Cut through digital noise using a customer engagement platform

Highlights

You’ll learn about why you need a CEP:

• Cut through digital noise: With countless emails, ads and notifications, a customer engagement platform ensures your message reaches the right audience
• Improve personalization: Tailor real-time, meaningful interactions for every customer
• Enhance customer loyalty: Provide consistent omnichannel experiences to keep customers engaged and satisfied
• Reduce churn: Identify at-risk customers and re-engage them before losing them
• Drive revenue: Personalizes offers that increase conversions and customer lifetime value

An average customer receives 121 business-related emails per day, not to mention the countless social media posts, ads and notifications bombarding them across platforms. Isn’t that a lot of content for a single person to consume in their busy day? As a result, even the most extraordinary content, offers and product recommendations are missed or, worse, overlooked. 

Furthermore, with customers living in an omnichannel world, you cannot deliver any content. Your customers expect fast, personalized service, meaningful content and thoughtful recommendations with each interaction. So, what’s the solution to both your problems?

A customer engagement platform (CEP). 

Customer engagement platforms are the answer to cutting through all the digital noise and reaching customers in a personalized way. In this blog, we’ll explore what CEP is, how it works and how Contentstack’s Lytics drives engagement. 

What are customer engagement platforms?

A customer engagement platform (CEP) is a software-as-a-service solution (SaaS) that helps you manage, study and optimize customer interactions. The system reaches different touchpoints through personalized messages. Through CEP like Lytics, you create a positive customer experience and establish long-term relationships. You deliver trusted customer experiences that engage across large customer bases. You can create meaningful engagements on all your customer touchpoints. 

Here’s an example of CEP in action:

Imagine you run a subscription-based fitness app. A new customer signs up for a free trial and completes their first workout. Over the next few weeks, use the CEP to:

• Send a push notification welcoming and congratulating them for finishing their first workout. Encourage them to set fitness goals.
• Offer personalized workout recommendations based on the type of session they completed.
• Send an email reminder about their trial expiration with a special discount to encourage subscription.
• Share helpful tips, inspiring content or success stories directly through in-app messages to keep your audience interested and connected.
• Analyze their activity data to identify patterns and adjust your engagement strategy, such as targeting inactive users with re-engagement campaigns.

But isn’t that what a customer relationship management does? Let’s first understand the differences between a CEP and CRM. 

CEP vs CRM

How does a customer engagement platform work?

Data collection

The CEP system starts by collecting various customer data points that come from touchpoints like websites, mobile apps, social media channels, email campaigns and retail store interactions. These platforms give a unified view of your customers' behavior across digital and offline channels.

Data integration

The customer engagement platform collects information and stores all data in one unified place. It integrates with CRM, customer data platforms (CDPs) and marketing automation to build a customer profile. 

Customer segmentation

After gathering and integrating the collected data the platform uses this information to divide customers into segments matching their behavioral tendencies, preferences or demographics. Your segmented approach delivers customized messages to distinct target groups.

Personalization

Personalization is where customer engagement platforms make a difference. These platforms help you customize every interaction to the individual's needs and preferences by using insights into customer behavior.

Omnichannel engagement

No matter where or how your customers interact with a business, these platforms provide a consistent, connected and omnichannel experience. Whether a customer is scrolling through Instagram, checking their email or walking into a physical store, these platforms meet your customers wherever they are. 

Real-time insights

Many platforms provide real-time analytics and automation capabilities. This means you can respond to customer actions or events instantly.

Benefits of customer engagement software

Reduces reliance on third-party data

81% of companies depend on third-party cookies to deliver personalized engagement and experiences. With data privacy laws becoming stringent, using these cookies can do more harm than good. Enters CEP. The platform collects and works on relevant first-party data related to your brand and customer experiences. This reduces reliance on third-party data and cookies.

Delivers unique customer experiences anywhere

To build an ideal customer profile, it’s important to understand every customer interaction. As CRM tools cannot meet the explosion of digital channels, they cannot deliver relevant experiences that customers want, expect or need. That’s why companies depend on CEPs to meet their customers. Your customers encounter personalized experiences on digital platforms and physical stores. Meeting customers at their preferred locations enables you to achieve customer expectations. Customers become more satisfied and loyal to the company as they encounter memorable interactions.

Reduces churn

Retaining customers is five to seven times more costly than acquiring new ones, yet many businesses overlook the high churn rate they witness. When implemented correctly, engagement platforms allow you to identify and solve customer dissatisfaction that could result in customer churn. For instance, a streaming service identifies inactive users through its tracking system to send customized suggestions and allows users to subscribe to premium content without charge. These platforms solve problems beforehand and remind customers about why they stay with your company to lower the chances of churn. Thoughtful communication makes customers feel valued while reinforcing their commitment to your brand.

Lowers customer acquisition cost

A customer engagement platform enables you to use customer insights to develop campaigns that reach your target audience. The improved understanding of customer needs through these platforms allows you to lower the acquisition cost while increasing customer lifetime value. Personalized strategies increase profitability and sustainability. This decreases expenses and grows your business. 

Higher revenue

When you use the customer engagement platform correctly, your revenue grows manifold. Your sales conversion increases when customers receive personal offers. The software uses customer behavior patterns to make specialized discounts that motivate customers to buy instantly. The business becomes more future-proof because improved customer loyalty creates sustainable earnings. An engagement platform maximizes your revenue and reduces costs.

