Welcome back to our “Your Customer Engagement Questions, Answered” series. 

Last time we talked about the distinctions between cross-channel and omnichannel marketing. Today we are discussing two more concepts that are often thought to mean the same thing: marketing and customer engagement. But…

Q: Are marketing and customer engagement the same?

A: While the two are certainly closely related, they are not in fact the same. Let’s start at a higher level: Traditionally, marketing has involved blasting out mass messages via any available channels (started with print advertising, moved to television, then to email and now, other digital means). Marketing has come a long way with the introduction of new capabilities for automation and personalization as consumer needs have changed. 

Marketing efforts are in support of customer engagement, which aims to deliver as close to one-on-one interactions to audiences across various touchpoints, in order to develop long-lasting connections. Customer engagement uses a person’s unique interests and demographics, as well as past behaviors, to interpret intent, rather than assuming what they want.

In today’s consumer environment, marketers should be incorporating customer engagement strategies and objectives into their marketing processes. This means:

• Appealing to the channels and devices audiences are using
• Taking interests and demographics into account
• Using past behaviors to predict future behaviors
• Considering an individual’s stage in the customer journey
• Leveraging messaging that resonates with every customer

The way we’re trending is that marketing will eventually become customer engagement. With word of mouth being one of the most powerful marketing tools, a loyal engaged customer can be your best advocate.

Stay tuned for our next Q&A! If you have a question you’d like us to answer, send it to us at natalie@maropost.com.