When you talk, do your customers listen? If you’re honest with yourself, the answer to this question might not always be “yes.” Customers are known to ignore brands – whether intentionally or unintentionally – and you need to make sure you don’t fall into this category.
Practical Ways to Engage Your Customers
Before the internet, businesses predominantly operated in physical locations – or at least with a presence in a local market. This meant face-to-face engagement was the norm. Even when business was conducted over the phone, the client and customer had the ability to easily meet in person and discuss or conduct business.
Then the world wide web came along and suddenly businesses were popping up left and right – many operating without any physical presence in a specific location. As a result, the primary point of engagement between brand and consumer shifted online. And though it’s cheap, convenient, and ubiquitous, online engagement presents challenges for both sides.
As a business, you run the risk of being ignored. Not only do customers have lots of alternative choices (i.e. you’re no longer the only brand in town), but there are so many distracting forces on the internet that it’s increasingly difficult for customers to focus on any one brand or experience.
If you feel like your customers are ignoring you, it’s because they probably are! You need a strategy for standing out and grabbing their attention. Here are some pointers that may help:
Stop Relying on Email
Email marketing is a staple for most businesses, but be wary of investing too much of your resources into this medium. Research conducted by Return Path shows that the average email read rate across all industries was just 21.5 percent in 2017. (In other words, more than three out of every four emails you send never even get opened.)
While email still has a place in modern marketing, it shouldn’t be relied on as the only mode of communication. There are plenty of other methods you can use to supplement email – including SMS (which has a 98 percent open rate).
“If you are looking to connect with our customers or members and are tired of having your message get ignored, deleted or buried in a sea of spam, text messaging can help,” TextMarks points out. “Not only is it useful in driving your target audience to the email you just sent informing them of what they should look for, but it is a very effective way to make sure your messages are delivered and seen.”
Make Your Content Glow
Every brand understands the importance of content, but most publish uninspiring content that’s vague, irrelevant, and highly ineffective. What you really need is inspiring content that stands out from the competition.
“A key element to inspiring content is that it doesn’t just deliver sales, it also boosts brand awareness and value,” tech journalist Bradley Cooper writes. “So, with all your content, you need to ask, ‘how will this improve my brand?’”
Don’t Ignore Your Customers
If your customers are ignoring you, it’s possible that you’ve ignored them first. This is especially common on social media. You can’t expect your followers to like, comment, and engage with your posts if you aren’t doing the same. Social media – and every other major marketing channel – is a two-way street.
Grab Your Customers’ Attention
It’s one thing to have a single competitor in a small town. But when you venture online, suddenly your business has dozens of competitors all across the region or country. This increases the chances that your customers ignore you and gives you an opportunity to step up your game. Make sure you’re taking full advantage of this and don’t miss out on the significance of customer engagement in building a brand.
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