The first commandment of how to engage customers on their smartphones is to never spam them, no matter how tempting. It is the first rule because once you resort to underhanded tactics like inundating your customer’s email box with messages that they did not request, you have basically lost their goodwill.
Trying to regain what you lost is all downhill at this point. So, however great the temptation to ignore the law, it is critical to heed the first rule of customer engagement as everything depends on it. Trust is a big thing and if you try to win it back, it is often next to impossible.
The second rule of customer engagement is to keep your bread and butter’s attention without appearing to be too intrusive. For example, one excellent way to keep customers running back and forth to your online store is by offering discount coupons.
Remember, the most powerful word on the Internet is free. So when you offer opportunities to gain or save on your customer’s hard-earned cash, he or she tends to pay attention. Going overboard on this can have the opposite effect. Hence, the importance of practicing some restraint.
Games and prizes are yet another rich avenue to keep your patrons glued to your product or service. Especially if you are in the gaming business, you cannot skip such a critical aspect of engagement. The more fabulous the game you offer, the more likely is the customer to be tempted to play online.
For example, one drugstore company keeps its customers engaged by offering a game that offers rewards for playing. The patrons never win much, and yet they keep playing online because the game is that addicting. For this purpose, you will need your IT team involved so they can develop the best gaming system on the online world.
Remember, the more realistic or graphic the online game is, the more interesting it will be for your followers. To illustrate, if it’s a game of spin-a-win, make the roulette special looking. Above all, make your customer feel as if they are spinning a real-life wheel.
Another rule of customer engagement is to offer a rewards system that patrons can access from their smartphones. Keep the process of checking their points simple, but don’t forget to make the experience extraordinary. Don’t just make them navigate an ordinary system. Enthrall them with special effects so they will be enticed to check their points as often as they can on their phones.
Finally, make it easy for customers to stay in contact with your business by having an app that they can download with ease. The app becomes a precious real estate on your patron’s phone. Once that application is on the device that they just can’t stop using, you’ve arrived. For it becomes harder and harder for the customer to ignore your presence, especially when your app is extremely engaging–if not downright addicting to use.
