Small Business Week - Engagement

By: Tom Hughes

Engaging with your customers and employees is so important – in person, on the web and on social media. Whether it’s a small mom-and-pop store or a family-owned auto dealership, cultivating long-lasting relationships is a priority. Small businesses owners want to build customer loyalty. The right engagement with customers and employees can boost productivity, revenue and the customer experience.

When it comes to engagement, consider these creative applications. 

• A recreation center that has different club sports teams could target participants for live updates on scheduling changes, team updates, or registration deadlines.

• A restaurant that participates in a summer festival could incentivize event goers to sign-up for special deals throughout the year, giving the restaurant an opportunity to stay top-of-mind for customers beyond just a summer weekend.

Agility is being able to engage with your customers, when and where they want. From your website to social media, you are constantly engaging with your customers. Many of them may prefer the convenience of sending a text message versus making a phone call. It’s also about connecting with your customers the way they want to be reached.

 Rest assured there are tools to help you. The AT&T Messaging Toolkit offers small businesses an all-in-one messaging solution. They can create custom messages across multiple channels, including social media, text, and email – all from one platform.

As small business owners, you wear many hats. You’re the finance officer, security officer and marketing officer. It can be challenging to do it all yourself.  They can have an easy-to-use texting solution that can be set up in minutes.

For more information on AT&T Messaging Toolkit, please visit https://www.att.com/smallbusiness/content/shop/applications/messaging-toolkit.page. 

Tom Hughes, VP – Small Business Marketing