Barriers to customer engagement are present now more than ever and it is crucial that businesses understand how to navigate around these barriers to remain competitive.
Norbit can be described as roughly 10% technology and 90% marketing expertise. That is because our technology can only be built on a solid understanding of the foundations of marketing. Customer engagement is one of these crucial foundations and unfortunately, the current Australian socio-economic climate has given rise to a number of new challenges for modern businesses.
To address some of these challenges and their solutions this article will discuss three key barriers to achieving high customer engagement as well as Norbit’s solution to this.
Shrinking Attention Spans
A study by Microsoft in 2019 found that the modern human attention span is merely eight seconds, decreasing 25% in just a few years. What does this mean for businesses? Well put simply, it means that businesses have just eight seconds to encourage a sale, known as “breaking the eight”. In order to break the eight, users need to be engaged immediately and captured by the content not just glance at it.
Utilising these insights, Norbit is an efficient means for businesses to show what they have to offer quickly and uniquely. With personalised user experiences, direct messaging and a professional design, the app showcases a business within those crucial eight seconds. In this way you can significantly reduce the risk that shrinking attention spans pose to your customer engagement.
Emphasis on Essential Items
The full extent of Covid’s economic impact is still not entirely realised, however what has become obvious is the impact on consumers’ willingness to buy. 58% of Australians experienced a reduction in household income from the pandemic and 71% have reduced their spending. This caused a significant decrease in shopping habits for anything but the essentials. Whilst these trends were more obvious during the major lockdowns, these spending habits have been retained as customers focus more on what they actually need. This reduces engagement with the brand; preventing loyalty, brand salience and the opportunity to upsell.
Norbit significantly reduces the impact of the downward trend on non-essential businesses by:
• Contacting customers anywhere at any time in real-time
• Automating content based on shopping behaviour and days/times
• Segmenting and targeting key markets to achieve optimised results
• Driving and influencing foot traffic around the centre to stores that need it
The application of these tools is discussed in our help centre here. By increasing foot traffic with customised solutions and unique targeting opportunities, Norbit is able to maintain steady customer engagement in one of the worst economic downturns in recent history.
Reduced Brick & Mortar Interactions
A survey conducted by the Global Web Index found that 50% of respondents were unwilling to visit in-store for an extended period of time. As governments prepare to enter a stage where we must live with the virus (much like the flu) the pandemic has left some consumers’ hesitant to engage with brick & mortar retailers. Trends indicate big shifts toward online purchasing and limitations to brands abilities to create a unique customer experience.
To combat these changing trends Norbit is a bridge between online and physically shopping. The app is designed to enhance consumer experience through gamification, reduced costs, and simplification. The customer experience is considered as one of the largest factors impacting consumer spending in terms of brick & mortar retail, and Norbits ability to greatly improve these experiences is key to maintaining high engagement.