Top 15 Customer Engagement Trends to Watch Out for in 2024

What would you do for a better customer experience?

It is reported that 86% of customers are willing to pay more (often as high as 140%) if they receive a better customer experience. Luxury and extravagant purchases regularly command an average premium of 13% simply because consumers believe they get an exclusive and unique customer experience.

But today, everybody is looking for exclusive, tailor-made customer experiences that align with their personality, lifestyle, and choices. In an increasingly exclusivity-seeking world, it is evident that brands need to forge an emotional connection to get their attention and build customer loyalty. This can only be made possible with impactful customer engagement.

What is Customer Engagement?

Customer engagement involves effectively interacting with your customers throughout their purchase journey so that they choose to associate with you by buying your product and/or endorsing your services. The better the engagement is done, the more likely it is that the customer will turn into a repeat buyer. In fact, 59% of customers say they trust the brands they interact with. Another study found that 82% of customers with a high emotional engagement towards a brand will always buy from it.

Now that we have established enough evidence that customer engagement is critical to greater customer loyalty, retention, and, ultimately, the top line, here are the latest trends for 2024 in customer engagement.

Top 15 Customer Engagement Trends to Watch Out For in 2024

1. Omnichannel Customer Engagement

Omnichannel engagement refers to integrated interactions where you engage customers across multiple channels such as email, content, social media, SMS, etc. It ensures that a unified message is sent across channels with a seamless connection. The result: a seamless impression is made on the customer.

An example of omnichannel marketing is that of Nike. They connect their physical stores, mobile app, and online platforms. This way customers can explore items on the website or app and then pick products from the physical stores, making for a seamless customer experience. The mobile app goes a mile ahead by enabling customers to check inventory and scan barcodes making the store visit worth it.

Customer engagement platforms such as MoEngage enable brands to position themselves with unified messaging across different channels such as social, email, and live chat and offer a connected experience.

2. Personalization through Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools have made their way into every brand’s marketing strategy today. AI opens up many possibilities for marketers in many ways. One of the strongest ways to leverage AI is by personalizing existing data on the target groups.

Thanks to personalization, customers feel like their needs are heard and can be addressed. In fact, a grim statistic suggests that 66% of consumers will quit a brand if their customer experience isn’t personalized. There is no point in sending an email about backaches to a customer who only suffers from headaches. This is where personalization can step in.

For example, Amazon has started using a machine learning tool called Amazon Personalize that can recommend products to customers based on their buying patterns and preferences. This has resulted in fewer abandoned carts on the platform.

Adobe Target is an example of a useful tool for personalization. It can analyze customer data available on each customer to deliver personalized results for brands, such as one-click mobile optimization and single-page optimization.

Another tool brands can explore for personalization is Monetate. This tool helps segment audiences and, accordingly, deliver communications.

3. The Rise of Chatbots

Chatbots refer to algorithm-based answering machines that can be placed on a website or app. These chatbots can answer questions from customers and direct them to relevant solutions.

Chatbots lower (if not replace) the need for human intervention to solve customer queries, resolve queries quicker, and are online 24/7/365.

Some software companies that are helping brands with chatbot implementation include ChatBot and Intercom. These tools can learn from the information available on your website and use the information to answer customer queries.

4. Voice Assistants as Customer Engagement Tools

Voice assistants are similar to chatbots. The main difference is that voice assistant communications take place through audio, while a chatbot speaks through text. Think “Alexa” and “Siri”! Voice assistants can develop a contextual understanding of a customer’s needs and answer their questions accordingly in a near-human manner.

Mercedes-Benz has built its own voice assistant that is now being integrated into its cars. These assistants can help with navigation, voice control, on-board apps, and so on.

5. Video Marketing for Customer Engagement

66% of consumers find short-form videos to be the most engaging type of content. Further, 91% consumers want to see more online video content from brands. Such is the impact of video marketing over text or audio. Video marketing can truly unlock the potential of brand messaging about products or any new developments given the scope it offers.

Google Android’s “Friends Furever” was the most shared video ad of 2015. The video caught the attention of users because it wastopical and witty along with being warm-hearted.

Another noteworthy example is that of Reebok’s 25,915 days #HonorYourDays campaign. The video did not have any spoken words but sent across a powerful message about making the most of every day given to us.

6. Gamification to Drive Engagement

Gamification in marketing is borrowing elements from games to make customers have more fun while engaging with the brand. Gamification could involve scoring points, leveling up, or streaks which encourages customers to re-engage with the brand, leading to customer loyalty over the long-term.

Gamification emotionally rewards customers for engaging with a brand. A great example of gamification is that of popular language-learning platform Duolingo. They have gamified the app such that learning a language feels like leveling up in a game.

7. Social Media platforms

Marketers are no strangers to social media marketing for boosting engagement. In 2023, an estimated 4.9 billion people use social media across the world. Clearly, this channel cannot be ignored.

