The word “engagement” is often heard now. We know that customer engagement, employee engagement, etc. are important in this day and age, but aren’t their meanings still unclear? Naturally, if it remains vague, it cannot be used in practice and it will not be possible to produce results. In this article, we will explain the meaning of engagement in
, marketing methods, and examples.
What is engagement?
In the dictionary, engagement means something like “promise/contract” or “engagement,” but in modern times, the word engagement is also used in the field of marketing.
Engagement in marketing refers to the state of attracting customers and strengthening the connection and connection between a company and its customers.
Engagement marketing strengthens the deep bond customers have with the company itself, products, and brands. This refers to a state in which customers have a strong bond with a company or brand because they feel a high level of favorability, and they actively engage with the company or brand and take actions such as word of mouth through friends, acquaintances, family, and
.
Engagement marketing specifically refers to creating connections between companies and brands and customers through various means such as websites, emails, SNS, and
apps
.
The concept of engagement is said to have originated in the United States, but its widespread use is said to be largely due to the spread of
. We’re all familiar with the telltale sign of goodwill on Facebook: likes. Those “likes” can be considered a form of visualized engagement. For example, if you have liked a company’s Facebook account, you may be more likely to feel engaged.
Engagement in business
Engagement in business refers to the level of interest, involvement, and warmth that customers express toward your brand, product, or service. Increasing engagement with customers leads to increasing the value of brands and products.
- Improving customer satisfaction: Improving customer satisfaction increases engagement and increases repeat business.
- Enhanced brand loyalty: Engaged customers are more loyal to your brand and less likely to switch to a competitor.
- Driving word of mouth: Engaged customers are more likely to recommend your brand to others, which can help your business acquire new customers.
- Increased revenue: Engaged customers buy more often, contributing to increased sales.
Why you need engagement marketing
Engagement has become an essential part of marketing in order to survive today’s competition. Why is marketing to gain customer engagement becoming necessary? Here are the main reasons.
Diversification of customer purchasing behavior
With the spread of the Internet and smartphones, customer
purchasing behavior
has diversified. For example, when purchasing something, people first collect information by opening search engines and social media, then research and compare the products they want to purchase. Traditionally, the purchasing process was a one-way street from the company to the customer. For example, there were times when advertisements and TV commercials were the mainstream, and customers purchased products and services without having any choice.
However, those days are over. Furthermore, with the development of e-commerce, people now have the option of shopping online as well as in brick-and-mortar stores, and purchasing behavior is becoming increasingly diverse.
Traditional marketing, such as advertising and TV commercials, no longer resonates with customers. Furthermore, the relationship between customers and companies is changing, as companies, products, and services are now being compared by customers. Gaining customer engagement has become extremely important in today’s market.
Need to strengthen long-term relationships with customers
In today’s world, even if a customer chooses a company’s product, it is not uncommon for them to quickly change their mind and purchase another company’s product. In other words, the era of “if it sells is enough” is over. There is a need to create strong bonds by creating lasting relationships with customers and deepening those relationships.
To achieve this, it is necessary to provide customers with the information they want at the time they want, and to provide a smooth path to purchasing decisions.
The importance of improving customer lifetime value (LTV)
In recent years, the term “customer lifetime value (LTV)” has become commonplace. This has to do with engagement.
is the total value that a customer brings to a company from the time the customer starts doing business with the company until the end of the transaction. Value is the difference between the cost of acquiring and retaining a customer and the customer’s purchase price.
If the customer’s purchase amount is greater than the cost of acquiring and retaining the customer, then the customer lifetime value is high. In other words,
customer lifetime value
is an indicator that measures whether a good relationship has been built with customers. The key is how to improve
customer lifetime value
.
So how can you increase customer lifetime value? Simple ideas include getting them to make repeat purchases and buy other products. To achieve this, it is necessary to gain passionate support for companies and brands, and it is important to have an awareness of increasing customer engagement.
Differences between engagement and similar terms
By the way, many people may feel that there are many similar concepts when they hear about engagement, and they don’t know how they are different. Therefore, we will explain the differences between engagement and terms that are similar to engagement. Let’s also take a look at the differences between One to One marketing, which is similar to engagement marketing.
Difference with customer loyalty
Customer loyalty
is another term you hear a lot. Loyalty refers to “attachment” or “loyalty” and is often used in marketing. For example, people who think “If I want to buy a car, I should buy a Toyota” or “If I want to use a mobile phone, I should buy an iPhone” are likely to be highly loyal to companies and brands such as Toyota and Apple. People choose products based on a variety of criteria, and among those criteria, customer loyalty indicators can be used when evaluating products from an emotional perspective.
