13 Practical Ways for Using Customer Engagement to Increase Sales [With Examples]

Do you know about Glossier?

It is a cult beauty brand who collaborates with popular beauty influencers who create compelling content around their products, showcasing how they fit seamlessly into their followers' daily routines.

Have you ever wondered what Glossier achieves by collaborating with other influencers?

By doing so, Glossier taps into their influencers' engaged audience, generating both brand awareness and increased sales.

It is just a taste of the practical strategies that we will explore in this blog. 

Gone are the days of simply selling a product or service; now, it's all about building relationships and creating meaningful experiences that keep customers coming back for more.

Even in the sales industry, salespeople know that sales engagement is very significant, but when you take a look at customer feedback, you see so many customers complaining about the attitude of your sales executives, on the verge of turning away from your brand. Reportedly, almost 62% of customer complaints are about the sales personnel’s attitude! 

Most salespeople fail to engage the customer and develop a thirst for the product before quenching their thirst by promoting the product. 

This is where customer engagement comes into the picture.

I am not lecturing you about what customer engagement is or why it is important (because I know you are already aware of it), this blog highlights 13 practical ways you can use customer engagement to increase sales.

Practical ways for using customer engagement to increase sales

You cannot deny that sales engagement is the path toward increased sales. However, it is also a long path. So how do you speed up the process? With a combination of sales workflow automation and the sales engagement tactics given below that you can utilize to increase your conversions through sales engagement. 

Personalize your customer’s experience

I love the personalized recommendations that Spotify has to offer. They figure out the kind of music you like and the kind of music you have been listening to and then recommend an undeniable playlist or songs for you. If you use Spotify, you will understand the significance of personalization since you come across new songs of your preferred genre, and what could be better than that?

Adding personalization leaves a positive impact on your customers because it helps the customer to resonate with you and your brand on a personal level. 

So here I have listed the ways through which you can become your customer’s favorite through customization. 

Provide tailor-made recommendations 

Try to recommend products or services to customers based on their past purchases. In online sales, it is easy to keep track of customers’ purchasing history with your business. So why not put that information to use? 

Amazon reports that 30% of its revenue comes from up-selling and cross-selling products. Now if you see your selling and cross-selling are done by recommending products to customers as per their previous purchases or as per the purchase, they are about to make. 

YouTube is also setting an example when it comes to personalization. It showcases your videos and recommendations as per what you have previously watched or shown interest in.

For instance, I generally watch Shark Tank India episodes on Youtube. So, whenever I open my youtube account, I find episodes of Shark Tank flashing on my screen.

If you see closely what these recommendations are, engaging customers by facilitating their ease of buying. It is a sales psychology technique where you engage the customers by showing them things of their interest until they finally make a purchase. 

Bring a personal touch to your communication

Whenever you are communicating with your client, try to put their objective prior to your professional goal. 

Never make your customer feel that you are using them as a means to sell your product. Build your communication in such a way that makes your lead feel that their satisfaction is your topmost priority. This is what is known as relationship selling. You build a bond with your customer, gain their trust, give your customer insight into your business values and objective, and then utilize the bond to sell products as well as gain customer loyalty. 

More than 60% of Starbucks’ orders are customized. Starbucks provides drinks with the customer’s name on the container; they greet their customer with a smiling face and a very warm tone. Moreover, you can choose the milk type, syrup, and toppings to make your drink the way you like it. Most people go to Starbucks for their favorite drinks, while others prefer Starbucks for customization. You must have seen Instagram stories of people posting their Starbucks drink cups with their names on them. Now that’s a free promotion for Starbucks solely because of the superior experience they provide to their customers. If this is not the classic example of using customer engagement to increase sales, then I don’t know what is! 

Use social media platforms

Social media provides an easy-to-interact platform to millions of customers all over the world. If you want to build a huge customer base, then start leveraging social media. 

Social media is ruling today; even if a customer has to visit a shop, they will first scroll through their social media account or checkout if the products have been promoted by influencers. So today, social media is the place that is making using customer engagement to increase sales easier and tougher at the same time. 

Here is how you can leverage social media to increase engagement to boost sales. 

Visual advertisement 

Put your products out there for customer scrutiny, take the feedback positively, and make the changes as you progress. Showcase your product and service through visual content like photos and videos. It is a very simple yet very effective way to understand a customer’s perspective. Whenever you post product content, the reaction of customers will help you to understand the effectiveness of the product.

Here is how Maggie leveraged customer engagement for sales- They posted the new product that they actually brought to the market. They used social media to spread awareness about the new product that was coming, gained customer traction and customer engagement, and then finally launched the product when they could see that the prospects were now invested in the product and would certainly give it a try.

