HOW TO STAY CONNECTED WITH CUSTOMERS DIGITALLY

Connection, the concept has certainly taken on new meaning in the past year. Like just about all other aspects of our daily life, staying connected has evolved. As customer-business interactions have been reduced to a trickle, it’s up to businesses to find innovative ways to stay connected with customers and keep the productive dialogue alive.

Connecting with customers can be challenging in a world where social distancing does not exist. Fast forward to a world where social distancing DOES exist, it’s even harder and we have to get a little more creative.

We are sure lunch dates, drop-by office visits, and in-person brainstorm meetings will make a comeback, in the meantime, it is still important to nurture and build upon partnerships digitally. A robust digital presence is an extension of yourself, your company, and your brand. By shoring up this presence you control all aspects of the customer experience, be sure to create something your customers will appreciate and participate in.

Creating personalized customer experiences is the most successful tool to build stronger customer relationships. This means really diving into the space. Creating personalized messaging that goes beyond simply addressing customers by name and creating a positive experience that satisfies the need for connection.

Let’s talk about a few easy ways to implement an all-inclusive immersive digital experience!

Dust off that trusty marketing toolbox, utilize the marketing tools at hand to build long-lasting online relationships via customization. What do we mean by customization you ask?  Tailoring messaging relative to customer’s location, type of mobile device, and search history (yup get a little "stalkerish" in the marketing sense, not the real stalker sense that's just creepy). You can implement a solution for personalized product recommendations on your website, in custom email campaigns, and in social media ads. Engagement is key here, by creating and launching personalized messages it helps to build long-lasting online relationships.

Connect via social media, gone are the days where social media is only about “friends and family”….it’s time to leverage your business connections and customer relationships online via the most popular way to stay connected, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter.
You may be thinking that social media is a bit too impersonal when it comes to establishing and nurturing customer relationships, throw that thought to the wind. Social media allows businesses to provide more opportunities for customers to interact with and share their stories. Even the most loyal customers need to feel that the brands they love also love them back!

Send exciting email content, you know the fun to read, full of good info, but not too much fluff email campaigns. Mix it up, ask for feedback by utilizing the google suites “forms” program. Google provides a plethora of interactive platforms that are easy to deploy and use.  Conduct giveaway campaigns on social media and in email campaigns…EVERYONE loves some cool swag. Give customers a behind-the-scenes look at production or the culture of your brand in a weekly email campaign, something they'll look forward to getting in their inbox.

Lastly, show your appreciation. We cannot express this enough. The key to connecting with customers in a digital space is to show your appreciation. Customer project highlights in email campaigns are an excellent way to showcase your work as well as your customers. Engage your audience on social media, as you would like them to engage you. It’s easy to take a few minutes each day to like and share customer content. Cross-pollination like this encourages positive relationship building and keeps you top of mind. Then there’s always the tried-and-true promotional item drops. Nothing beats a useful and relevant branded promotional item drop at a customer's doorstep.