Customer Engagement Strategies for Local Businesses

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Are you worried about decreasing customer engagement? 

If yes, then you are in the right place! We might just have the perfect customer engagement guide for you.

Local businesses sometimes suffer from lower customer engagement. There may be several reasons, such as the influx of competitors in the area, the economic situation, customers unable to connect with your business, etc. 

Take a look at the below screenshot showing the stiff, typical competition that local businesses face and lost a lot of prospects. 

But the good news is, it doesn't have to be that way. You can improve your customer engagement by simply tweaking key things. And the good news is, they do not cost a fortune. 

This blog has listed some low-cost customer engagement strategies that will skyrocket your engagement. So, let's get started. 

10 Proven Customer Engagement Strategies for Local Businesses

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1. Know Your Customer And Customer Journey 

One of the most common mistakes that local businesses make is not understanding who their customer is and what their journey is. 

Before you even ask how to engage your customers, you need to understand what attracts their attention. An example of this would be new moms who would like to get free baby gifts with purchases. But the same gifts won't work with teenagers. 

Another thing is to understand the customer's journey. At some point, not all of your potential buyers will be at the same stage. 

Take a look at what a customer journey prototype looks like:

Some would be at the consideration stage, whereas some would have already bought from you. So, use different offers and contents for different buyers' journey levels. 

2. Take Feedback Proactively 

Feedbacks are important. They help you understand how your shoppers feel about your products and services. Without feedback, you will never know when and how you can improve your local business.

As always, listening proactively to what your customer wants to say is one of the best ways to improve engagement. This will not only help your customers feel valued but also develop trust. 

Here's how to collect feedback: 

• Conduct Surveys Or Polls. You can use social media features like Instagram stories and Twitter polls to conducting a customer survey. For example, take a look at the below screenshot. 

• Encourage buyers to post reviews on your Google My Business listings and other reviews sites. 
• If you have negative reviews, answer them politely and try to solve their issues.

3. Make Your Store A Lively Place 

First impressions matter! Do you think a customer in your store would visit again if it's boring with a dull environment? 

The chances of that happening are low. 

As a local business, it's critical to start on the right foot to develop a long-lasting relationship with your customer. This is something that the brand Apple teaches the world how to excel at it. 

Take a look at the below screenshot of one of their store design that attracts numerous customers.

Here are tips to make your store a lively, energetic place to be: 

• Emphasize Brand Identity And Design: Right brand messaging can go a long way in improving customer engagement. Go wild with new ideas. Unique things always attract people. 
• Add Interactive Technology In Your Store: Raydiant reported that 46% of people still prefer shopping in-store. However, there is a high demand for contactless paying. Installing some form of interactive tech like self-checkouts can improve customer engagement. 

4. Reward Engagement 

You will lose it if you don't pay attention to what you already have. That's what many businesses do. 

They keep trying strategies one after another to gain new customers. But they forget about current customers who are already buying from them. 

Pay attention to your paying customers, and they will return the favor ten times stronger.

Here is how to reward engagement :

• Partner With Other Businesses: Partnering with other businesses allows you to offer unique, personalized rewards to your shoppers. 
• Develop a Loyalty Program: 80% of customers feel encouraged to buy from the store if it provides a first-time discount. As a local business owner, you can develop a loyalty program that rewards customers based on their journey. 

Here’s a good example of how a business is trying to enhance user engagement through a reward program. 

• Use a Referral System: Word of mouth marketing never gets old. You can leverage referrals to grow your user base. For example, provide a 10% discount on items if customers prefer to their friends or anyone. The best thing about referrals is that they are 18% more loyal. The best way to generate a referral system is through unique links. 

5. Communicate With VIP Customers With Special Offers

You might think, shouldn't everyone get the same treatment? 

Who are these VIP customers? 

These customers have been with your business for a long time. They have purchased your products consistently, referred their family members, etc. 

Now, there are three types of VIP customers: 

• Liberal VIP Customer: It's a person who is loyal to your local business. They usually purchase the most over a specific period. 
• Community VIP Customers: Although they are not high-paying customers, you can't live without them. Social media influencers come under this category. They generally refer you to other people. 
• Advocate for VIPs: These are big spenders. They are the advocates or sponsors of your brand. You can say they are a mix of community and VIP clients. They not only spend high but also spread the word about you. 

6. Prioritize Customer Support

Do you know 97% of customers change their buying patterns if they are unsatisfied with customer service? 

This means that no matter how good your product or service is, you will still lose the customer if the customer service is lacking. Friendly, helpful customer service can go a long way in engaging your buyers. 

Here are some helpful tips for setting up or improving customer service: 

• Use The Right Service Tools: Having the right service tools can make your life easier. So many popular services and tools cater to small businesses. These tools include Freshdesk, Zendesk, and SparkCentral, among others. 

