3 Ways To Leverage Customer Engagement
Grouped is a platform D2C (direct to consumer) and personal brands will use with the end goal of increasing sales. Whether it be sales of a product, a message, a charitable donation, etc... everybody is selling something. While this will be the end result, the engagement capabilities Grouped provides brands is the driving catalyst that will generate those sales.
Because brands have their own space, with the full attention of their communities, and a unique feature set, they’ll be able to significantly increase this engagement.
Three of the most effective ways for brands to leverage this engagement to drive sales will be feedback, exclusivity, and connection. In this article, I go a little deeper into these points, and why they are so vital for brands.
Feedback
What better way to grow your business than to listen to your customers? By creating an engaged community, you’ll be able to gather feedback from your customers daily.
From live conversations, to questions about your product, to general perceptions customers have, this information is priceless. On a deeper level, brands will be able to engage their customers for direct feedback by using live functions such as webinars, Q&A sessions, polls, and more.
Strategically driving this engagement will not only bring you valuable data to grow, but also make your customers feel more connected to your brand. It is a win-win. You’ll cut learning curves, and avoid making expensive mistakes by using their feedback, resulting in sales. Plus, grow customer loyalty and trust from the connection created, also resulting in sales.
Exclusivity
Everybody loves to feel like they are a part of something ‘exclusive’, and now with the emergence of social media, the die-hard fan spans far beyond your favorite football team or band.
It’s your favorite sourdough bread baker who sells you her $349 bread guide, your favorite protein powder brand because their CEO competes in the Crossfit Games, or your favorite skin care brand because they sustainably source from algae and save the oceans… You get the point.
Brands having a platform to give their biggest supporters a closer touch point will result in even more loyalty and trust. For these die-hards, the ability to get special offers, be surrounded by like-minded people, and be closer to the brand in an exclusive group will be a no brainer. Customers are far more likely to be loyal and continue to purchase from a company that continuously engages them, and makes them feel like they are “VIP” members of a community…
Connection
The forum section on Grouped gives brands the opportunity to directly interact with their customers, and connect their customers with each other. This is a great opportunity for brands to create community and conversation, where they can control the dialogue and strategically tie it back to the brand.
The more interaction that happens on the forum, the more sales will come. It creates social proof which is an essential strategy for brands to use to drive sales. People always want to feel like they are a part of what’s trending, and are far more likely to buy something if they know someone else did, or recommends it. They’ll feel like they are missing out if they do not get involved, and purchase. Brands can leverage this interaction to build hype and add a layer of urgency for the customer.
Lastly, the customer support you’ll be able to provide in this setting will be revolutionary, and will result in happier customers. AKA a better business. In speaking with many D2C customers, most of them value incredible customer service as much as they do the product the brand sells.
Now-a-days, consumers are conditioned to expect top-notch, fast customer service. If a brand doesn’t keep up they will not get a second chance. Grouped will give brands the opportunity to provide incredibly fast customer service, without needing to build the systems only the largest brands have access to. The barrier to entry will be much lower and early adopters of Grouped will have a competitive advantage.
In highly engaged groups, brands will find that when a customer posts a question in the forum, another customer will quickly answer before the brand even gets a chance to. This is a HOMERUN for brands, and it is a powerful form of word of mouth marketing, showing more social proof, resulting in more sales.
To Conclude
If someone is willing to join your private community, where the conversation is solely around your brand, niche, or content, that should tell you something.
They are highly interested in what you do and already like you… so much that they are willing to join a private group to interact and be a part of the conversations you create. In fact, it should scream to you that they are really close to pulling out their credit card and buying from you, as long as you do a great job engaging with them.
This is a great way to bridge the gap to a sale. Whether it be turning prospects into buyers, or re-engaging current customers and driving repeat purchases.
One of the most valuable things about Grouped is the ability for brands to correlate a monetary value per group member.
Unlike traditional social media followers, you’ll be able to pin a value to each group member, letting you know how much ROI your group is returning. This is extremely valuable because brands will know that growing their group will directly translate into sales.