Take feedback and reviews

The best part about social media is that it offers you everything you can ever need to make a sale. It offers an advertising platform, it offers you the space to engage with customers, it lets you make hefty sales as well, and it also acts as a platform for both the business and customers to give feedback and reviews. 

Create the kind of content that allows you to survey your customers. 

For instance, run polls on what they love the most about your brand and what they like the least. Ask them to engage with your content and post feedback and reviews of your products and services. Posting customer reviews on Instagram and other social media platforms will help you highlight positive feedback and build trust.

When you receive feedback from customers, make them feel heard and implement their feedback, if possible, for the betterment of the product. When your prospects and existing customers see you actively engaging with them, it will further push them to engage with your business post. When it comes to customer interactions and engagement, it is always the more, the merrier! The more you will engage, the better your relationship will get, and you will be able to leverage that engagement into sales.

For instance, a customer is complaining about a skincare product that did not work for them. Ask for their concerns, ask about the kind of skin type they have and all the other prerequisites, and finally, tell them why the product did not work for them and also the right replacement for that product from your brand. Voila! Customer engagement converted into sales. 

Starbucks always considers the reviews and comments of its customers before launching a new product. This is one of the reasons why its product is likely to be accepted by customers.

Respond to customer queries

“Make A Customer, Not A Sale”- Katherine Barchetti

Try to respond to the queries of customers in real time. Research says that only 1 in 26 customers will tell a business about their negative experience; the rest will simply leave. So, whenever a customer approaches you, give them a quick and helpful response.

Replying to queries builds the credibility of your business since it makes the customer feel cared for and also makes it clear to them that you are not there to thug them but to actually support them with your product and services. This eventually builds an image of a caring brand for your business, and with every customer engagement, you gain customer loyalty which results in customer retention and boosted sales.

Recently, I received a virtual reward from LinkedIn, but when claiming the reward, I was not able to get the money back. I mailed the customer support service, and they responded to my mail within an hour and resolved the issue. This provided me encouragement as well as assurance to further participate in such competitions and earn rewards.

Also, different customers today use different channels to seek service and support. To ensure you are serving your customers where they are, you need to ensure that you are available on channels of their choice. And this includes calls, social media, live chat, and email. Especially in the case of young customers, social media and live chat are two of the most preferred channels. Yes, taking care of so many channels can get overwhelming but it needs to be done for a delightful customer experience. You can also consider BPO options like live chat outsourcing companies and CSaaS to take some work off your while at the same time ensuring omnichannel support for your customer inquiries.

Offer exclusive deals and discounts

Have you ever purchased anything in a shopping mall just because it is tagged with ‘40% OFF’ or ‘BUY 1 GET 1 FREE’?

Customers want the best value at the lowest cost, and discounts grab the attention of such customers to purchase more goods and services, ultimately leading to more sales.

Discount offers are a great way to create an urgency for purchase and increase the perceived value of the product in the mind of customers. 

Discounts and offers work amazingly for the B2C industry, but they might not perform the same in B2B. So, you should remember that giving discounts is not an ideal way for all the different types of sales. You need to be careful while giving discounts and offers so that you do not seem desperate to your customers or do not harm your business in any way by degrading the value of your product while selling it at a discounted price. 

Many brands promote discounts and offers on their product via WhatsApp marketing messages. In this way, the engagement rate increases and the results are also very attractive.

All and all, discounts are a great way to use customer engagement to increase sales. 

Apple always provides special offers and deals to its customers for all its products. It also runs a specific segment of products for students since many of its customers are students enrolled in colleges and universities.

Use lead bots

Nearly 46% of the customers expect a response faster than 4 hours. Lead Bots are a great way of providing quick and instant responses to customers, increasing the customer retention rate of your business.

Not only does the Leadbot provides 24/7 availability to the customers, but it also can also fetch the name, email address, phone number, and other details of any person conversing with the Leadbot, providing you the chance to follow up with your clients as well as potential leads.

‍Zixflow Leadbot is a no-code lead generation chatbot that can be customized as per your business needs and website pages. The Leadbot will not only resolve your prospects’ queries but also capture their information with consent and directly add it to your sales pipeline- automating your workflow from beginning to end.

Provide after-sales support

Honestly, Amazon is my favorite online shopping brand [no, they are not paying me to say this 🙃]. It is because of their painless after-sales service. Are you facing an issue with the product you bought? Return or exchange with ease. Did you return the product? Get your refund in no time! The best part is that the entire process is seamless, with no hassles involved. It is the reason that makes Amazon the favorite online shopping platform for many across the globe.

Providing after-sale services not only helps you to increase your business reputation but also provides opportunities for cross-selling and upselling related products. 

