3 Customer-Engagement Tips Designed to Boost Your Store’s Digital Marketing Success
Economies rise and fall – and, thus, businesses have to weather the good and the bad.
At this point, the most recent economic downturn is a few years behind us, but that period brought to light some key fundamentals of digital marketing that are still with us today. The biggest piece of that puzzle is customer engagement, and the survival of your laundry business during the next downturn may rely on the types of conversations you’re having online.
If you’re not initiating back-and-forth communication with your potential customers, how will they ever actually become your customers? Online engagement is the linchpin of a digital marketing strategy, and self-service laundries are no exception to that.
Try competing in today’s world without an online presence or social media strategy, and you’ll be left behind. More and more customers are turning to what they see as “modernized businesses,” but all those businesses are really doing is holding conversations online. You need to make sure you’re keeping up.
Tip 1: Free Stuff Builds Loyalty (and Customer Databases)
People love free stuff, and you can benefit from that. The combination of in-store promotions and the social media stage makes this particular engagement strategy a powerful one for small-business owners, because it ultimately creates engagement both in your store and online. Of course, you have to be intelligent about giving things away for free. Use free promotions judiciously as a tactic to gain more subscriptions and more in-store business, and you’ll see explosive growth.
Start out with something with very wide appeal, such as a free shirt cleaning or a free load of laundry. In my experience, these types of promotions boast extremely high conversion rates. Also, when word gets around that you’re offering something for free, it will ultimately lead to more business for you. So, not only does this approach help with customer engagement, but it also can lead to customer acquisition. Word of mouth is still very effective – it’s just largely changed to keyboards and smartphones, rather than actual mouths.
Tip 2: Be an E-mail Expert
E-mail marketing is an often-overlooked facet of digital marketing by small businesses. To be fair, laundry owners may not have the time to implement something like this on their own. You also need email addresses to make a campaign like this effective, and asking every customer for their email address is out of the question. Or is it?
The big secret to obtaining email addresses is in your website. If you can use your digital platforms to lead back to a specifically designed landing page on your website, you have a perfect opportunity to ask for an email address. The key here is to offer something of value – like the free load of laundry for a subscription. No doubt you’ve seen websites that have this kind of setup, and it’s possible you may have even given out your own email address to one of them. It’s a ridiculously effective tool for getting email addresses.
We’ve also heard about including WiFi systems that require customers to sign up using an email address to access service at your store. A system like that can help you capture emails without being so forward. You may notice systems like these if you’ve ever tried accessing WiFi at a Starbucks or a Dunkin Donuts.
From there, it’s pure and simple implementation. Continue to offer value to your customers, work out the correct messaging and send out your email. You may get a few unsubscribes from the people who just wanted your offer, but chances are you’ll still get business from those people. It works like a charm.
Tip 3: Excuse Me, Can You Take a Moment…?
Surveys are a huge marketing tool for small businesses, especially if you need more email addresses or want an ear to the ground regarding your customers’ needs. It may seem awkward at first, but take advice from the people who do surveys best – big businesses.
A good way to spread the work about surveys is through your established customer base. Look at how businesses like Subway, Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s put the links to their surveys on receipts, usually coupled with a small deal like a free cookie or sandwich. All they ask in return is feedback, an email address or a zip code. That information gives them vital insight about how they are performing, and what services they can add to improve their business.
Alternatively, you can simply post a link to your survey on social media or your website’s landing page. You can offer value with this approach just like the others, and it’s a great conversation starter right there on social media. It gets even better when you incorporate email marketing to disburse surveys – the customers who are brand loyal will respond and give you real insight into your business.
Think about what a survey might be able to tell you about your customers and what they value. You may get feedback about equipment, in-store entertainment for customers who are waiting, promotions that you run, or hundreds of other potential aspects of your business. Not everything you hear will be pleasant, but unpleasant truths are fixable and may also save you from receiving brand-damaging reviews online. Raw, honest feedback from your customers may be just what you need to get ahead and keep online engagement humming.
Be a Conversationalist
The secret that every good conversationalist knows is that, to have other people listen to you, you have to listen to them first. It doesn’t matter if it’s a customer at your service counter or a nearby local who is browsing the web for a business like yours. If you don’t listen and fill a need in an engaging and attractive way, you’ll never have the level of engagement that leads to success.
Don’t be afraid to ask your online audience what they would like to see. Facebook itself recommends this as a tactic for managing a group or page, and the experience of marketing professionals worldwide attests to the power of such questioning. Engaging isn’t just about investing in your business – it’s about investing in your customers. The more they feel that you’re interested in more than just their money, the more they’ll want to do business with you – and that kind of traditional value and loyalty mean a strong future for your laundry business, no matter what the economy is doing.
