We live in a digital era where brands have more ways to connect with their customers than ever. There is social media, live chat for website, email support, calls, digital communities and so much more where the customer-business interaction happens. Establishing and maintaining connection with customers is crucial in such a closely knitted world. According to a survey, “When customers feel connected to brands, more than half of consumers (57%) will increase their spending with that brand and 76% will buy from them over a competitor.” Connecting with online customers also demands speed and it can only be possible if you stay online 24/7. There are different channels that you can use to be there for your customers round the clock. We are going to list the ones that we have found to be the most trusted and effective ones in our talk with various marketers and brand managers.
Be Visible On The Search Engine
Research shows that 68% of the online experiences start with search engine which shows that the first touch point for 68% of the people online is the search engine. This clearly dictates the importance of being visible on the search engine. If you want to connect with new customers and stay in touch with the old ones then you must be in the visible range on the search engine. For this you can implement various SEO techniques to help boost your ranking to the first page of the search engine because 75% of users don’t even scroll past the first page of the SERPs. Ranking your website well on Google takes a lot of consistent effort and none of the SEO hacks that you might come across every now and then. The reason is simple because if you are relying on hacks, you will see a major decline in your ranking every time the search engine updates its algorithms. You need to focus on the technicalities in order to have a long-lasting impact rather than a quick surge in the rankings that will not last for even a week. Technical SEO is more important than before as you need to focus on website speed, mobile-friendliness and UI/UX. These are some of the things that should be in your checklist if you want to rank on Google in today’s competitive world.
Always Be Available Via Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is an umbrella term that covers the utilization of live chat service, text messages and chat bot to engage, convert and sell on various platforms. Conversational marketing is undoubtedly one of the best ways to stay connected with your online customers. It also comes as a natural next step to ranking your website on search engine. Live chat has evolved as a powerful to stay connected with your customers, offer them a great experience and make your website human. Live chat is a popular means of customer-brand interaction as 42% of consumers prefer live chat over any other means of connections, while about 63% of millennials prefer live chat for customer support. This shows how more and more people are now preferring conversational marketing and support because it is fast, reliable and efficient. If you have not yet installed live chat on your website or app, you might be losing a great deal of prospects by not being available when needed. By using live chat you can simply be there 24/7 whenever someone asks a question. Live chat is also crucial for offering a great customer experience especially when a lot of young customers now want human interaction.
Use Social Media For More Personalized Connection
Social media is a powerful tool that has become an integral part of daily lives. It plays such a vital role in our decision making when it comes to purchasing something that according to a study, nearly 90% of the people prefer buying from a brand that they follow on social media. Social media is one of the most effective ways to stay connected with your audience. Not only it allows you to connect with your customers at a personal level via direct messages but brands can also use various engagement methods to strengthen the bond between them and their customers. Businesses can use social media to showcase their behind-the-scenes images, share their brand philosophy and let other know about their opinions on various social topics.
Send Regular Newsletters
Newsletters and email campaigns are a great way to stay connected with your customers and keep them updated in the most professional manner. If you have a perception that email newsletters are dead, then think again. 92% of online adults use emails and remains a key strategic channel for about 91% of marketers. Despite the effectiveness of email newsletters, if you really want your customers to open your email and read the content then make sure your headline and the subject are catchy enough to grab their attention. It is also important that the content that you are sending out is relevant to your audience because otherwise it beats the purpose of staying in connection with your customer. The majority of email newsletters are sent out to keep the lead warm or to keep the customer/prospect in the loop in B2B as well as B2C. So depending upon the audience, the tone of your content should address the reader and talk to them directly.
If you are not using email marketing to stay in touch with your prospects and customers then you should start getting email signups which will help your business grow immensely.
Redefine Networking With Online Communities
Online brand communities are one of the most popular communication channels between brands and customers. These communities are often built and managed by brands themselves and sometimes by customers as well. These communities are a great way for brands to strengthen their connection with veteran and new customers alike. According to a report of survey, because of online communities, 66% felt an impact on customer retention,
68% found help in lead generation, and 55% experienced an increase in sales. In order to create your own online brand community, you first need to understand your brand personality and goals. Secondly, you need to identify the right platforms for your brand. It can be Spotify, Instagram, Facebook or even a Forum on web. Then you need to inform people about your community and once you have members, you need to be there and engage with the audience. Try to answer questions, announce special promotions for them and generally talk about interesting topics related to your brand philosophy. The community also helps you get loyal brand advocates that help encourage prospects to get onboard and become a customer. It is also the most reliable source of honest feedback that can help in product development.
All of the above methods have been used and approved by various marketers; however, every business is unique. We recommend that before you start putting in a lot of money and effort into each and every method, you should test which works the best for your business and your audience. You can also build upon the rest for added benefits but testing will clear the haze and you will know where to put the maximum work.
