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The days of transactional relationships with customers are gone. Today, long-term business success requires offline and online consumer engagement. Your customers expect you to connect with them through reviews, events, and other touchpoints. This article looks in-depth at the reasons why brand engagement matters.
Understanding consumer brand engagement
Consumer brand engagement (CBE) refers to the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral connections that consumers form with a brand. It encompasses various aspects of brand interaction, including brand awareness and brand advocacy.
CBE is not just about liking a brand or brand recognition. It involves a deeper psychological state characterized by varying levels of intensity. Whether online or offline, CBE represents a specific sub-form of consumer engagement that occurs between the consumer(s) and the brand. It involves consumers actively thinking about, feeling for, and acting towards a brand in a positive manner. This is seen in various ways, such as participating in brand-related discussions, sharing brand content on social media, or even advocating for the brand among peers.
In short, brand engagement refers to more than making a sale. With its focus on meaningful connection with potential and existing customers, brand engagement is about creating a bond. This can be emotional or rational, but the bond is built through creating and nurturing customer relationships.
Personalization is key to building customer engagement. By tailoring communications or experiences to create more relevant and meaningful connections, personalization helps consumers feel understood and valued.
Aligning brand engagement with the target audience’s interests, preferences, or past behaviors makes the interaction more relevant and improves customer experience, which strengthens brand loyalty and reduces churn.
Community-driven brand engagement can improve these relationships by helping individuals to form human connections with a brand in a social context. For example, live brand engagement events such as product launches, webinars, and conferences can create a sense of exclusivity. Virtual customer engagement events may increase reach and accessibility. An online brand community can help foster a sense of belonging and encourage engagement through asking questions and supporting others in the community.
Most companies already understand that brand engagement is important. This section outlines in more detail why marketers find customer engagement to be a crucial linchpin in building a brand.
Builds stronger customer relationships
Most consumer brand engagement transforms the interaction from a purely transactional experience to a meaningful relationship. When consumers feel emotionally connected to a brand, they are more likely to trust it and advocate for it.
Customer engagement strategies foster two-way communication, which allow brands to listen to and address customer feedback, concerns, and suggestions. It means that customers feel heard. When they see their input reflected in brand decisions or improvements, it strengthens their sense of partnership, making customers feel like they are part of the brand’s journey.
Why it matters: Strong customer relationships, built through ongoing engagement, help secure a brand’s longevity. Engaged customers are also more likely to give a brand the benefit of the doubt and remain loyal even when problems occur.
Enhances customer retention
Fostering a deeper connection between the customer and the brand plays a vital role in enhancing customer retention. When customers are consistently engaged, they are more likely to continue purchasing.
Customer engagement focuses on strengthening emotional bonds, providing continuous value, personalization and customization, and creating a sense of community. With brand engagement, communication is regular and consistent, which reduces the likelihood of customers drifting away to competitors.
External brand engagement is crucial in fostering customer loyalty through various touchpoints, as it involves interactions with potential and existing customers as well as the general public.
Why it matters: Engaged customers are less likely to switch to competitors and more inclined to continue their relationship with a brand. Often long-term retention and business success reflects brand engagement success.
Increases Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) measures the total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over the course of their relationship. Brand engagement supports an increased CLV by encouraging repeat purchases and reducing churn.
Brand engagement also makes customers more likely to explore a company’s full range of products or services. This can lead to higher average transaction values, as customers may purchase premium products, add-on services, or complementary items. Upselling and cross-selling opportunities are more effective with engaged customers, further boosting CLV.
Why it matters: CLV can help businesses reduce customer acquisition costs, improve products and services, and simplify financial planning. Brand engagement can help companies make better decisions about marketing and sales strategies.
Drives word-of-mouth and advocacy
By creating memorable experiences and building strong emotional connections, your brand makes a positive impression, one that customers are more likely to talk about with friends and family, generating organic word-of-mouth. The more memorable the experience, the more likely it is to be shared.
Successful customer engagement actively encourages customers to create user generated content (UGC), such as social media posts and videos. For example, when promoting SoBe’s new flavors in a national tasting tour — complete with pool party in Vegas — we used the tagline #SoBeNotSorry. This helps to provide an outlet for customer engagement and build an online community.
Why it matters: A Nielsen study found 92 percent of consumers trust friend and family recommendations over all other forms of advertising. Similarly, McKinsey research determined “word-of-mouth is the primary factor behind 20-50 percent of all purchasing decisions.”
Provides valuable customer insights
Brand engagement provides valuable consumer insights by facilitating direct interactions and feedback channels between the brand and its customers. Customer engagement lets brands gather useful data on what customers like and dislike, including their favorite products, features, and content.
Engaged customers are more likely to provide feedback from customer service interactions, make social media comments, take brand surveys, and leave reviews. This can help the brand:
- Uncover pain points and consumer challenges
- Measure customer sentiment
- Tailor recommendations or special offers
- Anticipate purchasing patterns
- Understand buyer journey
- Discover emerging trends
Engagement platforms also provide data on how customers interact with the brand — such as which channels they use, how frequently they engage, and what actions they take. This can help your brand understand customer habits and identify patterns to optimize marketing campaigns or improve user experience.
Why it matters: Brands that actively listen to these conversations can create products that better align with market demands, realize how to reward brand loyalty, develop creative marketing content that meets customers where they are, and remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly changing market.
