What Is a “fully engaged customer”? That’s a very good question! Some of the answer depends on who you ask. Marketing has one opinion, Sales, generally another, and then Customer Service might have an altogether different opinion.
My POV:
Adjust your perception. If a customer is talking to you – whether online or in-person, there’s engagement. If they are sharing a compliant, don’t see it as a compliant. See a compliant as an opportunity to understand, from their point of view, what’s working and what’s not working. Then you will be able to help them with relevant information in the context of their experience. That’s engagement.
Make sure if you are in sales, you are listening online to what customers are saying about the products and service that you offer. Listen to what they say about your competitors. Why? because customers, whether B2B or B2C are talking to each other about your product and services (and your competitors) and you need to know what they think before you try to sell them something. And if there’s something that’s really not working about your product or service, you need to communicate that back into the organization so the issues can get handled.
If you are in marketing, you will also want to be listening to customer conversations. You’ll not only find what is relevant to them, but be able to take that information and use to to craft your marketing messages and in messaging, you’ll be able to combat sales objections, product questions, and really be of service with your content. That will make you relevant in your customer’s eyes and entice them to be fully engaged.
Here’s where you can find more information on what a fully engaged customer is from some of the top experts in the world:
@drnatalie VP and Principal Analyst, Constellation Research
Covering Marketing, Sales and Customer Service to Deliver Great Customer Experiences