Customer engagement is an essential KPI that can help track the health of your business. An active and loyal customer base can drive long-term sales growth while also providing the user metrics that can inform big decisions down the road. Understanding customer engagement and implementing strategies that effectively communicate your business online are sure ways to build and retain a great customer base.

This is important because having a sound customer engagement strategy can ensure that your product or service is reaching your intended audience in a digital world cluttered with generalized messaging and marketing. Let's discuss what the customer experience is and how to create ones that are seamless with customized and effective messaging.

Mapping the Customer Journey

So, what is customer engagement? It’s all about the customer journey and they aren’t “one size fits all.” Different buyers behave differently along each stage of the journey. It may take a certain profile of a customer several weeks to research different products, while others may simply jump ahead to a demo call or fill their cart and purchase without any research at all. 

Customer engagement looks at how your business interacts with your customers and treats them differently according to their behaviors. Fueled's Customer Lifecycle Stages provide a rough framework to classify the average behavior as they progress from visitors to prospects to paying customers. It is also important to have deliverables in all stages of the customer's journey to reinforce the idea that your product or service is right for them.

5 Customer Lifecycle Stages

1. Awareness / Acquisition: Building customer awareness is the first step. Prospects of your product or service will discover your business, so it is important to share any educational information regarding your product/service so that the customer doesn’t have to look for it elsewhere, driving business to others. Some deliverables include whitepapers or how-to’s for your product or service.
2. Activation / Consideration: Your prospective customer will do their research and come up with a short list of which they will consider aspects of the product/service and their wants/needs. Here, the consumer will be testing out your product or service to see if it best fits what they want, so it is important that your product outshines the competition. Some attainable deliverables at this stage include samples, FAQs, and data sheets. Ask yourself these questions at this stage: Can people find my business without hassle? How does my product compare against competitors in terms of pricing and features? What is my unique selling point to convince buyers to pick me over the competition?
3. Conversion: The customer will complete their actions here, whether they decide to use your services or product or to use another business. Social proof, like recommendations or customer reviews, play an important role in this stage to show the potential customers what your values are as a company. Showing clients that your product is their solution based on previous customer feedback and experience can drive them to make that final decision.
4. Retention: The customer journey continues on after the initial purchase and contract signing. Your customers need you to constantly value them and support their needs when it comes to your product. Any great company knows how to keep their customers with hands open, returning to the service or product your business provides when they need it most. A few deliverables you can supply at this stage are follow ups, surveys, or more how-to’s of your service/product.
5. Advocacy: Arguably the most important stage as it brings about challenges, customer advocacy happens when your customers use your product, like it, and like it so much they have to share their secrets with others. A happy customer is likely to bring about endorsement as if they made the product themselves. Here, you can provide referral or loyalty programs to implement and spark a professional yet personable connection with your clients. In exchange for testimonials from your customers, you can provide a channel for them to offer out your services to their contacts!

In Conclusion

Businesses like yours must be proactive in understanding and adapting to the shifting needs and expectations of their audience. Fueled understands the ways in which to navigate the intricacies of the modern customer journey, but we also know to leverage this as a powerful tool for sustainable growth and success. 

If you’re looking for product led growth, understanding the 5 Customer Lifecycle Stages is essential, and Fueled is here to help effectively align your engagement strategy to each stage.