Several common barriers prevent companies

 keeping open channels of communication and using them to good effect. The most frequently cited are inefficient systems and processes, named by 47% of companies, workload pressure (38%) and budget (35%).

Last year, 60% of businesses cited budget as a reason for lacking an engagement strategy. Only 11% of companies now name it as the main barrier, putting it fourth in this year’s study.
Email is the second most commonly used communication channel for the purpose of customer engagement, with two-thirds of companies citing it. From some of the research we have seen in the past, people do not see that as a good way for a brand to engage them.”
Communication channels
Top of the list of commonly used communication channels for the purpose of customer engagement are websites, used by 75% of brands, while PR and advertising are joint third, with 57% of respondents claiming that they use these methods.
The high placing of these last two channels might suggest that marketers are failing to link their engagement strategies with the key elements of listening to and acting on customer comments since PR and advertising are more likely to be methods which push out messages to people rather than ones that encourage feedback.
Many companies perhaps still take this one-way ’broadcast’ approach to their customer communications. Brands often find themselves overwhelmed by the volume of comments and find it difficult to respond to each directly. In many cases, there is almost too much information, and brands and companies find it difficult to react to it.”
It is unsurprising, therefore, that companies that use social media to engage with customers prioritise monitoring comments and making company announcements ahead of creating a dialogue.
Using Shopper's Voice allows you to keep open channels of communication and using them to good effect. Thus ensuring that there is regular and constant involvement with your on-line and off-line marketing programmes.
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