It can be inferred that both those who choose Toyota and those who choose Apple, as mentioned in the example, have high customer engagement.
However, high customer loyalty does not necessarily mean high customer engagement. This is because people who have previously chosen Toyota may think, “That might be better,” and turn to other manufacturers when a manufacturer that makes a car similar to Toyota appears. It’s from. On the other hand, if customer engagement, or in other words a strong connection to Toyota, is strong, there is a high possibility that the customer will think, “Other options may be good, but Toyota is the one after all.”
Since it refers to a person’s emotional side, it is not always possible to say with certainty, and this is just an example, but customer engagement can be said to be a state that is strongly connected to the customer’s overall psychology and behavior.
Difference with customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction
(CS)
is often used as an indicator to measure the level of satisfaction a customer receives from purchasing a product.
Customer engagement is clearly different. This is because customer satisfaction is only a temporary feeling after purchasing a product, or an emotion that is associated only with that product. Customer engagement can be seen as a long-term or broader perspective, and can be described as a bond with a company, brand, or product.
On the other hand, if customer engagement is high, customer satisfaction tends to increase, so there is some overlap.
Differences from One to One Marketing
One to One marketing, as the name suggests, is a method of implementing marketing tailored to each individual. In traditional marketing, companies provide similar information to many customers or consumers all at once. For example, television commercials and newspaper/magazine advertisements are typical examples. However, as times have changed and the tastes of each customer have become more diverse, it has become difficult to capture the hearts of each customer with uniform information. In order to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and be chosen by our customers, we need to provide information that is more tailored to each individual.
Engagement marketing can also be considered a type of one-to-one marketing. However, it is generally interpreted as one step further than One to One marketing. Engagement marketing is characterized by providing information to each individual, communicating with them, and even inviting customers to participate in the company’s community. For example, you can host an event for members to welcome them, or ask them to become your followers on social media. By providing that community, we can strengthen customer engagement by conveying our corporate philosophy, brand concept, and spirituality. Another way is to provide horizontal connections between customers.
What should we focus on in engagement marketing?
So, what should we focus on when actually implementing engagement marketing? Here are the main points.
Experience involving all five senses
To improve engagement, you first need to provide your customers with a heart-warming experience through their five senses. Customers become more engaged through that experience. Of course, virtual experiences through websites, SNS, apps, etc. are also effective. Each of these meaningful experiences eventually leads to store visits and purchases.
Make sure to provide information that hits the target
In engagement marketing, it is important to create a persona for your target and send messages that will resonate with that persona. This is an essential concept for increasing engagement. For example, on social media, you may think that you can just post whatever the company wants and hit a few shots and you’ll win. But that would be a long shot. By providing the necessary information for the real needs that people actually have, it is thought that it will actually hit the target.
Persona design is effective in ensuring that needs do not shift. When designing personas, it is important to create them based on real, actual data. Examples include attributes of existing customer data, interview and survey results, and interviews with sales representatives about customer needs. By integrating these, we create a rough persona by setting details such as age, gender, occupation, place of residence, hobbies, lifestyle, and way of thinking. After that, we imagine people who actually exist and flesh them out in a realistic way so that they really exist. Then, all you have to do is provide information that that persona will be happy with.
By repeating long-term communication, we will increase engagement.
Related materials
Engagement marketing methods
So, what are the specific methods of engagement marketing? Actually, there are multiple ways. Let’s check it out.
Providing quality content with owned media
One of the methods of engagement marketing is the management of
owned media
. Owned media is a method of building a website and regularly disseminating useful information to prospective and existing customers.
Owned media
is completely different from a product or service site. This is done in order to approach potential customers who have not yet used the company’s products or services, gain their interest in the company or brand, and gain trust in the company or brand by providing them with the necessary information. Sometimes they take on an after-care role, such as providing information to existing customers on how to effectively use products and services. Either way, you can aim to increase engagement.
However, there is no point in disseminating irrelevant information here. As mentioned earlier, “taking care to provide content that hits the target” will lead to increased engagement.
In addition, in order to succeed in engagement marketing with
owned media
, it is essential to create and distribute content with SEO in mind.
Connect directly with your followers on social media
In recent years, many companies have been working on SNS management. Typical examples include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LINE. By creating a company account on these SNS platforms and disseminating high-quality information, you can gain followers and “likes”. When choosing an SNS to operate, be sure to choose one that suits your company.
Another option is to use SNS advertising. By targeting your company’s target audience, interests, region, age, etc., you can reach effective prospects.
Of course, SNS operations alone will not necessarily improve engagement, so it is important to continually post and communicate steadily.
