationship

Courtney Simpson, the director of marketing at Startek highlights that digital communication channels and social media networks are dominating customer engagement, so brands must adopt personalized, omnichannel engagement strategies beyond traditional customer support and reward loyal customers

In an era of 24/7 connectivity, brand loyalty only lasts for as long as customers are happy and engaged. According to the Gartner Group, 80 percent of future revenue will come from just 20 percent of your company’s existing customers. With the future of your business already sitting right under your nose, there is an imminent need to deepen relationships with current customers to build trust, create positive experiences and drive brand loyalty. This article will suggest three ways to successfully deliver a deeper customer relationship.

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Omnichannel Engagement

For a new generation of connected consumers, digital and social media dominate customer engagement. This means brands must take a digital-first, mobile-driven approach to remain accessible across all communication channels and provide value for new and existing customers.

According to our recent survey, 84 percent of consumers contact a company using social media, email or live chat and 77 percent think it’s easy to communicate with a brand digitally. On the other hand, only one out of every ten consumers prefer using the phone to contact a company.

As new mobile devices, wearable technology and social media platforms enter the market, it’s important to understand how customers want to interact with brands on different engagement channels.

Understanding how, when and why customers want to engage digitally helps companies connect the web of channel interactions to create a seamless transition across contact center, online and social media channels. Build trust and brand loyalty by making each customer interaction more intelligent and engaging than the last.

Personalization

Empowered by social media and increased mobile connectivity, consumers now have more control over how they engage digitally and have come to expect a more personalized experience from brands. They want to connect with companies in a way that makes them feel comfortable and they want interactions to be uniquely tailored to their personal interests and needs.

The only way for brands to compete in an increasingly noisy market is understanding customer preferences and expectations for interacting on different engagement channels and building relationships through positive interactions and personalized engagement.

For example, our survey reveals 53 percent of millennials say they use social media to find deals and promotions. With the understanding that younger consumers are turning to social media to find specials, brands should engage them with personalized, channel-specific content that meets their needs of finding a deal.

Our survey also shows that Facebook provides the best customer service, which means brands need to allocate resources to focus on the channels with the most opportunity for engaging customers and providing the best support.

Whether they’re looking for a deal, making a purchase, or reaching out for help, the key to fostering deeper brand relationships is tailoring messages in a way that feels authentic and personalized to each individual customer based on their unique needs and interests.

Loyalty Rewards

There is a tremendous opportunity to create brand advocates through loyalty rewards programs by personalizing offers and communication in ways that meet customers’ needs and makes them feel special. In fact, 75 percent of consumers say loyalty programs are part of their relationship with brands.

Customer reward benefits and loyalty programs allow brands to actively influence consumer behavior and create efficiencies for a more positive, personalized experience. Trusted relationships come from positive experiences and investing one another’s success.

Brands that consistently reward customers and create personalized engagement experiences will not only make the customer feel special important, but will be able to build a long lasting relationship.

Final Words

Digital communication channels and social media networks are increasingly dominating customer engagement, especially for younger demographics. Brands must adopt personalized, omnichannel engagement strategies beyond traditional customer support and reward loyal customers to accommodate the shift in consumer preferences and deepen relationships with the brand.