Helps differentiate from competitors
Brand engagement communicates the brand’s values, mission, and personality consistently across all interactions with consumers. When consumers feel connected to a brand’s identity, they are less likely to be swayed by competitors, even if those competitors offer similar products or services.
Engagement allows brands to craft personalized and unique customer experiences that are difficult for competitors to replicate. A brand that consistently delivers unique and enjoyable experiences stands out in a crowded marketplace.
Why it matters: Engaged brands are better positioned to understand and meet customer needs, drive innovation, and build trust through consistent communication and social responsibility. These factors help brand loyalty and help the business offer distinct customer engagement initiatives that competitors may struggle to replicate.
Grows sales and revenue
Customer engagement drives sales and contributes to revenue growth. Here’s how:
- Regular brand engagement — whether through social media, email marketing, or loyalty programs — keeps the brand top-of-mind, leading to more frequent purchases.
- Existing and potential customers tend to spend more per transaction when engaged.
- Retaining existing customers is more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.
- Reducing churn and encouraging repeat purchases helps maintain a stable and growing customer base.
- As Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) increases from brand engagement, so does overall revenue.
- Brands with high customer engagement can leverage their customer loyalty to support new product launches.
- Engaged customers are more likely to try new products and provide valuable feedback.
- Building trust and familiarity reduces purchase hesitation and increases the likelihood of converting interest into sales.
- Loyal customers are more likely to post and share user generated content about their customer experience, which provides social proof.
Why it matters: Creating strong, ongoing relationships with customers through brand engagement supports sustained revenue growth and long-term business success.
Creates positive brand image and reputation
Brand engagement is a powerful driver of a positive brand image and reputation. Customer engagement is founded on meaningful, transparent, and consistent communications, These, in turn, lead to a strong, positive brand image.
Here’s how brand engagement connects with reputational gains:
- Engagement provides opportunities for authentic, two-way communication between a brand and its consumers.
- Engaged customers develop user generated content the brand can use in its marketing efforts.
- Brands can align themselves with social causes, cultural movements, or community efforts that resonate with their audience.
- Engaged consumers are more likely to share their positive experiences with others, both online (e.g. reviews and social media) and offline.
- This customer advocacy organically spreads goodwill and enhances the brand’s reputation.
- When consumers see that others are actively engaging with a brand — through likes, shares, comments, or participation in brand events — it serves as social proof.
- The increased customer engagement also helps brands gain valuable insights, which can help them continuously improve and continue to attract and retain customers.
Why it matters: Positive perception extends brand reach. It also retains loyal customers and also attracts more customers and strengthens the brand’s position in the market.
Where consumers engage with brands
Consumers engage with brands across multiple channels, including online and offline platforms. Online brand communities and social media are increasingly important channels for consumer-brand interactions.
Online brand communities and social media platforms provide rich opportunities for consumers to interact with brands, share their experiences, and engage with other consumers. These platforms enable brands to build relationships with their customers and encourage brand advocacy.
For instance, an online brand community can serve as a hub where customers ask questions, share tips, and provide feedback. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow brands to engage with their audience in real-time, creating a dynamic and interactive environment. These interactions help build a sense of community and belonging among customers, which strengthens their emotional connection to the brand.
Measuring brand engagement
Businesses can measure brand engagement across several metrics, including social media engagement, email subscribers, employee interactions, website traffic, and customer and employee feedback. Setting benchmarks and measuring engagement at continuous intervals can help you identify areas for improvement and optimize brand strategy.
Keep in mind, though, that fostering brand engagement is challenging. When you examine brand management you may see customer engagement rates rise and fall. Understanding these fluctuations involves looking at both internal and external factors such as:
- Successful brand campaigns or marketing content
- Increased exposure through advertising, social media promotion, influencer partnerships, or media coverage
- Seasonal trends impacting consumer interest in specific products or brands (witness the late August release of Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Latte — yes, August)
- Customer satisfaction prompting positive reviews or recommendations
- Negative brand engagement experiences causing word-of-mouth or social media posts
- Current events, trends, or social issues may change the way the brand resonates with its audience
- Repetitive or uninteresting content drains emotional brand engagement
- Updates to social media algorithms could change how posts are prioritized
- Increased competition for potential customers
- Market saturation making it harder to stand out
- Shifts in consumer preferences, economic conditions, or cultural trends
Key customer engagement metrics
Brands can use various metrics and analytics to measure brand engagement. These metrics provide valuable insights into consumer behavior and preferences, enabling brands to develop effective customer engagement strategies.
When you do consumer brand engagement research these can help:
- Social media engagement: Likes, shares, comments, and overall interaction on social media.
- Email open rates: Measure how many recipients open and engage with email campaigns.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Surveys: Gauge satisfaction with products, services, and overall brand experience.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS): Assess the likelihood of customers recommending the brand to others.
Boost brand engagement with A Little Bird
Building brand engagement is an ongoing process that can require the help of a creative experiential marketing team who understands consumer behavior and can assess brand engagement efforts to better nurture customer satisfaction and build long-term relationships.
A Little Bird’s experiential marketing company services include examining brand engagement to optimize your customer engagement strategy. Our strategists can help identify your target audience, the best channels for consumer and brand engagement, and develop better outreach and consumer brand involvement. Contact us.