Whether you have a brick and mortar business, you sell services online or you do a bit of both, it’s crucial to create an engaging environment for your customers and clients. No matter what you’re selling, remember this: you are ultimately providing your customer with an experience. And a key part of that experience is the customer’s interaction with your employees and overall brand. Below you’ll find some tips on how to create that perfect environment to keep customers interested, engaged, and coming back for more!
Looks Matter…
…At least in the retail environment, they do! If your business has a storefront, no matter what industry you’re in, it’s essential to create a clean and inviting space. Would you want to revisit a store that was a mess and hard to navigate? I didn’t think so! However, it’s not enough to just provide an inviting space, you really need to engage with everyone who walks through your door. Be sure that each customer is greeted and assisted with any help he or she may need. And always smile, smile, smile!
Encourage Community Involvement
One of the easiest ways to engage customers is to create a supportive and fun community around your business. From planning in-store events to creating customer perk programs, it’s easy to make your customers feel special. Another cool way to engage folks is to have a suggestion box in your store, depending on your business. You can also encourage customers to provide feedback online, either through an online portal or via email. If customers see that you implement changes based on their suggestions, they’ll be that much more inclined to not only come back, but to encourage others to check out your business as well!
Get Social
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention social media as a key way to create an engaging environment for your customers. If you have a storefront, be sure to advertise your social media pages– you can include handles on your business cards or on fun chalkboards around the store! It’s not enough to have a Facebook or Instagram page though– the key is to ENGAGE on these platforms. Giveaways can be a great way to do that! For a pet grooming business, you can get folks to send in photos of their pets with a certain hashtag and then gift the winner with a free bath and brush! It’s a fun way to get folks engaged and in the door.
In this digital age, there are so many ways to engage with customers across a variety of online platforms. However, few things can really replace one-on-one and in-person engagement. Any time you have the chance to actually meet with your customers, don’t pass up the opportunity. The better you know your customers, the better you can make your business– and the more success you’ll have!