Be proactive about after-sales service. Reach out to your customers before they come to you. Follow up on them and ask about their experience with your product and services. Use automated email campaigns to welcome your customers and further follow up on them. Keep your customers updated about what is incoming and progress in your products and services. Keep them engaged through after-sales service and then use customer engagement for sales increase.

Create a community

The sense of community comes above all. Building a community helps you instill a sense of belongingness within your customers and increases their loyalty towards customers. So, build a community and help your customers feel connected at all times. Use the community to get feedback and understand their customers. 

Myntra, a renowned e-commerce brand in India, has established a community of ‘Insiders.’ This is the community of their premium members who get several discounts and early access to offers, and they are also given priority over other customers. Building this community has helped Myntra gain more premium customers, upsell, and gain faithful customers. 

Use email marketing

Email marketing is another powerful tool for using customer engagement to increase sales. But how to ace email marketing is still a question that many brands are wondering about. Here is how to get results through email marketing. 

Personalize the emails

Whenever sending mail to any client, try to personalize the mail by adding the name of the customer or referring to a previous conversation you might have had with them. 

Divide your customers into segment

Try to divide your customers into different segments based on demographics, customer behavior, or other relevant basis. This will help you to send one kind of tailored email to one segment of customers.

Use call to action in mails

Email provides you the golden opportunity to use calls to action and engage the users of your business platform. If you are sending an email for a discount offer, insert a call to action linking the mail to the product page. Let your customers know what the next step is.

Automation in email marketing strategies saves a lot of time and labor effort in the business. Zixflow you with the means to email automation; it is a must-try if you want to reduce your manual efforts by 10X. 

Create a referral program

A referral program is a marketing strategy under which you will reward your customer for referring new customers to the business. 

A referral program not only increases customer engagement in the business but also reduces the advertisement cost of the product, as most of the customers will visit you through word-of-mouth. 

Dropbox, a cloud storage and sharing company, uses its referral program, under which if an existing customer refers Dropbox to a new customer, both the existing and new customers will receive storage for free.

Host an event 

Hosting an event, like a webinar, workshop, or conference, is a great way of using customer engagement for networking and increasing sales. Provide valuable content to your customers during these events, and focus on providing information and educating them instead of making sales. When you focus on customer needs, your customers understand that you care about them, and thus, it pushes them toward buying from you. 

Ultimately increasing sales. 

Events can also help you build a network of your customers, which can eventually help you create a community. Moreover, when you are promoting the event on social media channels, it will help you in generating new leads. 

Hubspot, for instance, organizes a four-day annual event known as ‘Inbound,’ where it discusses the latest trends in the marketing and sales industry. The event includes expert sessions and general discussions with customers, making it interactive and informative for customers.

Offer free trials

If you offer your customers free trials, you are giving them a chance to use the product or service and check its quality before making an actual purchase. 

This is very effective in acquiring new customers in business as it eliminates the financial risk for a customer before purchasing the product.

I had only used Smytten once, and I learned that it provides free trial points to its users, under which they can order sample products and use them before making an actual purchase. After using its trial products, I ended up becoming a frequent customer.

Zixflow also offers you a free demo to try out their salesOS and take your time to fall in love with it. Give it a try right now if you want to accelerate your sales growth!

“Useful & Enjoyable & Inspired = Innovative Content”- Ann Handley

Content like blog posts, social media updates, infographics, youtube videos, etc., helps you to engage your customers in the business by providing them with something valuable. There are several types of content that you can create to boost sales engagement and eventually increase your sales. 

This blog is an example of one such content piece. Using content best practices and creating helpful content, you can help your audience educate about your products and services, how it solves their problems, and provide relevant information. This way, the customer feels connected to your brand since they are getting information without having to ask, so next time when they will think of buying a product that you sell, you will be their first preference. 

Exciting and innovative content encourages customers to interact with your brand and provide adequate feedback. Check the Youtube channel of Zixflow to update yourself with the latest sales trend and learn how to use its dashboard.

Provide excellent customer service

It is a cliche but also an undeniable solution- providing excellent customer service is the best way to use sales engagement to increase sales. Hear me out, reach out to your customer, provide them with impeccable pre-sales service, utilize sales cadence to enhance the results of your efforts, close the customer, and finally, do not hold back in providing after-sales service. When this chronology is followed the right way, your customers come to know that you are here to provide services and not just mint money. This created a positive impact, and the ripple effect of it results in your business getting positive word of mouth. 

So start engaging your customers with your services, and you’ll see the sales graph increasing eventually. 

Boost your sales conversions

In today’s competitive landscape, building strong relations with your customer is crucial. Following a great sales engagement plan and by implementing these strategies and creating meaningful connections, you can transform your business and achieve long term success. 

So, take these practical insights, adapt them in your unique circumstances, and watch as customer engagement becomes a catalyst for your increased sales and sustainable growth.