Customer engagement is a definitive predictor of long-term business growth. When it drops, your retention rate suffers, ultimately impacting your bottom line.
The events of 2020 have significantly changed consumer spending habits. People are now shopping differently and are only turning to brands they know they can trust. These changes, which are likely to remain long after the pandemic fades, have forced businesses to reevaluate their customer experience (CX).
If you were able to keep your business operating despite the health and economic crisis - well done!
As we transition to the recovery phase and consumer confidence returns, we now need to look at 2021 as an opportunity to build customer relationships that will outlast COVID-19. But how do we proceed?
It all starts with developing growth-focused strategies that will increase your customer engagement.
The move towards a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model pre-dates 2020. In 2019, a study by Epsilon in partnership with the CMO Club revealed that 80% of marketers already agree that DTC is impacting their marketing.
As COVID-19 continues to impact consumer behaviour, the DTC model also continues to gain momentum. With more consumers embracing eCommerce, developing a robust DTC strategy is no longer just an opportunity for growth and profitability but a necessity.
Online DTC models, in particular, allow brands to own the entire customer journey resulting in better CX and increased customer engagement. Instead of selling through intermediaries, you can reach your customers directly and ensure your products, processes and communications are all optimised for the customer. You can also build a valuable first-party customer data asset.
Take OREO, where direct sales are capitalising on the growth of online shopping. OREO launched its DTC site called OREOiD. It allows customers to customise and design their cookies, including creme colours and dips. This strategy introduced OREO fans to a new level of personalisation while also enabling the brand to gain insights into their customer’s buying habits and preferences.
Today’s customers expect unique personalised experiences with the brands they care about. Responding to this demand will allow you to differentiate your brand from your competitors and establish stronger customer relationships that lead to repeat purchases and brand loyalty.
So how can you do this?
Start by having a strong focus on the customer lifecycle - the various stages every single customer goes through during their relationship with your brand.
Understand your customers’ behaviour and how they progress through their lifecycle and adapt your offers and communications accordingly. The goal is to stop customers from reaching the end of their buying journey. Instead, get them to circle back and continue being an active customer and ultimately become brand advocates.
Focusing on the customer lifecycle also means creating a harmonised retail experience where all your channels - online and offline - work together to help customers achieve their short and long-term objectives. Remember, it’s not just about being everywhere for your customers. It’s about showing up for the right customers at the right place and time.
Click here to learn how you can create incentive programs throughout the customer lifecycle to further improve customer engagement and advocacy.
2020 has accelerated the adoption of digital technologies. More companies have not only digitised their supply chains and internal operations but also enabled digital products in their portfolios.
A 2020 Mckinsey survey found that on a global level, there was a seven-year increase in the rate at which companies are developing digital or digitally-enhanced offerings. The Asia-Pacific region, in particular, has the biggest leap in digitisation (10-year increase).
However, it’s not just about selling more products.
Increase engagement and drive sustainable revenue growth by using digital technology to create more value for your customers. Go beyond providing functional goods. Align your products and services to your customers’ changing needs while delivering convenience, trust and relevant interactions at every touchpoint.
Nike, for example, stayed connected with its customers at a time when more people turned to activity apps to maintain their physical and mental well-being at home. It dialled up the strength of its digital ecosystem by offering virtual workouts on its Nike Training Club app. This move led to a spike in usage for its workout app, which then translated to strong engagement with its commerce app.
For instance, the brand’s weekly active users increased to 80% in China. This, in turn, drove users to purchase new workout gear, improving digital sales by more than 30%.
Reliable data that power dynamic decisions will help you increase your customer engagement this 2021. The current crisis has shown us again the importance of using both internal and external data to inform and predict customer needs.
Do you still experience fragmented information and conflicting data between your departments? If so, then you run the risk of having outdated and inaccurate data that can cause misinformed business decisions and poor CX outcomes.
One way to address the above issue is by using a customer data platform (CDP) that creates a persistent and unified customer database.
A CDP allows you to get a complete view of your customers by pulling customer data (including their demographic data, preferences, as well as transaction and interaction histories) from various sources. It then cleans the data before feeding it into your marketing, segmentation and business intelligence tools. The result is a full 360-degree view of every customer that enables your product, marketing and leadership teams to better understand the lifetime value of your customers and how they interact with your brand.
Take, for example, the Omneo Customer Experience Platform - a customer data platform with a retail CX specialisation. Designed for brands who are or who want to become customer-centric, Omneo allows brands to understand the current and potential value of their known customer asset.
Further, it feeds permission-based, zero-party information into a brand’s marketing, segmentation and insights tools. Zero-party data is that which is willingly provided and used by the customer. With Omneo, customers can create and own a personalised profile with the brands they care about. Allowing for deeper customer insights which the brands can use to provide their best customers with personalised services, experiences and incentives.
Customer behaviour and expectations are changing dramatically in the face of the pandemic. Integrating these growth strategies into your business roadmap will not only allow you to increase engagement in 2021 but also help you prepare your brand for the new normal.
