How to engage your audience

Upping your customer engagement game is often a great way to get feedback, to create a community, to grow your client base and also gain insight.

Customer engagement is something we should do and try to do well. Companies can gain so much from being engaged with their clients, from getting their feedback, their insight, to increasing their sales and referrals, the opportunities are endless. But, how? How do we go about engaging, what can we do?

Here are our humble tips for upping your customer engagement game.

Get social

Social media is the perfect way to engage your audience. From LinkedIn to Facebook, Instagram and more, if people are following you, they’re interested in your business. Get on the channels, post your updates, share news. Where appropriate, try to be a little light hearted in your tone. Ask questions, use custom graphics, crack a joke. Social media can be a conversation between you and your clients, don’t be too serious and give them interesting, informative or funny, content. On our socials (LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram) we give out industry information, we talk about our products and we celebrate our staff and all the high days and holidays, and we do it in a conversational, informal tone where appropriate.

Reward engagement

Engaged customers are incredible. They’re evangelists for your brand, and potentially repeat spenders. So, if your clients are talking to you and providing feedback, reward them! You could create a loyalty scheme, a points program or offer discounts. Whatever you can do, make them feel valued and appreciated.

Share reviews

Trust is a big thing. It takes a long time to earn it and it can be lost in an instant. If you’re getting glowing reviews on sites like Trustpilot, or your clients are willing to tell others how happy they are with you, then share these reviews. Genuine reviews, from real clients, can often have a huge impact on others’ perceptions of your company.

Request and listen to feedback

We mentioned that the ability to ask your engaged followers for their feedback is a great benefit to a business. But … you’ve also got to listen to that feedback. There’s no use talking to your clients if you don’t listen to what they’ve got to say, even the negative feedback. In fact, it’s possibly more important to listen to negative feedback than positive. Converting a disappointed customer – and it happens – to a happy one is the best way to grow your reputation. Listen and then implement client suggestions where possible. Our CRM’s mass email module allows you to contact clients quickly and efficiently. Instead of promoting a new offer, perhaps use it to conduct polls or surveys from time to time.

Follow through

It’s great to listen, but the key to happy customers is action. If you make a promise to your clients, or tell them you’re going to do something, then do it. There’s nothing worse than failing to deliver. At FX Back Office, our CRM development teams work closely with our customer support to identify issues or needs and, if need be, develop custom solutions for our clients.

Get up on stage

Hosting your own events, or attending industry events is a great way to interact with your clients, many of whom you might never have actually met. Putting faces to names and getting the chance to shake hands or share a coffee is a great way to forge close bonds between your company and your customers.

Request referrals

Personal recommendations are often key in business. Leverage the good will your clients have towards your business by asking them to refer people to you. You’re likely to gain new customers through happy clients vouching for you. If you do this on a regular basis, you could even set up a referral program for your clients and manage it through a system like our Client Cabinet.

Say ‘Thank you’!

It’s that simple. Let your clients know that you appreciate them, do it in your emails, on the phone, on social media and in person. As we grow, we might forget the simple importance of the personal touch. Saying ‘Thank you’ is the easiest, most genuine, way of reinforcing our appreciation and our, well, thanks.

So. Thank you for reading. Now get out there and talk to your clients.