Best customer engagement tools

Contentstack’s Lytics

Lytics, powered by Contentstack, converts data into meaningful, personal customer connections. It helps you know exactly what your audience wants and helps you deliver it at the right time. The machine learning algorithms of Lytics manage the analysis of customer information to detect unknown patterns. Machine learning provides a clear view of customer preferences, behavioral patterns and upcoming activities. With customer data provided to the CEP, the system creates business strategies you can implement.

For example, you can deliver hyper-specific marketing campaigns to the right audience using Lytics. Through Lytics, your customers receive personalized email series showing product recommendations based on their search results and buying behavior. Such tailored interactions make customers feel valued and understood.

Case study: How Purina increased customer engagement with personalized web experiences

Purina, a Land O’Lakes brand, took customer engagement to the next level by teaming up with Lytics and using their real-time CDP to create personalized web experiences. Purina delivered content that resonates with customers by converting anonymous website visitors into specific audience groups based on their behavior. The company seamlessly served horse owners and dairy farmers. With customized web banners and smart exit-intent strategies, they kept visitors engaged, achieving an impressive 30% average conversion rate and convincing 3% of those about to leave to remain loyal. This thoughtful, data-driven approach increased customer engagement, conversions and loyalty.

After using Lytics, Steve Rude, Optimization Manager, Marketing at Purina, said:

“Impressions are the metric of a failed marketing campaign…If you’re not getting the conversions, it means you weren’t hitting the right audience. You may not reach a million people, but we’re going to reach the right people with the right message. And that’s where Lytics helps us.”

Read the complete case study here.

Qualtrix XM

Qualtrics XM makes it easier to understand how you make your customers feel. It goes beyond simple surveys. With Qualtrics XM, you obtain unified customer feedback that lets you understand customer sentiment across various interaction channels. The tools provide continuous insights about customer satisfaction and areas that require improvement. Qualtrics XM helps you continuously improve your customer experience.

Salesforce

Salesforce operates as a customer engagement platform. As a CRM leader, Salesforce enables businesses to establish valuable relationships by providing their customers with tools such as marketing automation, AI-based recommendation platforms and support solutions. Your team will achieve success when it can manage sales leads. It helps you build ongoing customer relationships.

Insider

Insider offers multichannel engagement. It creates consistent, cohesive experiences across mobile, email, web and other platforms. One standout feature is its predictive segmentation, which allows you to target your audience with precision. Whether you aim to re-engage inactive users or nurture loyal customers, Insider gives you the tools to do it effectively.

How Contentstack’s Lytics drives engagement

Only when a business establishes personal and genuine interactions with customers can it earn loyalty and increase growth. Contentstack Lytics simplifies personalized omnichannel content delivery and offers better customer engagement through an advanced system. What are the key factors that allow Lytics to operate effectively? 

Real-time content delivery

Lytics delivers content based on how each customer behaves and the products in which they show interest. The platform uses real-time data to quickly adapt when customer intentions or requirements change. When a customer explores a particular product category on your website, Lytics immediately activates tailored content and promotions that match their preferences and search history.

Cross-channel consistency

Customers interact with brands across multiple platforms, from websites and apps to email and social media. Lytics ensures these touchpoints feel cohesive. A customer who starts their interaction via a mobile app will see a consistent experience when they shift to email or explore your brand on social media. This cross-channel consistency builds trust and increases the likelihood of conversion.

Data-driven precision

Knowing your audience will help you meet their requirements better. Lytics studies interaction data to show market behaviors while breaking customers into areas they belong to and predicting their future actions. It’s personalization on another level, which sets successful engagement strategies apart.

How Contentstack Lytics drives real results

While the above features sound great, how do they translate into business success and drive meaningful results? Let’s find out how Lytics drives real results.

Improves customer retention

As a subscription-based business, you detect when a customer shows reduced interaction. Through the Lytics platform, you create limited promotional offers such as special discounts and premium content access to prevent customers from leaving. Determining customer needs before they arise and making timely offers increases customer retention and minimizes customer churn.

Enhanced relationship building

Personalized experiences build trust and brand loyalty. For instance, an e-commerce store can use Lytics to recommend products using past purchase data and browsing history. The customer shopping experience is more enjoyable because you make customers feel valued and understood.

Satisfaction through omnichannel consistency

Customers value consistency. A hospitality brand, for example, can use Lytics to ensure that messages about a recent booking, subsequent promotions and check-in reminders are aligned across app notifications, email and even SMS. Such cohesive interactions leave customers feeling supported and satisfied, driving more customer satisfaction.

FAQs

What are customer engagement platforms?

Customer engagement platforms help brands improve their interactions by analyzing customer data from multiple channels while delivering customized content in real-time.

What is the difference between a CRM and a customer engagement platform?

CRMs save customer information, which engagement platforms turn into customized interactions across various digital and offline touchpoints.

Is Lytics considered a customer engagement platform?

Yes, Lytics is a customer engagement platform known for its ability to deliver personalized, real-time and omnichannel experiences.

Learn more

Customer engagement software is helpful for companies that operate in the e-commerce, travel, financial services and manufacturing sectors. CEPs now shape how you interact with your customers. These tools use AI-powered insights to create stronger connections and increase customer satisfaction. Talk to us to understand how Lytics can help you place your customers at the center of a single touchpoint and provide personalized engagement solutions.