Pallets Move the World, but Customer Engagement Moves Business

While pallets move the world’s products, they’re not exactly engaging… In fact, most people don’t give much thought at all to pallets. Yet, at Rose Pallet, we see a great need for these wooden and plastic platforms. However, just because there is a demand, it doesn’t mean our pallets sell themselves. So, how do we get pallets to elicit a response or ‘move’ our customers? The answer hinges on customer engagement or CE.

In its simplest terms, customer engagement is defined as communication between a customer and an organization through various channels of correspondence. This connection can be a reaction, interaction, or an effect which takes place online and offline. We’ve identified three critical areas that help strengthen CE in any business, regardless of market.

1. Get Online: Mobile and social technology make it possible for customers to find information instantly and take control of their engagement experience with any company.  So, the first tip is to have a strong online presence, which includes a responsive Web site (scalable for viewing on multiple platforms), social media accounts, and a blog.  Of course, these sites should all be current, updated frequently, and contain relevant company or industry information.
2. Engage and Analyze: Through your online presence, you can engage customers with informative articles, links to industry news and tips, Web-based learning, or even contests, surveys, and promotions.  Most importantly, however, is that these platforms easily allow you to solicit and collect customer feedback, which you can then incorporate into your daily operations and/or product or service offering. Oftentimes, when businesses spend time analyzing the data, they can discover new trends before their competition.
3. Face Value: Offline, customer engagement can be more personal. With so much focus on the online experience, some businesses underestimate the power of and need for face-to-face interaction.  Take time to call on customers rather than relying on email. Set up a site visit or a business lunch to touch base and catch up on both business and personal matters.  Use this time to carefully listen to your customer’s challenges so you can better anticipate his or her needs.

At Rose Pallet, we regularly call on our clients and ask them how we’re doing and what we can do better. During these interactions, we can identify trends in responses which help us to shape our business and operations. For example, pallets can easily be overlooked until an emergency arises and a shipment is held up due to lack of supply or non-compliance issues. Then, pallets become front and center. To help our clients avoid stressful scenarios such as this, we can custom-design pallets for unique logistical needs and help implement pallet management programs to assist with supply and inventory.

Ultimately, the key is to engage with customers, start a discussion, and take action in order to move business forward, retain loyal clients, and create a positive experience. What does your business or organization do to engage customers? Please comment below…