With the outbreak of COVID-19, 2020 has witnessed a fundamental shift in how businesses approach customer engagement. Priorities have switched from sales to retention. New lines of communication and superior marketing technologies have been adopted at speed to reach customers. There is a sea change in how customers perceive brands and expect out of them. In everything, digital is the channel, with traditional marketing being almost dead and customers being the new market-makers, reshaping industries and changing how businesses compete and win. As we are rapidly approaching the end of the year, it’s the right time to look ahead at the following innovative ways for engaging customers in 2021 :
1. Interact More Virtually
Businesses have realized that every single customer interaction decides whether they come back and tell others to engage with their brand. With the ‘new normal’ setting-in, businesses should be exploring innovative ways to interact and engage with customers effectively. In 2021, they should be adding interactive elements to their customer communication getting more engagement. They should embrace a marketing platform like moLotus with multiple advanced customer response options like SMS, Callback, Click URL, USSD, etc. The interaction should be not only about products and services but also innovative ways of using them in the context of current situations to build trust and confidence without actually meeting customers.
2. Transform Customer Processes
To keep pace with evolving customer expectations, businesses are looking for better ways to meet them. Moving from traditional to digital customer processes can be seen as a key driver for business transformation and superior customer engagement. In 2021, disruptive platforms like moLotus are playing a pivotal role; businesses should digitally transform processes like new customer onboarding, document submission, recurring services, loan processing, contract renewals, etc. for better speed, effectiveness, and cost savings.
3. Make Communication More Personalized
If there’s anything the COVID crisis has taught brand communicators, it’s that the days of bland, generic messaging are officially done—personalization is now essential for marketing campaigns across the customer journey, influencing customer engagement. In 2021, businesses should use customer data, AI, and advanced algorithms via the latest tools like moLotus to hyper-personalized mobile marketing campaigns.
4. Reach More Customers At Their Place
Customers’ normal patterns of life have come to a halt in 2020. In 2021 too, customers are expected to need digital, at-home, and low-touch options. Digital-led experiences will continue to grow in popularity and businesses should innovate their delivery model with a digital platform like moLotus to help consumers who are confined at home. moLotus, having massive reach and scalability, can quickly deliver automated messages to the ‘home-confined’ customers, directly into their inbox on all mobile handsets, irrespective of phone type or model – 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G smartphones, i-phones, and feature phones without requiring any app download or data connection, without physical contact, ensuring superior engagement.
5. Reward Loyalty Better
In 2021 loyal customers would continue to be the foundation for a profitable and successful business. These valuable customers not only help businesses to grow quickly when times are good, but they also help them stay afloat when times are tough, costing a business less. Brand marketers should employ various tactics such as using a new-age mobile advertising tool, moLotus for rewarding loyal customers with special offers, discounts, contests, or coupons. Businesses can run specialized reward campaigns that are hassle-free, cheap, and fast with superior response and engagement.
Conclusion
In 2021, a primary barometer of customer engagement will be how the businesses frequent and depend upon delivering out-of-the-box experiences and services that meet new customer needs with empathy, care, and concern. Now is also the time for business leaders to position themselves at the forefront of the longer-term shifts in consumer behavior. Keeping a real-time pulse on changing customer preferences and rapidly innovating to redesign journeys via a breakthrough platform & technology like moLotus would definitely be the key in the new year.