Member Article

What can SMEs learn about customer engagement from Prime Day

Having started back in 1994 as an online bookshop, Amazon is now one of the most successful and instantly recognisable brands in the world. Whether it’s Christmas gifts, TV streaming or AI assistants, Amazon now offers it all and it continues to evolve.

Yet it is Amazon’s commitment to customer satisfaction that sits at the heart of the business which has led to this success, as demonstrated by the UK Customer Service Index.

One leading example of this is the growth of Amazon Prime. As a thank you to its loyal subscribers and a way to pique the interest of bargain hunters across the globe, Amazon launched Prime Day in 2015. This year it’s predicted subscribers spent £2.6 billion globally while Amazon has announced it sold upwards of 100 million products in just 36 hours.

So, what can SMEs learn from Amazon and its strategy behind Prime Day? Here are some tips you can apply to your business to drive increased customer engagement.

Always put the customer first

Listening to its customers has always been a driving force behind Amazon’s success. It’s also never been afraid to take a risk. When the Prime subscription model was introduced, it was an experiment to gauge its customers’ reactions to a ‘Super Saving Shipping’ service and was predicted to flop. Now, it’s one of the most successful global membership programmes, generating £2.3bn revenue in 2017, up 47 per cent on 2016.

The success of Black Friday meant Amazon knew Prime Day would prove popular with its customers and this global shopping event has continued this upward success route, offering personalised deals on some of the most sought-after products available.

SMEs need to consider the expectations of their customers before making any strategic decisions. What elements of the business are they most engaged with? How can this be improved? Whether it’s a formal loyalty programme or a subtle change to their service to improve user convenience, even the slightest change with the customer in mind will improve customer engagement.

Drive personalisation through analytics

One of the key reasons Amazon managed to manoeuvre itself from being an online bookstore to the leading retailer in the world is its mastery of analytics. It recognises purchasing trends and tailors its marketing perfectly to deliver personalised offers without being intrusive or frustrating customers with spam. Prime Day benefitted hugely from this; notifications weren’t generic pleas for purchases. Instead, customers were informed when products they had previously shown interest in had entered the sale. A simple but vital difference.

SMEs serious about going for growth should therefore be investing in analytics to drive success. On the lower end of the scale, using Google Analytics will enable businesses to understand the digital customer journey from website visitors. With this additional knowledge, changes can be made to optimise their experience.

For more mature SMEs, in-depth analytics systems will allow them to take advantage of the type of data-driven marketing that makes Amazon such a successful business. Whether it’s car dealerships contacting customers two weeks before a MOT is due or a bakery surprising its customers with a free cake on their birthday, the little touches go a long way.

Be great, innovate

Innovation is a term banded around so often that it risks falling into the dreaded territory of being a business buzzword. It’s so much more than that though. It’s about doing things differently and can transform public indifference into widespread business loyalty.

Amazon could have rested on its laurels and still maintained its industry dominance, but it wanted to further improve its standing and customer satisfaction levels. The success of Prime Day globally highlights the value of such a loyalty scheme, and the importance of continuing to innovate and offer new services to customers.

It’s not just Prime Day itself that was innovative however; Amazon’s own products are often at the forefront of the innovation curve. You only have to look at the top sellers during Prime Day to see that – the Fire TV Stick, Alexa Voice Remote and Echo Dot all flew off the shelves.

SMEs should be looking to invest in the latest communication technology, or at least planning to do so. This investment is key to business success.

Apps are a great way to engage with customers and SMEs should be looking towards creative technology and innovation to ensure they are available at the swipe of an iPhone in any connected location. For example, banking apps are set to overtake online by next year. Once a technology platform is in place and customers begin to expect a certain level of engagement and communication, innovation becomes second nature. Much like Amazon and its Prime Day event, the trick is to ensure you’re delivering innovation which resonates with the customer and will drive increased engagement.

Amazon is at the forefront of customer engagement. Although most companies won’t reach this pinnacle, SMEs should be looking at its business model and loyalty programmes to question how they can increase customer engagement levels.

Aim high – if an online bookshop can become one of the largest brands in the world, there’s no reason your company can’t follow a similar trajectory.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Karen Wheeler, Vice President & Country Manager UK at Affinion .