Getting to know your customers and building a relationship with them is so important to how you will succeed as a business. So how do you engage customers?

Here are 5 ideas for how to engage customers in your business:

 

Build your customer list:

This is such a simple way to engage customers, so make sure you collect your customers’ emails as they can be a great tool if they are used correctly. Use this direct connection with your customers by sending relevant deals and promotions.

Host a contest:

Everyone loves FREE stuff so why not take advantage of that. This is a great way to reward your customers’ engagement. You can be as creative as you would like, but here are a few examples of contests your business can host to get you started:

• Voting Contest—Have your customers vote online or in-store with which product they like the best and one lucky winner will get one FREE!
• Photo Contest—Have your customers take a picture with one of your products and tag your business. Pick the winner with the most creative picture.
• Photo Tagging Contest—Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and have your customers share on their account with 5 friends tagged. This will help you get more attention from your customers’ friends and family.

Engage with Employees:

Your employees are such an important part of engaging with your customers. They are often times the first thing your customers see, so you want them to make a good impression. It is easy to get turned off to a business because the staff is rude or unhelpful. Make sure you take this quote to heart:

“The way your employees feel is the way your customers will feel. And if your employees don’t feel valued, neither will your customers.” — Sybil F. Stershic

Support and Promote your Customers:

Keep an eye on your customers’ social media accounts and help promote their blogs or certain charities. Doing this will show you care about them want to support them like they support you. Talk to your customers in person and get to know them and their stories. Spotlight one loyal customer a month and they might return the attention.

Interact with your customers:

Many businesses have found success when they are able to engage with their customers online. One option is to use your blog to keep your customers updated with useful information about your business. It should not be used just for selling your product; you don’t want it to feel like spam so make it fun and entertaining. Instagram is also an easy way to keep connected to your customers that is more advertising friendly. You can use this tool to show off your product or even just share a quote or funny picture so that your business is always in the back of their mind. Make it a two-way communication between you and your customer so they are able to ask questions and know that they can trust your business.

You probably know by now that learning how to engage customers and get to know their habits and preferences is incredibly important. Once you show you care about your customers they will show the same to you. You want them to feel like they can’t go to any other business but yours because they trust you and have built a relationship with you. Put these 5 customer engagement ideas into practice and, as you build stronger relationships with your customers, see how it positively affects your business growth.