When you’re trying to accomplish a lot with very little like many businesses, it’s important to find the right tools and methods that will give you the most bang for your buck. When it comes to customer engagement, a tool that not only captures customer data but also markets to and engages these customers while they’re in your place of business can prove valuable.
Since the launch of our customer engagement console, we’ve found that companies see great benefit in this “all in one” engagement console. In one visually appealing tablet console, businesses can easily:
- Capture customer feedback onsite, even from customers not making purchases
- Market new products & services via video streaming
- Assist customers when employees aren’t readily available; the “choose your own adventure” system can guide customers to choose products based on need
- Encourage customers to participate in loyalty programs; reward those already enrolled in the program
- Integrate social media to allow customers to provide instant feedback and engage with company social media outlets
How can companies make the most of the customer engagement console? Most companies, when first utilizing the program, want to “do it all” at first. Below are some tips to make the most of the program:
1. Set objectives: what is your primary use for the engagement console? Is it feedback, marketing, or serving as a virtual associate? Determine the main objective for the program and build other opportunities alongside it. Your objective should be the main focus, and tie in one or two additional features so as to become accustom to the program’s capabilities while not overwhelming the customer.
2. Start small: before rolling out consoles in every location, you may want to consider starting with high and low performing locations. This is a useful tactic to get used to the program, fleshing out your objectives, and determining how to make the most of the program. Because consoles can be customized to a region, geography, or even specific locations, you can target objectives on a store or regional level to get the most information.
One example that was recently shared was a grocery store utilizing the customer engagement console as a feedback tool. With a well placed console, customers were able to share with the store if they got the help they needed on the sales floor. If they didn’t, they could pinpoint what section of the store they needed help in and why they didn’t get it (looked for an employee but couldn’t find one, employees were present but engaged in other tasks and weren’t acknowledging customers, etc). This particular business could determine that improper staffing techniques were being used in certain areas of the store; departmental managers were talked to based on the results, and managers were supported in ensuring that their departments were well staffed despite strict budget concerns.
2. Placement is everything: depending on the size of the locations and type of business, it may be beneficial to utilize multiple consoles in any given location. For example, in a drug/grocery store, you may want one in the pharmacy department and another near the checkout lanes. Each can have its own objective and be fully customizable. This allows companies to capture the most customer data and engage with as many as possible while collecting a variety of data to use when making business decisions. Make sure you’re choosing high traffic areas to draw the most attention.
3. Get employee buy in: without it, the consoles may not do their job. Especially when the main focus is customer feedback, make sure employees know the purpose of the program, and make it a positive addition to your stores. Employees will be more willing to point it out and encourage customer use if they’re on board.
4. Everything in due time: when customers start using the customer engagement consoles, they want to “do it all” once they see what can be gained. Take it slow and let data build up in the system before making changes. We’ve seen some clients set up a feedback survey, for example, and then think “Hey, we want to know this too – let’s change up the survey” – as with any feedback program, making the survey too long or changing the questions too often will not give you the information you need. Take your time and realize it’s a long term program – you can do it all, but take a slow, methodical approach for the most success.
As technology becomes more integrated in customer relations, consoles such as this will become even more important for companies. If you’d like to learn more about the customer engagement consoles or see how they would look for your business, please feel free to contact us via email anytime.
