Engagement: What is It and Why You Need It in Business

When I started out in community engagement in the 1990s, the concept was a young one and more aligned with government consultation and gaining public acceptance of an outcome. Over the years, engagement in the business arena has evolved. The good news is that engagement is ridiculously easy, inexpensive and actually feels right when running a business. To best define what “engagement” is in business, let me start with what it’s not. Engagement is not selling. It’s not marketing. It’s much more than automated scheduling of email blasts to a customer database. An engagement strategy in business is a commitment to forging and maintaining genuine and lasting relationships. We need to move beyond old school marketing thinking. What is crucial today is how you engage with your customers, with your employees, with the people who make your offering awesome (your suppliers). Do they trust you enough to buy from you? Do they want to work for you? And do they believe that associating their product with yours is of value? These decisions aren’t based on a creative ad campaign; they come from trust and personal connection. Your engagement strategy must include how you engage your “internal” community: those who help you deliver your offering – that means your staff, your suppliers and anyone else in the distribution channel. These people need to feel engaged in your business, personally connected to your product and to you if they are going to add to your brand integrity. To do this, you need to share your vision and bring your people into the inner circle. Another timely reminder here to share your “why”, not just the “what” of your business. When it comes to engaging your external community – those who buy from you now or potentially in the future – know this: they want to feel connected to you, not just the receiver of your marketing material. Your external community doesn’t want to be inundated with your sales messages. They want to be part of your conversation. Purchase decisions are made on much more than your latest promo campaign. Regardless of whether you sell widgets or build bridges, it’s your reputation that matters – not your slick press ad. My hot tip for effective engagement is simple. It’s this: Be present. Get out from behind the desk and the laptop (and the marketing team) and get personal. Build your presence in your industry. Be seen and heard – in a good way. Be real and authentic in all your interactions. Remember, you are the physical representation of your business so behave like someone people will want to do business for and with.