Contextual Relevance
If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this: to create increased engagement with your customers and prospects, you must meet them where they are, with the right message at the right time through the right channel. To put it another way, your engagements with your customers and prospects must have “contextual relevance.”
There are lots of obvious places where you can engage with customers: on your website or social media community, while they are searching on Google, when they talk with consultants or opinion leaders, through your contact center, during a visit to your store, or while they are researching your products/services and those of your competition.
In fact, more than 70% of today’s customers have made their ‘buy’ decision prior to having spoken to anyone from sales or customer service. It is your job to serve up ‘contextual’ information to the right person at the right time – their way, not yours – during their buying window.
According to recent G2 Crowd research, 71% agreed or strongly agreed that “it would be useful for vendor sales reps to proactively engage with me earlier in the purchase process with relevant information,” and 72% agree or strongly agree that “I appreciate vendors who contact me with relevant and contextual information.”
Here’s what your customers are asking for:
- “Be relevant in all that you say and do with me.“
- “Meet me where I am, in whatever channel I prefer.”
- “Know me, because I am unique and what to be treated accordingly.”
- “Make me feel special by being contextually relevant.”
- “Provide me with control and be transparent about my options.”
- “Give me help when I need it.”
Being contextually relevant is not easy since it is impacted by roles, relationships, time, location, knowledge, weather, business processes, sentiment, intent, digital acumen, and more. Contextual relevance is particularly challenging in our increasingly digital world, where a customer’s attention span is short and competition is but a click away.
I leave you with this thought: your mission – should you be willing to accept it – is to know your customers so well that you are always there when they need you to be there. Not a small task, but a very important one. In my next CRM Magazine column, I will offer several examples of contextual relevancy and a recipe for you to achieve excellence in this area. I’m also devoting one of my keynotes to this important topic at this year’s CRM Evolution event in Washington, D.C.
Video: Contextual Relevance
To secure the sale, you need to serve up ‘contextually relevant’ information to the right person at the right time – their way, not yours – during their buying window. “Find me, know me, delight me,” is the key to enhancing customer engagement and increasing customer satisfaction. Barton Goldenberg explains in his Keynote at CRM Evolution 2017.
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