Endless purchase options. Heavy competition. Customers growing more discerning by the minute.
In an increasingly complex digital world, how can brands cut through the information overload, build meaningful relationships, and keep their customers coming back?
Enter customer engagement.
In this blog post, we’re bringing together 24 of the top customer engagement statistics into one place, so you can get the information you need to inform your campaigns and define your strategy. Let’s dive in.
Table of contents
Why Customer Engagement Marketing Matters More Than Ever
In the last five years, customer engagement marketing has shifted from a nice-to-have to a crucial cornerstone of any successful strategy. With consumers wielding more power and choice than ever before, engaging them effectively isn’t just beneficial – it’s essential.
The reality is stark – your customers are inundated with options.
Every scroll, click, and swipe unveils a new avenue, a different product, a fresh competitor vying for their attention with offers as enticing as yours. Make no mistake – it’s a digital battleground where only the most customer-centric brands thrive. In this world, customer loyalty is far from guaranteed – it’s earned, and re-earned, at every touchpoint.
Engagement is no longer just about capturing attention – it’s about fostering an ongoing conversation. Consumers expect to be heard, understood, and valued. They seek personalized experiences that resonate with their unique needs and desires.
This shift isn’t just a trend – it’s the new standard. And to rise to it, you need to double down on your customer engagement strategy.
Brands that excel in customer engagement are those that listen and adapt, crafting experiences that are not just relevant but deeply compelling.
In a world of endless options and sky-high expectations, customer engagement matters more than ever.
General Customer Engagement Statistics
Current customers spend 67% more on average than those who are new to a business. [Business.com]
Loyalty pays off – literally. When a customer returns to your business, research shows that they spend more on average. This 67% increase in spending by current customers compared to newcomers underscores the immense value of nurturing long-term customer relationships.
44% of brands cited their top customer engagement challenge as finding a balance between customer experience and security. [Twilio]
In modern marketing, consumer trust and satisfaction come hand in hand. This statistic sheds light on the balancing act brands need to perform between delivering a seamless customer experience, while maintaining robust data security practices.
In the last five years, “customer acquisition costs have increased nearly 60%,” and today’s merchants, on average, now “lose $29 for every new customer acquired.” [Businesswire]
Is acquiring new customers costing more than it’s worth? Skyrocketing customer acquisition costs now see businesses losing just under $30, on average, every time they acquire a new customer. Businesses need to pivot their strategy to focus not just on acquisition, but customer engagement to retain the customers they already have and drive profitable revenue from those all-important repeat sales.
Despite it being vital to positive customer engagement, only 15% of surveyed companies were found to be customer obsessed. [Forrester]
Forrester defines customer-obsessed businesses as ones with mature customer engagement strategies that will help them to thrive in any economic climate. Yet few companies are customer obsessed according to Forrester’s survey. This gap highlights a significant opportunity for businesses to differentiate themselves in the marketplace by genuinely prioritizing customer needs and preferences in their strategies and operations.
67% of respondents from customer-obsessed firms said their company is likely to improve customer experience, compared to 45% from non-customer-obsessed firms. [Forrester]
The correlation here is clear – firms deeply invested in understanding and prioritizing their customers are more proactive towards improving customer experiences, showing the tangible impact of a customer-centric approach on a company’s outlook and strategies.
Only 58% of respondents’ firms understand what it means to be customer obsessed. [Forrester]
For 42% of surveyed firms, customer engagement remains an unknown quantity, with the statistic pointing to a widespread missed opportunities of truly connecting and engaging with customers.
Brands that have mastered customer engagement were 41% more likely to report their conversion rates as “much higher” compared to the previous year. [Twilio]
It’s no secret – true customer engagement yields results. Brands that invest in customer engagement strategies, compared to those that don’t, see significant impacts exactly where they want to see them – on key marketing metrics like conversion rates.
