Playing the prediction game in the technology world has never been an easy task. Yet, in order to make the most out of your marketing efforts, it is imperative that you pay close attention to the most impactful customer engagement trends to date. Customers that are unsatisfied will flock to service providers who better understand their needs. The consequences of falling behind the trend can be harsh and unforgiving.

With that in mind, here are three most promising customer engagement trends to keep an eye on in 2017:

 

1. Social Media & AI Support

 

Without top quality customer support, you can forget about gaining a competitive advantage for your business. If you want to ensure that your customer service is up to the task, you have to embrace any form of help you can get. Social media is that help; platforms like Facebook and Twitter have found a special place and role for optimal customer support and engagement. For instance, Canadian Web Hosting not only has a support page to contact them, but also actively use Facebook and Twitter to regularly update and respond to issues from their clients.

There is however, a shortcoming that ruins the business-social media “honeymoon” before the idea has a chance to spread its wings and fly. Why? Well, you have probably noticed by now that the social media space can be frustratingly overcrowded. So, what can you do about it?

For some, utilizing AI can benefit both you and your customers. Many major IT players are doing so right now with highly intelligent systems, such as IBM Watson, Amazon Alexa, Salesforce Einstein, OK Google, or Microsoft Cortana. It seems that Artificial Intelligence is pushing for a newly explored level of sophistication, one that compliments the preexisting social media system we have today.

 

2. Humanization & Personal Branding

 

Personal branding is going to be one of the hottest engagement trends in 2017. Why? Because customers prefer real people rather than faceless brands. Google and Facebook have obviously figured this one on time. On the other hand, you should be careful about personal branding. It should be worth noting that personal branding and humanization of your brand aren’t and can’t be treated as the same thing.

Put simply, to completely humanize your brand, you need to make the first step of personal branding. Is the power of personalized branding overrated? This question would certainly raise quite a few eyebrows at Google and Facebook; to them, this is a no-brainer. Every customer engagement with a long-term tendency begins with a personalized approach.

 

3. Big Data

 

When it comes to customer engagement, you can never get enough data to process. There’s so much you can learn about your customer experience that helps to increase the engagement level. How? By collecting and analyzing data associated with your customers, you can better understand their problems and address their needs. Take Canadian-based company AURO, who recently added a “Tools for Applications” feature that helps further support its SaaS providers with more tools at their disposal. By gathering data, AURO is better able to support their clients and grow with their customer base. The more you learn and know about your customers, the more likely you are to press the right engagement button.

What customer engagement trends are you predicting in 2017?