[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/05\/10\/beyond-buzzwords-what-it-really-takes-to-engage-your-customers\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/05\/10\/beyond-buzzwords-what-it-really-takes-to-engage-your-customers\/","headline":"Beyond buzzwords: What it really takes to engage your customers","name":"Beyond buzzwords: What it really takes to engage your customers","description":"Overwhelmed by all the buzzwords out there? Sort out how to get beyond buzzwords to engage customers and drive revenue. ","datePublished":"2017-05-10","dateModified":"2021-08-29","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/glen-hartman\/#Person","name":"Glen Hartman","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/glen-hartman\/","identifier":212,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ada0f736dbdb3b36ee9223a7eec18b76ad18fb85e48cf3bf3e4dd90ca84b180c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ada0f736dbdb3b36ee9223a7eec18b76ad18fb85e48cf3bf3e4dd90ca84b180c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/thumbnail-54a84d9d8370a8bdf43b6d0671595a5f.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/thumbnail-54a84d9d8370a8bdf43b6d0671595a5f.jpeg","height":370,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/05\/10\/beyond-buzzwords-what-it-really-takes-to-engage-your-customers\/","about":[{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/customer-engagement-marketing\/","name":"Customer Engagement","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Customer_engagement","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q5196451"]},{"@type":"Thing","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/marketing\/","name":"Marketing","sameAs":["https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Marketing","http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q39809"]}],"wordCount":664,"keywords":["Customer Engagement","Marketing"],"articleBody":"The CMO\u2019s agenda today is complex and exciting. It\u2019s where creative ideas meet smart analytics and technology at scale. But everyone in marketing knows that buzzwords can overtake agendas – so how do we make sure to get beyond talking points to action points?From my point of view, \u2018experience-led\u2019, \u2018transformation\u2019, \u2018personalization\u2019 and all the other great buzzwords we hear are coming together in a new service model. What do I mean by \u2018at scale\u2019? When we did the BMW launch for their I Series electric car, it was in 111 markets in 26 languages on one day.When I was a CMO I was overwhelmed by all the buzzwords that are out there. Now, as then, I can\u2019t find a company, from software to analytics to truck-driving, that isn\u2019t saying: \u201cWe need to be experience-led and think about transformation.” So how do you get past this and work out who can actually help you get there? Focus on performance. Not what technology is used or how it all works or implementation, but simply whether or not it actually moves the needle.Empathy for the end-customer has been a big theme in the past 18 months. If engagement and personalization are two key parts of this, one way to look at them is to reverse engineer the experience.You can play with this with your own teams using a really simple exercise: Split into pairs. One partner just has to put their arm out with their hand in a fist for a minute. The other person\u2019s job is simply to get that hand open, by any means necessary.It takes more than creativity to engage with customers, but you need to be willing to look at your company in new ways.When you come back together to discuss the exercise, you\u2019ll probably find a whole range of techniques were used. They\u2019ll range from brute force and devious trickery to flattery and good old-fashioned bribery \u2013 and they won\u2019t all have worked. The analogy of course is that as marketers, the goal is to be able\u00a0to get your customers to do something. And when you think about all the ways you can influence that outcome, through the myriad tools at your disposal, it\u2019s fascinating.You might find that the most successful tactic with this exercise is simply to ask the other person to open their hand. If you don\u2019t ask, you don\u2019t get. Or you might find someone bribes their partner, but what\u2019s interesting there is how quickly you can end\u00a0up spending money – $5, $10, $50, all just to get someone to open their hand?      DTC marketing: How retailers can reap real-time engagement benefits                DTC marketing: Direct-to-consumer retailers can see massive gains in e-commerce revenue via real-time engagement benefits.      Beyond buzzwords: Know your customer and your productThe moral here is that it comes down to understanding the right offer, and being able to know if it\u2019s worth your while. The question then becomes: \u201cWhat would I need to give that person to open up their hand and engage with the experience so I can get them to do what I want and what they want at the same time?\u201dAnd that\u2019s where analytics come in. It\u2019s understanding \u2013 especially in longer processes \u2013 how all the intertwined components of these things work that leads to digital transformation. Look at your customers at the different points in their journey. Try to really get to grips with their experience \u2013 and how the different parts of the business should be working together on their behalf.Digital transformation\u00a0can come from the smallest acorns \u2013 and can lead to hugely positive business transformation. But while you\u2019re thinking about ways to get your customers to do things, do keep an open mind.  Every digital moment matters.Are you making the most of them?1,000 business leaders dish on how to stand out from the crowd with a great CX. Get the details\u00a0HERE.\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2017","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"05","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/05\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"10","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/\/05\/\/10\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Beyond buzzwords: What it really takes to engage your customers","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2017\/05\/10\/beyond-buzzwords-what-it-really-takes-to-engage-your-customers\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]