Provide video content
Distribution of original videos
on YouTube and other sites is a method that many companies are currently working on. The effect of this video is thought to lead to increased engagement. Video can be said to be a medium that makes it easier to convey experiential and spiritual aspects, such as images, how to use products, and ways of thinking. Making good use of video to convey useful information to your target audience, as well as your brand’s concept and worldview will lead to increased engagement.
In addition, since it is possible to stream events in real time, it is possible to communicate directly with fans, similar to SNS, and further enhance connections.
Send using your own app
It is similar to SNS and
video distribution
, but developing your own app and having customers and potential customers use it will help improve engagement. In addition to disseminating useful information, the app can also be used to retain users, so it can be said to be a mechanism that increases engagement.
Information transmission via email
Sending information via email is a method that has been used in engagement marketing for a long time. However, when disseminating information via email, it is important to send personalized, one-to-one content rather than uniformly distributing the same content to all customers and prospects. By doing so, you can increase your open rate and click-through rate, making it easier to increase engagement.
Co-creation with users
As mentioned earlier, the unique feature of engagement marketing is that it enables co-creation with users. Once engagement has increased to a certain extent, customers will start disseminating information on their own. At first, you will communicate with your family, friends around you, and on SNS. By capturing this user base and creating content together with users, for example, by providing opportunities for them to post comments and experiences, and by creating forums where they can freely discuss their experiences. You can. This will further increase engagement and increase your chances of creating new fans at the same time.
How to measure engagement effectiveness
When implementing engagement marketing, just like any other method, you will need metrics to measure the results. The results of web surveys and the number of reactions, such as “likes” on SNS, are often used as indicators to measure the effectiveness of engagement.
Web survey
There are many web survey methods, but there is one called “
NPS (Net Promoter Score)
” that is used to measure customer loyalty. In this survey, respondents were asked to rate the company (product/service/brand) on an 11-point scale from 0 to 10 in response to the question, “How likely are you to recommend this company (product/service/brand) to a friend or colleague?” .
Examples of metrics on SNS
Twitter measures engagement rates using likes, retweets, replies, the number of followers from posts, and the number of clicks on images, videos, links, etc.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/4PsofMarketing_final-64f3e039d7964b21a2b0b3c8c53920da.png)
How to take advantage of
marketing automation (MA)
Many companies use
marketing automation
to implement engagement marketing.
It is easy to measure effectiveness, and many of them have an email sending function, so you can use that in practice.
By setting targets in advance, you can send personalized emails. In addition, it is common to be able to obtain email delivery results, so by utilizing the result data, it is possible to use it for your next strategy.
By improving the areas that need improvement and making sure to provide more personalized information, we will strengthen engagement.
Success stories that strengthened engagement
In fact, many companies are finding success by focusing on strengthening engagement. Here are some representative examples.
1.Starbucks
Starbucks is known for its cafe stores with a unique atmosphere. Of course, it has something to do with the taste and particularity of the coffee, but more than anything, there are many fans of that worldview. This is often cited as an example of successful branding, and it is the result of creating a store that makes people want to visit this store again and again. In other words, we can say that we have succeeded in creating stores that increase engagement. The customer service of the staff is also an important factor.
How is this possible? Starbucks thoroughly pursues what its customers want, and reflects this in its overall service at its stores.
2.Credit card company
By renewing their official website, a credit card company improved engagement and increased the number of accesses by nearly 10 times.
Up until now, the official website had been built from a corporate perspective, but when it was redesigned, it was completely redesigned from a user perspective. The number of fans on the official website may have increased by carefully analyzing access and understanding customer needs.
4.Major department store
A major department store operated an official online shop, but it was not very effective. Under these circumstances, we have introduced web customer service tools to obtain customer reactions, and based on those reactions, we can disseminate information that meets customer needs, leading to customer visits and repeat purchases, and achieving results. I succeeded in raising it.
This is a good example of how not only improving a website, but also disseminating accurate information contributes to increasing engagement.
summary
- Engagement in marketing refers to the state of attracting customers and strengthening the connection and connection between a company and its customers. It refers to a state where a customer feels highly favorable and has a strong bond with the customer to the extent that the customer actively engages with the customer and takes actions such as word of mouth through friends, acquaintances, family, and SNS.
- With the diversification of customer purchasing behavior in recent years, it has become necessary to strengthen long-term relationships with customers, and with the importance of improving customer lifetime value (LTV), improving engagement has become essential. It has become.
- In engagement marketing, it is important to focus on providing experiences that involve the five senses and providing information that resonates with the target audience.
- The mainstream engagement marketing method is to improve engagement through information dissemination through owned media, SNS, apps, video content distribution, email distribution, etc.