The February release of part one of this article looked at five of the top engagement strategies for 2023. Click here to read part one. This month, let’s look at the next five, rounding out my top 10.
6. Thought Leadership and Storytelling
Storytelling is a powerhouse tool for creating meaningful connections. It is a superb way to share a company’s values, explain how the business got its start, and give customers a behind-the-scenes look at your product or service offering. And, like any great story, it should captivate emotions to engage current and prospective customers.
Prosperous brands look for ways to tap into their customer’s needs and experiences to enhance their brand’s image. Thought leadership content provides a unique platform to share industry insights, highlight expertise and thought processes, and discuss solutions to business problems through the likes of white papers, blogs, articles, webinars, and podcasts.
By creating compelling thought leadership content, a company can build trust with its customers and establish itself as an authority in the industry. Providing real value and offering solutions to common business problems.
Top Tip
It’s vital to tell your stories in an authentic way that reflects your brand values while being mindful of language, tone, and visuals used in each piece of content.
7. Event Marketing and Promotion
Event marketing and promotion is a great way to increase awareness of your brand, reach potential new customers, and foster relationships with existing ones. Creating an engaging event that resonates with your target audience can bring visibility to your business and draw in new customers who may have not heard about you before.
One of the most important aspects of effective event marketing is showcasing an enjoyable experience for your attendees. You can do this by providing value through keynote speakers, exclusive attendee-only activities, virtual and onsite experiences, promoting post-event takeaways, as well various ticketing options. This helps to create hype leading up to the event, generating interest and, importantly, encouraging people to show up.
The marketing channels used should marry those of the audience you are looking to attract. While you may want high-level decision-makers to attend, you should ask yourself if this particular event’s topics, speakers, and format actually service that level, or if you need to segment your audience further, targeting and speaking to them in a way that supports their objectives.
Consider the different channels where this audience spends their time: social media, email, webpages, and search engines. So, things like SEO, banner ads, and paid short-form content may be beneficial. Couple that with an unforgettable onsite experience and an informative and relationship-focused-post event follow up, and you have a well-mixed recipe for success.
8. Think Omnichannel
Omnichannel marketing is necessary for a seamless and unified customer experience across your various communications channels. This cohesive approach can help encourage loyalty and provide customers with access to all the information they need, while creating a consistent brand identity.
Omnichannel marketing is not a new approach, businesses have been employing these methods for the last 20 years. But as digital communication platforms grow, tracking tools develop, live chat tools are introduced and companies invest in more personalised marketing approaches (aka account-based marketing), it is more important than ever to deliver a consistent, tailored customer content and relationship strategy.
The big plus for businesses who implement this approach, is the ability to track customer behaviours and journeys across all marketing channels, offering valuable insights into customer preferences and needs.
9. Performance Measurement and Optimisation
Performance measurement and optimisation analyses customer engagements to identify the key drivers behind a campaign’s success. This analysis can then be used to gain insights into what’s working. (And what isn’t.)
Employing web analytics tools, customer engagement tracking, A/B testing, funnel tracking, and multi-touch attribution models, allows B2Bs to allocate budget and resources appropriately and adjust strategies for an improved ROI.
Surveys, focus groups, and market trend analysis aid these efforts. They help you gain more in-depth knowledge about what customers expect and identify any shifting customer preference
10. Foster Loyalty
When customers get what they need, they become your loyal advocates, and and you will be less likely to experience churn. Continued technological advancements like AI-powered personalisation, predictive analytics, and automation have influenced consumer buying habits, so it is important for companies to focus on building relationships which foster brand loyalty.
B2Bs can do this through incentives and reward programmes that kick in when customers exceed set purchasing goals and other performance metrics. Experiences such as integrated platforms mean that customers can interact with and easily access services without the need to contact a representative. Being ready for them when they do make contact is a building block towards brand advocacy and loyalty.
Ideas include things like:
- Exclusive loyalty-based events and promotions.
- Implement a referral program to build customer loyalty.
- Exclusive access to new releases or product demonstrations prior to major release.
- Participation in product testing or beta programmes for rewards and unlockable content.
- Award loyalty status upgrades for loyalty or spend, with perks or extras (e.g., free shipping).
- Create private communities that offer exclusive deals only available to members.
- Incentivise customer feedback through dedicated surveys or reviews that reward completion.
So, now you have our complete Top 10 engagement strategies to kick off your 2023. Let us know how you get on!
If you would like to discuss how Outsourced Engagement or Outsourced Events can help you with your engagement activities, be sure to contact us on +44 (0) 330 460 6007, or email info@outsourcedengagement.com
