12 Branding Goals to Boost Your Customer Engagement

Every day in the United States and around the globe, there are new businesses opened and failed businesses that close. What is that elusive quality that makes one business more successful than another? When it comes to branding, one thing you can focus on that will boost your success is how well you engage your customers.

One study discovered customers who are fully engaged also spend about 23% of revenue and tend to share the brands they frequent with others. In another study, it was found that companies who put an emphasis on customer engagement make about 13% more than average businesses.
There’s no arguing that boosting customer engagement results in higher sales and more loyal fans. With that in mind, you should set some clear branding goals that will boost that engagement and turn lukewarm customers into raving hot fans. Here are 12 ways to boost engagement:

#1. Know How to Measure Engagement

Your first step to creating more engagement between your customers and brand should be knowing how to measure engagement in the first place. This looks different for different types of businesses. If you run a retail store, then customers who come in on a regular basis are engaged. On the other hand, if your service is exclusively online, then your engagement might appear through social media mentions.
First, decide how you want your customers to become more engaged. What is most beneficial to both them and your business? Next, measure that particular engagement statistics through analytics on your website, tracking customers coming into a store, or other measures.

#2. Make Customer Service a Priority

It doesn’t matter what kind of business you run, customer service should remain a number one priority. If you don’t serve your customers well, you can be certain someone else will and will snatch them from you. 72% of people in the United States say they are more likely to shop with a brand known for good customer service.
Think about some of the brands out there known for their good customer service. Chick-fil-A is one example. When you go into their restaurants, the employees are trained to greet you in a positive way and make sure you have everything you need while there, even coming around and getting you refills. This is unheard of in fast food but makes them stand out from the crowd.

#3. Reduce Response Times

Brand your business as responding quickly and follow through by reducing wait times for responses. If a customer takes the time to ask a question or lodge a complaint, he or she should get an almost immediate response.
Some ways companies reduce response times are by offering 24/7 live chat options on their websites and social media managers who respond almost instantly to negatives or positives posted on social media. This allows you to go above and beyond with customer service in an immediate way that garners

positive press.

#4. Entertain Your Customers

Today’s consumers are used to being entertained. We live in a technological world, where videos and memes are at our fingertips at all times. If you want to truly build your brand as one that is entertaining and engages the consumer, you need to make entering your store or office space a complete experience.
You can accomplish this through experiential design. Make your office look like something other than what it is, as though visitors are going under the sea or entering a historical building. For a storefront, pull them into the seasonal theme with experiential images that transform their shopping into a memorable event.

#5. Create a Simple Interface

Don’t get so complicated that the average person can’t figure out how to use your website. Your branding message is lost quickly when your website isn’t simple to use. Instead, create a simple interface with features that are easy to find and use. Make sure any online shopping is easy and doesn’t involve too many steps.
The easier the process is for the consumer, the better impression of your brand they’ll walk away with. Invest in a professional to create a simple website design and then test it to make sure it is as easy to use as possible. A 10-year-old child should be able to navigate your site and order process.

#6. Evoke Emotion

If you want your brand to seem more human, dig deep and tap into your emotions and values as a brand. Did you start your business because you want families to have more time together? An emotion to tap into here is love and building memories with your family. What tips can you offer for spending more quality time together that also tie into your brand as a whole?
This might look like a video that offers tips for making the most of the commute time in the car to and from school. Offer a special sale for back to school that saves time on shopping and gives the family more time together. Add content to the blog about how your product or service saves families time or add some productivity tips for families.

#7. Get Personal

Is your branding personalized? Personalization is something 70% of businesses prioritize. People are inundated with advertising, social media posts, emails and branding everywhere and all the time. In order to grab the consumer’s attention, you have to stand out and personalization is one way to do that.
Some ways to personalize your branding include sending a birthday greeting or special offer to your customers on their birthdays. You can also track their shopping preferences, and list recommended products based on those preferences. Anything you can do to make the experience of doing business with you a more personal one pays off in higher sales.

#8. Brand Your Videos

Take the time to offer instructional videos, but make sure they include information on your brand, too. In one study, 48% of smartphone users bought from businesses that provided mobile video content on their websites.
Home Depot is an excellent example of this type of content and engaging your customers with what they’re already looking for. The company noticed that a lot of people were bouncing away from their site to go to YouTube for instructional videos. Their solution? Create their own DIY videos related to home improvement projects. Today, YouTube has numerous how-to videos from Home Depot.

#9. Ask for Feedback

If you really want to know what your customers want, ask them. Feedback is a valuable tool that allows you to grow better as a company and also engage with your customers and show them you really care about their input and value their concerns.
Ask for feedback through polls, by watching reviews or simply by asking your customers what they’d like to see you improve. Make sure you’re ready to hear things you don’t want to hear and address those issues. It would be better to say nothing than to ask for feedback and ignore it.

#10. Show Your Values

Customers tend to align with companies who share their values. Don’t be afraid to speak up about what you care most about and encourage your customers to as well. What are you doing to make the world a better place and how can your customers help?
If you care about clean water, then perhaps you adopt a village and help them with a clean water source. Let your customers know that a percentage of every purchase they make goes toward that cause and why.

#11. Engage Your Employees

You thought we were talking about engaging customers, but the truth is that if your employees aren’t engaged, then they won’t care about your customer engagement. Pour into those who work for you. Train like crazy, explain how important your customers are and trust your employees to be the face of your brand.
Your employees are the best brand ambassadors you have. Encourage them to use your product or service by offering employee and friend and family discounts. Offer incentives when they bring in a new customer or refer someone to the brand.

Read: Are You Listening To The Voice Of Employees?

#12. Build a Community

Do you want your customers to tell others about your brand and what you’re about? Build a community for them. Think about some of the different brands out there that successfully utilize hashtags to get everyone talking, such as Starbucks.
Your community may be for a local business. In that case, a local Facebook group or gatherings for your top customers works well. If your business is more national or global in nature, then an online gathering spot makes sense. Add a forum or a group that receives special items the general public doesn’t, such as training videos or special discounts.

Branding Goals and Your Customers

There shouldn’t’ be any separation between your branding goals and what you do to engage customers. Everything you do should always have your customer and their needs in mind. The two things should and do mesh together seamlessly. Over time, your customers will become more engaged and your brand will grow.

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Lexie Lu is a graphic designer and typography enthusiast. Most of her days are consumed by HTML code and wireframes. Check out her design blog, Design Roast, and follow her on Twitter @lexieludesigner.