Companies rely on loyal customers to survive and thrive. Fostering loyalty is a challenge all customer service teams face. The determining factor here is customer experience. What are you doing that encourages purchasers to return time and time again? The way you leverage different communication channels has a significant impact on whether you retain customers or not.
With so much competition for consumers’ attention across communication channels, it’s not surprising people disengage. If you want to re-engage past customers, you need to look at the experience you are providing through your communication channels.
Analyze the Customer Experience Across All Communication Channels
Consider the business from your customer’s perspective. What is it like to interact with you? Looking from the outside in can reveal all sorts of valuable insights. Luckily, you don’t have to guess where you’re going wrong; you can let real customer data guide you. As you consult the data you collect about your disengaged customers, ask yourself the following questions.
When was the last time they made a purchase? This gives you an idea of how long they have been disengaged and where they might have fallen off in the customer journey. For instance, you may notice that after making a purchase, the customer left an unhappy review. Or maybe they unsubscribed from your text or email list after trying your product or service. Whatever the case may be, knowing when a customer last bought from you can give you valuable insight that might just help you win them back.
Were they satisfied with your team during their previous interactions? Your customer service team is an essential part of the customer journey. They’re the ones that deal with questions, queries, and concerns. Many of these communication touchpoints can alter the customer’s perception of your business and make or break the overall customer experience.
Did they leave a negative review or express dissatisfaction? What are you doing right? Where is there room for improvement? Chances are, your customers are already telling you. Look beyond internal communication to reviews on Google, social media, and other review sites. The key here is to take action and be transparent. Once you know what you can do to improve, let your customers know that you’re doing it.
Are you using the right communication channels? Connecting with your audience where they’re at is the foundation of a positive customer experience. Using their preferred communication channel makes it easy for them to engage in business messages. For example, if they’re not picking up your phone calls, there’s no need to invest in that channel. Try sending text messages instead.
Key Components of Great Customer Service
Analyzing your customer experience will give you a clear picture of the external perception of your business and what you can do to improve the customer journey. But that’s just the beginning. The modern customer expects convenience every step of the way. Here are a few best practices that will help you keep your customers happy.
Quick Responses
Digital transformation has developed to the point where customers don’t have to wait for anything. Just think about Amazon. Their business communications are as speedy as their delivery, enabled by a straightforward user interface. Provide round-the-clock availability or risk losing out to more responsive competitors.
The good news is that you don’t need to be Amazon-sized in order to provide world-class communication. Check out the tips we shared here if you need help getting started.
Personalize Every Communication Channel
For the best results, use your ideal client’s preferred communication channel and adapt the message to the individual. You can personalize by adding specifics like the customer’s name, information about their location, sending birthday messages, and more. You can even craft communication based on behaviors you’ve tracked like consistent purchasing of a certain product.
Transparency and Honesty
Today’s consumer is very conscious of sly marketing methods and business practices that don’t sit right. Being treated like a human, not a dollar sign, is a top priority. Embracing transparency and honesty across customer communications identifies your business as one with integrity.
4 Ways to Use Different Communication Channels to Re-Engage Past Customers
So now you understand the principles behind a customer experience that fosters loyalty. But how can you use this information to re-engage past customers? Here are 4 actionable strategies for you to try out.
1. Send Out Customer Surveys
The best way to find out how to improve your customer experience is by asking them directly. Collect feedback on exactly what is causing the lack of engagement through surveys. This ensures that any changes you make actually cater to consumer needs.
There are two main ways of scoring your customer experience through the data collected from surveys—NPS and CSAT. To figure out which one will work best for your business, check out our blog on customer experience scoring.
Don’t forget to send your survey through a communication channel that has a high engagement rate (text) to maximize the amount of data you collect.
2. After You Follow Up, Follow Through
Once you’ve completed the process of collecting customer feedback and analyzing the data to come to conclusions about your customer experience, it’s time to act. To improve customer satisfaction, changes need to be made. Why would customers bother re-engaging with your business if no changes have been made to address their concerns?
This does take work, but putting in the effort to improve your customer experience goes a long way to winning back lost customers. Share significant changes both through internal communication platforms and across your customer-facing communication channels to ensure consistency and get the word out.
3. Interact With Disengaged Customers on Social Media
Why wait for customers to reach out to you when you could reach out to them first? Social media provides an easy, free way for you to meet customers where they are at. They’re already browsing content related to your industry, so there’s an opportunity to get in front of them and re-spark their interest in your business.
This starts with creating content that your customers want to see. What this looks like exactly depends on the platform you use. For example, the audience you attract on LinkedIn is not exactly the same as your TikTok audience. Whatever communication channel you’re posting on, create content that entertains, inspires, and interests your target audience rather than content that sells to them.
4. Send Targeted Text Marketing Campaigns
If you really want to take customer experience to the next level, we recommend implementing text messaging. Text messaging is great because it can be personalized, it’s non-disruptive, and it can result in massive gains for your business.
You can use texts to let customers in on current deals and discounts but that’s not the only way to use this communication channel. Something as simple as sending your customers a birthday message shows you’re willing to go the extra mile. These are small but powerful acts in the eyes of your customers.
Don’t Give Up
Re-engaging past customers can feel like a thankless task at times. But putting in the effort to create a positive customer experience across their preferred communication channels will garner results. With time, effort, and consistency, your disengaged customers might just re-engage and become some of your most loyal purchasers.
