Customer engagement is all about how you connect and interact with your customers across different points in their journey with your brand. It’s not just about getting a sale—it’s about building real relationships that make customers feel valued.
When you keep customers engaged, it leads to:
- Better Retention: Engaged customers stick around longer.
- More Loyalty: They’re likely to buy more and spread the word.
- Increased Revenue: Engaged customers drive up to 23% more sales for businesses that invest in keeping them connected.
In this article, you'll discover real-world examples of how top brands engage customers at every stage.
Let’s jump in!
When Is The Right Time To Start Engaging Your Customers?
The simple answer is: right from the start. You should engage your customers at every stage of their journey, from the moment they hear about your business to when they become loyal advocates. Each stage offers a chance to create meaningful connections that turn casual visitors into lifelong customers.
It’s important to keep them engaged at every touchpoint—whether they’re discovering your brand, considering a purchase, or using your product for the first time. Consistent engagement helps build trust, loyalty, and keeps them coming back.
With Nudge, you can easily stay in front of your customers throughout this journey. For example, our onboarding tours can help new customers feel at home from the start, and our contextual in-app messages keep them informed at key moments.
Now, let’s explore how you can engage customers at each stage of the journey.
Engaging Your Customers at Every Stage of Their Journey
Building strong customer relationships requires engaging them at every step of their journey. Whether they're just discovering your brand or already loyal advocates, each stage presents a chance to deepen the connection. Let’s break down how you can hook and keep your customers engaged as they move from awareness to advocacy.
1. Awareness Stage
At the awareness stage, potential customers are encountering your brand for the first time. To make a lasting impression, you need to engage them in a way that piques their interest. Offering quizzes or onboarding tours is an excellent way to achieve this. Quizzes allow customers to interact with your brand by providing personalized insights, while onboarding tours give a seamless introduction to your products or services, helping them feel connected right from the start.
Example:
ASOS, the online fashion giant, uses personalized style quizzes to engage new visitors. By offering product recommendations based on their fashion preferences, ASOS creates a tailored experience that makes customers more likely to return.
Nudge's onboarding tours are perfect for guiding new visitors through your offerings in a smooth, interactive way. By introducing them to your products step-by-step, you can ensure they understand the value of what you provide from day one, helping them feel more connected to your brand.
2. Interest Stage
Once customers are aware of your brand, the next challenge is keeping them interested. At this stage, it's crucial to maintain their attention and provide them with reasons to stay engaged. Targeted in-app messages are highly effective in doing this. These subtle nudges remind customers of the value your product or service can offer without being overwhelming.
Example:
Grammarly uses in-app messages to notify users about missed writing suggestions and encourage them to explore premium features for enhanced writing assistance.
With Nudge’s in-app messaging, you can send personalized notifications that keep customers engaged with your offerings, whether it's highlighting a special promotion or reminding them about items in their cart.
3. Consideration Stage
In the consideration stage, customers are comparing your brand with others. It’s essential to provide them with detailed information that helps them see the unique benefits of your products. Using shoppable stories or interactive videos can make this process smoother, allowing them to see your products in action and understand how they can meet their needs.
Example: Nike incorporates shoppable videos on their website, where users can see athletes using Nike products and directly purchase what they like. This provides an engaging experience while reducing friction in the buying process.
Nudge’s shoppable stories and PiP videos allow customers to interact with your products and services in a meaningful way, making it easier for them to see the value and move closer to a purchase decision.
4. Conversion Stage
At the conversion stage, it’s all about closing the deal. Here, subtle checkout nudges and in-app messages can help guide customers through the final steps of the purchasing process, ensuring there are no obstacles to completing their purchase.
Example:
Amazon’s cart reminders
Amazon’s use of cart reminders and cross-sell suggestions like “Customers who bought this also bought…” nudges customers towards making additional purchases or completing their transactions.
Nudge’s in-app messages can assist in the checkout process by reminding customers of abandoned carts or offering small incentives, like free shipping, to encourage them to complete their purchases.
5. Onboarding Stage
Once a customer has made a purchase, the onboarding stage is vital to ensure they get the most out of your product or service. Onboarding tours are key here, helping new customers quickly understand how to use your products effectively and get started with confidence.
Example:
Subscription-based companies like Spotify use onboarding tours to guide new users through setting up their accounts, customizing preferences, and exploring the app’s features. This makes the first experience smooth and user-friendly.
Nudge’s onboarding tours guide customers step-by-step through your product, ensuring they have a seamless and informed experience from the start.
6. Engagement and Retention Stage
After onboarding, the goal is to keep your customers engaged and coming back. Offering loyalty programs or gamified challenges can motivate customers to keep interacting with your brand and make repeat purchases.
Example:
Starbucks’ rewards program is an excellent example of customer retention through gamification. Customers earn stars with every purchase, which they can redeem for free items. The gamified experience makes customers want to come back and accumulate more points.
Nudge’s gamification features like loyalty programs and challenges are designed to keep customers engaged long after their initial purchase, driving ongoing interactions with your brand.
7. Customer Feedback Stage
Gathering customer feedback is critical for improvement and shows customers that you value their input. Surveys are a simple yet effective way to capture insights directly from your audience.
Example:
After every Uber ride, customers are prompted to rate their experience. This helps Uber continuously improve while keeping customers engaged in the feedback loop.
Nudge’s survey allows you to collect feedback seamlessly, helping you improve your offerings while engaging customers through their participation.
8. Advocacy and Referral Stage
Your best marketers are happy customers. Engaging satisfied customers to become advocates can drive referrals and new business. Referral programs can be highly effective here, rewarding customers for bringing new people to your brand.
Example:
Dropbox’s referral program is a classic example. Users were offered additional storage space for every successful referral, driving rapid user growth through word-of-mouth.
Nudge’s gamified referrals help you encourage existing customers to share their positive experiences with others, creating a steady stream of new customers without requiring extra effort on your part.
Conclusion
Engaging your customers at every stage of their journey is key to building long-lasting relationships and driving business growth. By incorporating strategies like quizzes, onboarding tours, loyalty programs, and surveys, you can ensure that your customers feel valued at every touchpoint.
Nudge provides the tools you need to make this happen without engineering efforts, offering seamless solutions for customer engagement and retention. Ready to enhance your customer journey? Book a demo with us today!