Customer Engagement – What it is not!

What exactly is Customer Engagement? In the Call Center industry, we hear many terms or “buzz-words” that get tossed around, but all too often, we don’t really take the time to understand the true and applicable meaning. Customer Engagement is a term that is heard on a regular basis within the call center industry, but what is it? I’d like to offer my view of what it is, what it is NOT, and how it has evolved in recent years.

Let’s start by stating what Customer Engagement is NOT:

It is not Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is simply your customer being satisfied that you, as a company, have done your job. You delivered what you promised, but no relationship has been built with the customer.

It is not Customer Delight: Customer Delight is when your company has done more than what your customer expected. You, as a company, have exceeded their expectations; something we strive for at Etech. While delighting one’s customers is not seen as customer engagement, it does factor into the process.

It is not Customer Loyalty: Customer loyalty can be defined in terms of repeat purchase patterns but may be lacking a bit in the relational aspect.

It is not Customer Service: Customer service is what you do when the customer experience fails or the customer is not satisfied.

So, what is Customer Engagement? Customer Engagement goes further than the above-mentioned dynamics although each of these do factor into Customer Engagement. According to the definition, Customer Engagement can be defined as the level of a customer’s cognitive, emotional and behavioral investment in specific brand interactions. So we know the definition, but what does Customer Engagement look like in the “real world”? It is customers who know your brand (cognitive), they purchase regularly from you and are your brand ambassadors consistently recommend you to family and friends (behavioral), and they willingly share feedback on your products or performance (emotional) … especially via social feedback!

How does a business develop Customer Engagement? Good question; and one we will explore on my next blog. Until then, may you make a positive impact in the lives of those you touch each day. God bless!