What is a Customer Engagement Platform?

customer engagement platform is a versatile software tool that centralizes, manages, and supports all interactions with your customers and potential customers. This platform integrates different communication tools such as email, direct messaging, and chatbots, creating a single space to connect with your audience efficiently.

Think of a customer engagement platform as your main command center for all communication channels. From here, you can design automated workflows that reach customers across various channels. Better yet, everything is accessible from one place, meaning you can manage and activate these interactions without switching between different programs.

How a Customer Engagement Platform Works

Imagine a new user, John Doe, signs up for an account on the desktop version of a food delivery app. You send him a welcome email that suggests downloading the mobile app, but he doesn’t do it right away. He orders food and provides his mobile number for delivery coordination. Later, you invite him to rate his experience, and he responds with three stars, noting the delivery was late. In response, you apologize and add a discount coupon to his account for future use.

After some time, you notice he hasn’t ordered again that week. Recognizing that mobile users tend to order more frequently, you send him a follow-up SMS encouraging him to download the app, which he does.

In this example, a customer interaction (or inaction) in one channel becomes a condition to trigger an event either through the same channel or a different one. Different tools enable different interactions: email automation, call masking to keep phone numbers private, survey forms, dashboard notifications, and programmable messaging.

Rather than using separate apps for each of these functions, a customer engagement platform combines them, eliminating data silos and allowing you to manage everything from one place. For example, SMS messaging can be integrated directly into the platform, and phone number privacy can be maintained through voice API, all without needing additional tools.

Are CRMs, CDPs, and CXMs Also Customer Engagement Platforms?

Today’s customer engagement platforms often have their origins in other types of software. Some evolved from traditional customer relationship management (CRM) systems, which were initially designed to store customer data but have since grown to include cloud-based analytics and connections to other applications.

Other platforms stem from customer data platforms (CDPs), which collect information from various tools in real-time, creating complete customer profiles. This data is then sent to marketing, sales, and support systems to improve service.

Customer experience management (CXM) platforms also function similarly but focus more on understanding and improving customer satisfaction based on feedback and sentiment analysis. You could view these platforms as engagement tools with a specific focus on enhancing experiences.

In short, CRMs, CDPs, and CXMs are early forms of customer engagement platforms, each addressing different aspects of customer interaction. However, modern customer engagement platforms have evolved to integrate the best elements of these systems, enabling companies to manage the entire customer journey from a single, interconnected platform.

What to Look for in a Customer Engagement Platform

Choosing the right customer engagement platform depends on several key features. Here are some essential functions to consider:

  1. Cross-Channel Tracking and Attribution
    A good engagement platform collects data across multiple channels and allows you to track where customer interactions took place, like tracking a user’s path from an Instagram ad to a landing page. By attributing results to each channel, you can better understand what drives engagement and focus your efforts accordingly.
  2. Single Customer View
    Look for platforms that create a unified customer profile, merging data from multiple channels into one place. This “single customer view” helps you understand a customer’s interaction history and preferences. For example, if a food delivery app user regularly orders coffee on Mondays but skips one week, you can send a reminder or promotion to encourage them.
  3. Integrations with Other Tools
    A strong customer engagement platform should integrate easily with APIs for communication, marketing, customer support, and sales tools. This allows you to build a complete engagement system specific to your needs. For example, a fashion retailer might want to add a chatbot to provide personalized style recommendations.

Top Customer Engagement Platforms to Consider

Here are four popular customer engagement platforms that meet the above criteria, catering to businesses of all sizes across industries like retail, food and beverage, financial services, media, healthcare, and more:

Twilio Engage

Twilio Engage gathers data from various sources such as websites, apps, and customer relationship management (CRM) tools, then unifies it into complete customer profiles. The platform offers extensive communication APIs to keep customers engaged across channels.

  • Key Features: Ensures data accuracy through validation, updates profiles in real-time, and includes over 400 ready-to-use integrations.
  • Best For: Marketing teams, developers, sales, and customer service teams.

Zendesk Sunshine

This cloud-based CRM allows you to manage customer interactions from one interface, integrating with popular messaging tools like Slack and WhatsApp, as well as business systems such as Shopify.

  • Key Features: Customizable interface, built-in chatbot for customer support, and API support for over 1,200 apps.
  • Best For: Customer service and sales teams.

Qualtrics XM

Qualtrics XM focuses on identifying and analyzing customer experiences. It uses data from multiple channels, such as apps, websites, and surveys, to spot issues and recommend improvements.

  • Key Features: Analyzes data from 27 channels, integrates with tools like Twilio, and provides predictive analytics to improve customer experience.
  • Best For: Teams in marketing, customer service, product development, and HR.

Zoho CRM Plus

Zoho CRM Plus combines multiple customer experience tools, offering real-time notifications that help you respond quickly to customer interactions.

  • Key Features: AI assistant for trend predictions and sentiment analysis, integration with Zoho and third-party apps, and offline data management on mobile.
  • Best For: Marketing, sales, operations, and customer service teams.

These platforms enable businesses to create cohesive, personalized experiences across all customer touchpoints. With the right tools, you can foster customer loyalty and satisfaction, streamline communication efforts, and ultimately drive better results for your business.

Comments are closed.