Consumer Engagement: The Necessity of Marketing in the Era of Digiverse

Our guest author Dr. Vikram Kumar, says customer engagement is a key pillar of any business strategy for customer retention.

Creating quite a storm in online businesses today, customer engagement is a measure of a brand’s interaction with its customers across all segments, throughout its business cycle. It helps a company forge relationships with its customer base to foster better brand loyalty and awareness. This can be accomplished via various routes like marketing campaigns, new content created for websites and other media platforms, outreach via social media, and various other methods.

The concept of customer engagement only fully emerged in the era of digiverse (Digital Universe). The digital universe is a space where electricity and technology have created an alternate universe. Engagement becomes more prevalent and more visible as two-way communication between customer and brand developed over online mediums.

Being a part of this digiverse, one must swear by the classic mantra ‘Customer is King’. As customer engagement is a key pillar of any business strategy for retention of happy and loyal customers. A frequently-cited 2010 study by brand research consultants Hall & Partners found that up to two-thirds of a brand’s profits stemmed from effective consumer engagement.

For instance, leading Indian companies such as Nestle and Amul have understood the importance of reaching out to their customer base and hence started implementing consumer engagement strategies. Nestle had launched videos which showcased bachelors professing their love for Maggi and articulating how much they missed it. Similarly, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Foundation (GCMMF), the maker of the Amul brand ran ads communicating to its audience that its products are undergoing regular quality checks.

The digital world we live in offers more opportunities than ever to communicate effectively with the customer and retain that competitive edge. We have many powerful options to engage with customers, and we can use them to differentiate our business from the rest of the market.

In recent times, consumer voices have become more powerful due to the advancement of social media and are being heard by many people. Researchers have focused on consumer engagement, underlying characteristics, motivations and impact of eWOM (electronic word of mouth) communications, where factors such as brand engagement, brand image, and self-brand image congruity have influenced consumer behaviour immensely.

In order to ace the customer engagement game, companies must target the right tools. Tools like Customer Centric Dashboard, Chatbots, Surveys (SurveyMonkey), Customer Churn tools (Analyse Customer Behavioral Patterns), Listening tools (Tracking reviews by customers), In-App Communication tools, E-Mails, Push Notifications, Social Media Channels etc, help companies understand their customer base efficiently and effectively, leading to a higher customer retention rate.

Long story short, digital interactions might not be new to everyone, but the current times have definitely shaped their usage like never before and have blurred the boundaries between customers and brands. There are untapped digital engagement opportunities like enhancing customer satisfaction, optimizing marketing, improving ROI, and creating human-centric experiences to engage customers.

In our competitive digiverse, a company needs to leverage every possible advantage to grow its business successfully. Customer engagement can provide the seeds of growth and prosperity that every enterprise desires. By implementing the right strategies and opting for the appropriate tools, any company can experience phenomenal rewards and recognition.

The author Dr. Vikram Kumar is the co-founder and managing director of SRV Media Pvt. Ltd. with over 12 years of experience in digital marketing along with strong business development, analytics and enterprise marketing skills.