Want Results? Engage, then Measure Your Marketing

In today’s marketplace, engaging customers is less about sales and marketing, and more about creating a mutually beneficial relationship—a relationship based on respect and the fact that you need your customers as much as they need you. Customer feedback helps you improve your business, which lets customers know they’re heard and appreciated. In turn, this fosters brand loyalty. Building engagement to get the desired customer feedback takes time and effort.

Make Your Sales Message about Your Customers

It’s important to ensure your customers know about your company and the products or services you provide, right? Wrong! Customers don’t care; they are out to find something specific. Your job is to craft quick and effective sales messages that position your company as the only option for getting the customer to his or her goals.

Instead of saying, “Our company specializes in [product/service].” say, “Customers turn to us for [the products/services you provide] because [something you know the customer values, but can’t get from the competition].”

Your customer decides if and when to engage, so it makes sense to push the odds to your favor. Changing your message to focus on the benefits you have to offer, rather than leaving them for the customer to figure out, increases the likelihood the customer will buy from you.

Strengthen Your Connection with Transparency and Trust

Engaging your customers emotionally is key to building brand loyalty. Though it can be difficult to recognize and measure emotions, customers who are emotionally engaged will: buy more, compliment more, share your message with friends and family, and ultimately complain less. How your company uses customer data is critical to the emotional connection. By allowing your customers to control what information they provide and how it can be used, you put your customer in control. When the customer feels in control, they’re more at ease and likely to trust your brand.

Engage Your Customers Everywhere

Today’s customers are “always connected.” Focus on mobile platforms and remember, you can engage your customers anywhere, anytime. In fact, according to ComScore, as of May 2014, mobile device use accounts for 60% of time spent with digital media. And, if you think mobile web is all you need – think again.

Mobile app usage now accounts for 51% of time spent with digital media. According to a study from Artisan Research, nearly 80% of respondents said the apps they browse or make purchases from are typically the same brands they buy from online or in-store. Not engaging customers on-the-go is a missed opportunity. With attention divided in so many directions, engaging customers with mobile integrates you with their daily lives, and provides a chance to nurture the relationship.

Measuring for Success

Marketing campaign success definitions vary widely, so set goals ahead of the campaign. When evaluating a marketing campaign’s success, measure a variety of metrics. Look closely at social interactions across all social media platforms. How often was content shared? How often did someone comment or like your post? How many times did someone re-tweet? Repin? Simply driving traffic to your website is not enough. What are the customers doing once they get there? What are your conversion rates? The higher these numbers, the better, as these are signs customers are engaged and listening.

You don’t have to be a data expert to interpret the information you collect. With an easy-to-use data analysis tool like DataHero, the work is done for you. With a visual representation of data you can use right in front of you, you can focus your efforts on what you do best – serving your customers. Make your data work for you and integrate the results into future marketing campaigns to see your engagement and conversions skyrocket.