Five Emerging Customer Engagement Trends for 2021

The crisis management strategy for businesses has been the same for decades: focus on the costs to weather the downturn, or invest ahead to gain market share. The pandemic’s disruptive effect on businesses has had a different impact, with a ripple effect in customer engagement.trends. Contrary to past recessions, where shifts were largely due the markets, the pandemic is affecting consumer behavior in a different way. These changing preferences are what is driving business strategy changes.

Bonus Content The Beginner’s Guide To Omnichannel Marketing in 2021 [Download Ebook] The Ultimate Buyer’s Guide to Customer Engagement Platform [Download Ebook] Retail Strategies and Omnichannel Engagement Frameworks [Download eBook]

For example, the click-and-collect sales in the United States alone grew by 60% for over-the-counter medicine, groceries, household supplies, and personal care products. 75% of U.S. shoppers are changing their shopping habits in response to economic pressures and store closings. Most intend to keep it going after the crisis.

 

Brands must look beyond acquisition and costs to succeed today. It is now about creating delightful experiences and gaining trust. Brands need to adopt a new playbook – one that’s centered around customer engagement to helps build customer trust and loyalty.

These are five customer engagement trends customer-centric brands should be aware of in order to create impactful experiences for core audiences and keep up with evolving industry and consumer demands.

/7-best-shopify-apps/

android-mobile-pos-system/

click-and-collect-the-future-of-retail/

20-stats-about-the-power-of-omnichannel/

/60-stats-and-trends-define-ecommerce-future-2020/

/what-merchants-should-know-about-online-shoppers/

/connectpos-and-netresearch/

1

Customer engagement based on Insights: This is the new game-changer

__S.23__

__S.27__ Insight-led customer engagement platform prompts marketers to mark critical moments in the buyer’s journey. Wayne Connors, ACCL Managing Director, said that the collaboration between marketing insights and marketing is helping both parties to make better decisions in order to create stronger campaigns that are more consumer-focused. Further, the data can be used to personalize campaigns, which is essential for customer engagement.

This strategy is very effective and leaves no room for error. It results in targeted, data-backed marketing campaigns that are precise, focused, and consistent.

2

Marketing with AI: Personal touch through Artificial Intelligence

Marketers have had the ability to gather a lot of consumer-centric data in the past. Despite having a wealth of data analysis tools, brands were unable to fully leverage this data for their strategy and decision-making. Today, marketers have easy access to AI-based advanced tools whose primary value is the speed at which they can analyze large sets of data to generate predictive insights.

Emphasizing on how AI has lent a more human-centric approach, Crush the PM Exam CMO Lacy Summers shares, “Better data analysis has provided us more insight into the needs of our clients who lost jobs or felt the need to upskill during the pandemic.” By employing more advanced data-based marketing automation, we have been able to offer discounts and content that better speak to our diverse customers, she adds.

/top-free-woocommerce-plugins-for-online-stores/

/top-5-mobile-pos-apps-for-android/

/what-to-know-about-multi-source-inventory/

what-is-draft-order-in-pos/

/bluetooth-technology-for-retailers/

/how-to-respond-to-negative-reviews/

AI has minimized manual efforts, at the same time providing a human-touch to customer interactions by personalizing campaigns. Machine learning is becoming more advanced, so we will likely see more customer-facing marketing automation capabilities.

3

Digital Transformation: Customer Engagement is the Need of The Hour

Digital reforms were possible in traditional setups thanks to the pandemic. It also accelerated digital transformation in the ones gradually making the move. In just a few weeks, the global pandemic ravaged the world and consumers have seen their adoption of digital leapfrog five years. North America alone witnessed an increase of 65% in digital customer interaction during the pandemic.

Consumers who stayed indoors were able to see the convenience and benefits of online shopping. E-commerce has seen an increase in adoption in the past year, more than any decade before. This trend will not stop. Companies that were reliant on brick-and-mortar strategies will need to embrace digital transformation.

Consumer habits have been impacted by technological changes such as mobile apps, automation, AI, and other forms of technology. Reinstating how digitization has compelled various sectors to transform their old ways, ETIAS Editor Jennifer Willy says, “Customer engagement platforms are breaking all the barriers and helping organizations understand the changing customer demands and behavior.” This has further enabled marketing and customer success teams to work in unison to innovate and transition all manual transactions to digital.

tips-omnichannel-engagement-customers/

/how-to-choose-between-periodic-and-perpetual-inventory-method/

/tips-choose-best-shipping-provider/

/offline-mode-in-pos-does-it-matter-to-your-business/

/pricing-options-for-different-pos-systems/

/pos-transformation-in-physical-store-workflow/

4

Personalization is an absolute must in customer engagement

Apple Pay was the most popular platform for mobile payments in America, surpassing Starbucks until 2019. The reason for this popularity has been attributed to personalized experience the brand delivers through its app where customers can place orders and pick them up in-store.

“Personalization is the key to communications, communication channels, as well as the content customers see. Customers expect companies to be smart and better understand their customers over time. This expectation is met by personalized experiences that strengthen customer relationships .”
-Bruce Hogan
SoftwarePundit CEO

Post 2020, any marketing tactic that came across as machine-created and transactional has not been successful in building customer loyalty This is regardless how data was leveraged. It may have been enough to retain and attract customers if it was a ‘one-size fits all’ approach. It did not deliver the best customer experience and the highest customer lifetime value.

“91% of consumers are more likely to shop with brands who recognize, remember, and provide relevant offers and recommendations.”
-Accenture

__S.91__

As the economy recovers, personalization is a crucial investment. Brands that are personalizing their approach to where and how they engage customers and invest in paid media selectively will win a disproportionate share of sales as they bounce back.

5

Omnichannel: Customer Engagement’s Lifeline

Bank of America uses the Omnichannel approach to offer free WiFi connectivity and do online transactions at kiosks. The Bank of America’s ‘Robobranch’ initiative allows a machine to handle customer grievances.

/pos-loyalty-programs-in-o2o-model/

/what-is-order-fulfillment-in-pos/

/what-is-inventory-management-in-retail/

loyalty-programs-in-online-shopping/

/open-additional-retail-locations/

/shopify-vs-magento-which-one-is-better/

The business disruption made BrandLoom CEO and Founder Avinash Chandra realize how the multichannel approach lets you monitor every touchpoint of your customer insights across all channels. The omnichannel approach doesn’t necessarily mean that every channel must be used. This is a strategic approach that allows organizations to leverage the best channels and maximize their return on investment (ROI).

Modern consumers expect consistent personalization across all channels, whether they are SMS, push, social media, or in-app. It is essential to provide a seamless experience through the use of AI, analytics, and personalization.

Conclusion

2021 is not about using third-party data or cookies to provide a better customer experience. AI-driven personalization will no longer be the main focus. Instead, brands will use automation tools and AI-driven personalization to create a human-centric approach. This will enable organizations to offer the right content and offer, while also tailoring everything to create a seamless customer buying experience. Personalization will be a key focus for businesses. The winners will be those who place emphasis on quality customer experiences.

/how-magento-pos-support-invoice-management/

how-magento-pos-support-retail-cash-management/

why-retailers-embrace-pwa/

2021-omnichannel-trends-you-cannot-miss/