How to engage your customers in 7 steps

Would you imagine just selling your products without smiling and caring employees? Would you go back to a shop where you had poor service and did not feel appreciated by the staff? Let me bet you have said no to both questions. Okay, I admit it, it was an easy guess. Knowing that 56% of customers will never use a company?s products or services again in the case of a negative experience with that company, having impeccable customer service is with no question a key to successful business (Brookes, 2013). So now that you understand how important customer service is, think for one second where do your customers purchase your products or services. This might not be the case for you yet, but there is great chance that you propose them to buy directly from your website. ?E-commerce is the fastest growing retail market in Europe.? (Retailresearch.org, 2015). It is expecting to grow by 18.4% in Europe between 2014 and 2015 with the total amount of goods sold online expected to reach £156.67 bil l ion in 2015. So if you care about the success of your company, the following might be of your interest.

PART 3 - ONLINE INTERACTION

Engage - Ampl ify - Convert

Pictawall

https:/ / pathologyservices.wustl.edu/node/75

The impact of online interact ion: The move towards more online purchase has a major impact for your business: your customer service must be as good online as on-site. When a customer tries to reach you, you would better be prompt in your response. By talking directly to your customers online, you give yourself a chance to build stronger relationships with them and stronger customer relationships

means more loyal ty and more sales (Bollen and Emes, 2008). Responding to online negative comments is actually a satisfaction for the author of the negative comment(s). On average, 83% of the authors of negative comments appreciate the fact that the company takes time to reply to them (Roth, 2012). That might change their perspective of the company or product concerned and that gives you the opportunity to take notice of what has to be improved and what matters to your customers.

The importance of social media: Do not make the mistake of believing that customer service should be provided only on your company website. Most of your customers have Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram accounts and they use them to share their experiences, including the companies they buy from. Social media have the advantage to let your customers talk about you, either in a good or bad way. If the comments are good, all I can say is good job, you have worked hard to get your customers take some of their t ime to say how wonderful you are. But if the comments are negative, well everyone can see them and you?d better expect some negative consequences on your reputation and results. However, in both situations the same issue arises: you do not have any control over what is said about you. As people hate when others talk about them behind their back, so should you for your company. The internet and especially social platforms from forums to Facebook have given this opportunity for people to not just talk about you face-to-face but also on the web and to spread it everywhere around the world.

If you are active on these platforms, you have access to these comments and can react to them. That gives you more control over your image while at the same time gives you the opportunity to have real t ime interaction with your customers to create strong relationships with the most engaged ones and try to engage the others. In addition, you can always pretend you are a trendy and cool company on social media. However, as I have already mentioned in "The State of Social Media", you should not make the mistake to believe that all social platforms are the same. Each platform from Facebook to Pinterest has its own purposes and audience. Adapt your posts to where you are posting and who you are posting to. Among all platforms, YouTube is probably the most effective. Video content is far more engaging than words and they make your company lives in the eyes of your audience.

Tip: you have something fun that can make your customers laugh? Share it! Make your audience

See you next weekThis week was really nothing complicated, though essential. Participating to online conversation with your targets will not only help you control your image but it is also an excellent way to obtain information about what your customers want from you.

Next week, I will discuss the effect of promotional offers on your customers.

http:/ /www.sitelogicmarketing.com/peer-pressure-social-media-just-say/