Starbucks stands as one of the most creative brands when it comes to creating great social media campaigns. In 2017, the brand launched a “Unicorn Frappuccino” campaign. It was one of the top most trends on social media at the time of the launch. It created a great way for customers to share their own Starbucks-related content on social media. Here, a stir of the drink would result in changing colors much like a mythical experience resulting in great engagement.

Among the many tools for social media management, some worth mentioning are Buffer, which allows you to schedule your social media posts, and Hootsuite, which provides a full-service social media management platform.

8. Loyalty Programs

It can be much cheaper for a business to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one. In fact, a study says that acquiring a new customer can cost 5-25x more than retaining an existing customer. This business principle informs customer loyalty programs run by many companies. A loyalty marketing program rewards repeat business, which turn, helps improve the bottom line.

Several customer loyalty program tools can automate every aspect of it. Examples include Gitbit and LoyalZoo.

9. Customer Data for Personalization

Customer data can tell you all you need to know about customer behavior. Without data driven insights, brands can barely devise well-targeted marketing strategies.  Today, you can leverage social media, web tracking, predictive analytics, transactional data, subscriptions, and surveys.

You can use tools such as MoEngage for a deeper understanding of customer needs and customer preferences to provide a personalized customer experience. Brands must take care of local and global data collection regulations now to ensure that they are compliant.

10. Seamless Customer Experiences

A seamless customer experience includes quick service, hassle-free shopping experience, and responsive customer support, among many other elements.

Many tools are leveraging AI/ML to help deliver seamless customer experiences. For example, Adobe Experience Manager helps deliver relevant content to customers depending on their needs.

11. Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) can best be explained with an example. Imagine you are using your camera that is pointed at your desk. The camera automatically tells you that your desk is four feet tall. This is the power of AR. AR can boost the shopping experience of customers manifold by offering a near real-world experience.

56% of shoppers surveyed by NielsenIQ said that AR gives them more confidence about the quality of a product, and 61% said they prefer to shop with retailers that offer AR experiences. Brands can leverage AR to give virtual trials and product information creatively.

IKEA leverages AR to help shoppers try and visualize products in their own living or office space before buying. AR tools like the IKEA Place app superimpose to-scale models of furniture in real-life rooms.

12. Customer Feedback

48% of consumers expect a response to social media queries and complaints within 24 hours. 40% of them are likely to share negative reviews on social media. So, are you listening and planning to make sure you meet customer expectations? Simply taking customer feedback into account can lead to greater customer satisfaction, higher brand loyalty and a better customer experience.

Udemy needs to market itself to several different segments of the population. For this purpose, the brand tailors its marketing efforts for each target group. Udemy conducted surveys that informed their marketing efforts.

13. The Impact of Voice Search Optimization

Voice search is increasingly gaining popularity as voice detection technology improves. The channel is relatively new but effective at allowing brands to be discoverable. Think “Alexa! Find me a red sweater for Christmas NOW!”

Content can be optimized for voice search the same way it is for text-based searches. The key is to ensure that it is as readable as possible and easily discoverable by search engines.

Honeywell is already leveraging voice search for warehousing and inventory management with Honeywell Voice, a voice-enabled search service offering accuracy, efficiency, and safety for fulfillment center employees.

14. The Importance of Environmental Sustainability

Consumers are becoming increasingly environmentally conscious. ~46% of consumers surveyed across 23 study countries purchased at least one sustainable good or service in April 2023. Following this customer preference trend, more brands are taking steps to position themselves as being good for the environment by cleaning up their supply chains and lowering their carbon footprint.

Companies that take intentional steps to be more environmentally friendly stand a better chance to win with their customers by aligning with their values. Further, it’s a win-win for brands and customers as well as planet Earth.

An example is that of appliance and technology company Bosch, which reached climate-neutral status as of 2020 with net-zero carbon emissions.

15. Customer Journey Mapping

Customer journey mapping refers to analyzing the journey a typical customer goes through before making the purchase decision. The journey’s stages may consist of becoming aware of the brand, product, and how to make a purchase.

Mapping the customer journey can help brands make their marketing efforts more effective by leveraging various touchpoints. Tools like Smackly and Lucidchart are popular among brands.

Emerging trends for 2024 in customer engagement

Real-time personalization: More marketers prefer real-time personalization to raise customer LTV. Filling up the “personalization gap” by offering real-time personalization can boost engagement and revenue for brands. This will also build long-term customer loyalty.

Transition to cookie-less future: First-party and zero-party data are key to unlocking the next wave of growth. Although it is a major opportunity for brands, 81% percent of brands still depend on third-party data. Only 60% brands are prepared for when third-party data is not available. Long way to go?

Security vs. customer experience: Brands are gearing up to develop no-compromise customer experiences that balance safety, privacy, and personalization at scale.