An effective digital engagement strategy that makes use of valuable digital content improves the consumer experience and increases brand engagement.
In today's digitally dynamic marketplace, to grow, it is critical to give a clear message at the right time on an appropriate channel. However, the customer often juggles and jumps to interact with numerous channels and devices with the brands. So, automatically engaging the customers becomes challenging and of top priority for marketers.
The new-age customers are more demanding than ever. They are technology savvy and expect brands they deal with to be present on digital channels and technologies they are using. They expect tailored interactive and immersive communication that is both engaging and fascinating. It has become critical for businesses to go above and beyond to build meaningful ties with their customers.
Here, the blog emphasizes the importance of digital engagement to sustain and stay a step ahead in the competition by facilitating customer experiences.
1. Digital engagement, a vital marketing tool
2. Value addition from digital engagement
3. Stepwise application of digital engagement tactics in a customer's journey
4. Ethosh’s agile approach in establishing valuable customer experience
2. Value addition from digital engagement
3. Stepwise application of digital engagement tactics in a customer's journey
4. Ethosh’s agile approach in establishing valuable customer experience
Digital engagement, a vital marketing tool
But what exactly is digital engagement? It is the interaction with customers using digital tools (email, interactive video, 3D animation, graphics, etc.) and platforms (social media, website, IoT, immersive technology) to reach customers. It is about going the extra mile beyond the end of the sales funnel.
Digital engagement mainly focuses on building trust, emotional and meaningful connections, and strong
customer relationships. Digital content is disseminated across numerous touchpoints of the customer
purchase process in this method. In addition, successful digital engagement frequently attracts and establishes consumer experience. A captivating experience, on the other hand, fosters loyalty and brand equity.
According to a Salesforce study(1), 68% of customers expect brands to demonstrate empathy, but only 37% of companies deliver. In addition, 66% of customers hope companies understand their unique needs, but only 34% of them do. The data indicate that firms must enhance their marketing game by incorporating genuine digital involvement.
Image source: Salesforce
Value addition from digital engagement
Customer expectations and their brand requirements are rather emotional; it is more about building trust with seamless experiences. Businesses can cater to this through Digital Engagement at various touchpoints. For better digital customer engagement businesses need to:- Understand the various touchpoints in a customer's journey
- Identify content opportunities to enhance customer interactions at every touchpoint
- Create content suitable to these touchpoints to increase digital engagement & interaction
- Determine KPI matrix for effective digital engagement
- Based on understanding of customer behavior, refine, and enhance the content
Here are some statistics to support the need for digital engagement,
According to the annual State of the Connected Customer studies(2), 83% of customers now anticipate instant involvement when they contact a company, up from 78% previously.
In the year 2019 however, 54% of customers(3) believe that businesses must radically change how they engage for creating better digital experience.
And 88% expect businesses to accelerate their digital endeavors. Furthermore, 86% of buyers are willing to spend more for a superior digital customer experience. (1)
A B2B use case: Stepwise application of digital engagement tactics in a customer's journey
To better understand how digital content rightly placed in the customer journey can be effective, consider Jane, a young scientist, and Kimberley, a sales professional at Right Labs. Jane is looking for new research equipment for her upcoming project. Through this example, you will learn how Right Labs developed an incredible customer experience for Jane through the perfect digital engagement using valuable digital content.
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Need and Deliberation -
When Jane visited a renowned biotechnology publication portal, she came across an ad from Right Labs offering a new device that can cut scientists' analysis time by nearly half. The ad takes her to their mobile responsive landing page, which includes interactive device information and the option to purchase the goods directly from the website. She creates an account on the website, adds items to her shopping cart, and then waits.
She discovered the ad when Right Labs launched a Digital Marketing Campaign with Leader board, Skyscraper, Persistent Footer, and Tower types of banner advertisements on publications that have a subscriber base of biotechnology scientists and researchers.
The 'registration' option on the landing page allowed the parties to communicate further. It also gave her the option of purchasing the merchandise directly from the website. -
Due Diligence -
Before making the final purchase, she decided to consult with David, her manager. She navigated away from the website. -
Resurgence of Interest -
After receiving a notification of this activity on HubSpot, an advanced marketing automation and CRM technology, Kimberley, a Right Labs representative, promptly sent an email invitation to an upcoming Hybrid Event (Virtual + Physical) on the equipment she wanted to purchase. In the same email, she also gave Jane links to product reviews and case studies. This attracted Jane's curiosity while also establishing the product's credibility. In exchange, Jane and David register for the event immediately by clicking on the calendar link. Attending events in person was not possible due to calendar constraints. As a result, Jane and David virtually attended the event (In Virtual Event mode). After attending the event, they ask Kimberley to schedule a demo, putting her one step closer to making the purchase.
As a result, Kimberly sends Jane two VR headsets with interactive product demos. The demos proved to be an exciting digital experience for Jane and her colleagues. Furthermore, Kimberly and Jane decide to meet in order to better understand the product offerings. Kimberley uses an interactive sales toolkit to explain all the product's possibilities and chose to set up a demo for the same.
Right Labs used Virtual Reality to create an interactive product demo. The demonstration provided Jane and her colleagues with a thorough grasp of how their product provided value to its users. At the same time, the Interactive Sales Toolkit informed Jane of all relevant product features, as well as its guidelines, images, and videos, while retaining relevant client information. - Reassurance and Conversion -
David and the Lab Director now want to know how the device will fit into the workflow arrangements they have in their lab. Jane posed this question to Kimberley. Kimberly responds swiftly by sending them a link to the Augmented Reality application, which allowed team Right Labs to visualize device setup by superimposing its 3D model on an actual lab setup. This persuades David and the Lab Director to make the purchase. - After-Sales Support -
She receives the product on the agreed-upon delivery date. She observed two QR codes imprinted on the device, one for accessing the interactive guided troubleshooting instruction and the other for accessing an interactive game for regular device proficiency evaluation.
Jane required assistance a few weeks later with a minor issue with the device. She remembered seeing a QR code on the machine that allowed her to access the troubleshooting instructions. She immediately scanned the QR code, and the interactive service handbook provided Jane with troubleshooting suggestions. This digital engagement allowed her to quickly repair the problem she was facing with the product.
After-sales service is a continuum that helps to provide a consistent and unified digital customer experience. Customer Enablement, after all, is critical to customer pleasure. - Good Word -
After receiving this flawless Omni-Channel experience from Right Labs, Jane shares her judgement on the equipment via a social media post that quickly gains traction. Jane's strong advocacy aided in the growth of Right Labs' brand recognition.
Right Labs is clearly at the top of its marketing game, with a consumer-focused and well-planned digital engagement strategy for an omni-channel (consistent) and tailored digital customer experience throughout the customer journey.
Agile approach by Ethosh in establishing a valuable customer experience
Ethosh combines technological building blocks with our creative storytelling minds, design thinking methodology and subject matter experts (SME) to create a memorable product experience for your customers.
In this case, on behalf of Right Labs, for Jane, all the customer journey steps were managed through Digital Engagement by Mike and Laura with the help of Ethosh. From understanding the Jane’s persona and mapping out her journey, defining the right touchpoints for her as a customer, and customizing Right Lab's content to align with these touchpoints.
Customizable to business needs, Ethosh customer experiences expert team prescribe one or combination of approaches like ‘Managed Content Services’, ‘New Product Launch’ and ‘Digital Campaign Management’.
Reference and Citation-
1. Salesforce-https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/briefs/customer-trust-trends-salesforce-research.pdf
2. https://www.salesforce.com/resources/articles/customer-engagement/
3. https://outgrow.co/blog/customer-engagement-statistics