Take a look at the screenshot below of Freshdesk that allows customers to connect with them through any communication channel. 

• Have A Positive Attitude: Not every customer who reaches out to you will be sweet. Some would be angry, rude, and disrespectful. But wait! Be positive. Attitude is everything. A positive attitude goes a long way in developing powerful customer service. 
• Respond Quickly: Over 66% of people believe their time is precious when online. As a result, resolving your customer's queries as quickly as possible is the cornerstone of effective customer service. Speed should be the priority, especially if the issues are small. 

7. Promote A Good Cause 

There has been a major shift in consumer behavior in the past two years. People want to shop with purpose. Shoppers are looking to connect with society by supporting businesses that run campaigns for good causes. 

For example, Lyft, an American mobile service provider, came forward to help essential workers during covid to give them rides. It touched emotions and grabbed the audience's attention.

According to Google, 46% of customers try to shop with businesses aligned with their values. Keeping this in mind, as a local business, you can take this opportunity to engage with customers through a good cause.

Here's how you can promote good causes 

• Support Local Charities: Customers go out of their way to support businesses connected with local non-profits. 
• Communicate with your buyers through social media, newsletters, and posters. Let them know about your commitment to a good cause.

8. Leverage The Power of Social Media 

Social media has a significant advantage in the digital world, especially for small businesses. It is one of the most powerful tools for improving customer engagement. 

Sprout Social reports that 57% of customers follow brands on social media to learn about products and services. 

Here are some tips to improve customer engagement with social media: 

• Run a ‘Tag a Friend’ Contest: Top brands use ‘Tag a Friend’ content to promote brand awareness. It looks simple, but it works amazingly. Simply post on Facebook or Instagram about your content. Let the audience know what gifts they will receive if they win the content. 

• Create Engaging Videos: Social media is about creating highly engaging content that resonates with your audience. Compared to text or image posts, video posts function X times better. 

For example, Samsung created a minimum robot that received good engagement on social channels and was also shared by hundreds of other popular social handles. 

• Leverage Local Influencers: Your area would have influencers with a high following. The good news is you can leverage this huge following by partnering with influencers. 

Read: Tips to Do Social Media Marketing for Ecommerce Websites

9. Create Custom Content That Answers Your Audience Questions 

If you think creating content is a waste of time because no one reads it, think again. Top brands like HubSpot, Kissmetrics, Moz, and Search Engine Journal use custom content to drive high customer engagement. 

Take a look at the below screenshot. The users look for digital marketing-related concepts on SEJ; thus, they create a lot of content. 

According to Demand Metric, 61% of buying decisions are influenced by custom content. 

Here are some tips for creating custom content: 

• Understand What Questions Are Bugging Your Customers' Minds: Then ask yourself, can you make custom content on these topics to help them get answers? 
• Take Help Of Tools: Manually searching for what your customers need. That's where tools help. Tools like Buzzsumo can help you find what your competitors create on social media. It has a queries feature that lists the topic questions your audience is searching for. 
• You can also create a survey using Instagram stories, Twitter polls, or a simple Google form. It will help you understand what your audience is truly seeking. 

 10. Personalization Is The Key

Last but not least, personalize. Now, this may seem cliché. But personalization can drive customers in droves. 

Customers regularly interact with multiple brands and businesses, from ordering groceries to buying shoes.

But at the end of the day, consumers will remember only the brand that gave them personalized service. Personalization simply helps your customers feel valued, appreciated, and not like 'you are just one of the millions of customers that buy from us'. 

You may have often seen the best-personalized results on ecommerce stores like Amazon. These businesses show that they know what you’re looking for. 

Here are some ideas on adding personalization to your small business.

• Use analytics tools to gather data. Data is critical to adding a personal touch to services.
• Create meaningful welcome emails and thank you forms.
• Use chatbots to provide them with instant customer service.

Customer Engagement Strategies & Local Businesses - FAQs

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1. How Can Customer Engagement Be Improved?

There are many ways to improve customer engagement. Some of them include supporting good causes, leveraging social media, taking feedback, etc. 

2. What Are Engagement Tools?

Customer engagement tools are used to improve customer engagement with your local business. Popular engagement tools include surveys, chatbots, emails, social media, etc.

3. What Is The Key Factor That Drives Engagement?

A study found that major factors influencing consumer engagement were rewards, product displays, product variety, music played inside the store, etc. 

4. How Do You Build Customer Relationships As A Local Business?

Key tips for building a strong customer relationship include communication, keeping your promises, adding value to their life, doing unexpected things, etc.

Key Takeaways

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• Listen to customer feedback proactively. 
• Develop custom content that provides answers to customer queries.
• Prioritize customer service. 
• Ensure your store is a lively space that keeps customers engaged.
• Promote a good cause. 
• Understand your customer and their journey.