86% of customers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience. [SuperOffice]
Invest in customer engagement, and “race to the lowest price” doesn’t always apply. In fact, research from SuperOffice found that by providing an engaging customer experience, your customers will spend more, more often.
81% of surveyed customers state customer experience as a competitive differentiator. [SuperOffice]
If you want to stand out in a crowded market, customer engagement has to come first. With 81% of surveyed customers clocking customer experience as a competitive differentiator, it’s clear customer experience can no longer be a marketing afterthought.
Customer Engagement and Retention Statistics
Customer engagement and retention are critical components of a successful business strategy, deeply impacting a company’s long-term success. In this section, we delve into key statistics that shed light on current trends, effective techniques, and the overall importance of nurturing customer relationships.
66% of consumers will abandon a brand if they don’t get a personalized experience. [Twilio]
Your customers know what they want, and if you don’t give it to them, they’re gone. The stakes for marketing personalization are high, and if you can’t provide a compelling, meaningful experience to your customers, they’ll defect for a brand that can.
Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%. [Bain & Company]
It’s a powerful economic truth – even small improvements to customer retention can hold massive implications over profit. This highlights that the value of investing in existing customer relationships is exponential. Not only does it cost less to retain customers than to acquire new ones, but loyal customers often spend more, too.
You have only a 27% chance of a customer returning after one purchase, but a 54% chance of them returning after a second or third purchase. [Emarsys]
Driving that first purchase is an important hurdle to overcome. If you have a structured customer engagement strategy in place that delivers meaningful, personalized engagements to your customers, they’re all that more likely to come back.
Customer Engagement and Loyalty Statistics
Customer engagement and loyalty are two of the key pillars of long-term, sustainable business growth. From understanding the key factors that drive customer loyalty to analyzing the impact of engagement on long-term business growth, these statistics provide valuable guidance for companies aiming to foster deeper connections with their customers.
In 2023, only 66% of consumers reported being loyal to a brand, down from 76% in 2022. [Emarsys]
With tightening global purse strings, loyalty is both harder to come by and more important than ever. In just a year, the loyalty landscape has shifted dramatically. Are brands losing their charm, or are customers becoming more discerning? This downward trend is a wakeup call for brands everywhere – it’s time to dial in your customer engagement strategies and up your customer engagement game.
Loyal customers are 64% more likely to purchase more frequently than non-loyal, non-engaged customers. [McKinsey]
When the Google algorithm throws your rankings off, or your paid social campaigns hit a slump, it’s loyal customers that keep the lights on. Loyal customers are gold dust to your brand. Engage your customers with personalized content, win their loyalty, and watch your sales frequency soar.
Conversely, only 11% of consumers think they get an experience worthy of their loyalty. [Emplifi]
Are brands missing the mark on loyalty? It looks like it, with a mere 11% of consumers feeling they’re getting an experience that earns it. This startling statistic from Emplifi raises a critical question – what’s going wrong in the customer journey that’s holding brands back from earning trust and growing customer relationships?
52% of customer-obsessed companies see improved loyalty and customer engagement. [Forrester]
For over half of surveyed companies, the benefits of being customer obsessed are clear – enhanced loyalty and customer engagement. This is a significant sign that putting customers at the heart of your marketing strategy isn’t just good practice – it’s a proven path to deeper customer connections and enhanced loyalty.
20% of consumers stated that brands need to do more to earn their loyalty, up from 13% in 2022. [Emarsys]
But customers aren’t offering up their loyalty for nothing. In fact, they’ve grown even more discerning since 2022, with almost twice as many customers stating brands need to double down on their customer engagement efforts to win them over.
27% of consumers stated being “valued by retailers in their communications and engagements” as a reason for their loyalty. [Emarsys]
Your customers are more than just data. They’re individuals with unique likes, dislikes, hopes and aspirations – and capturing that in your marketing strategy is the secret sauce to driving customer engagement and loyalty.
Omnichannel Customer Engagement Statistics
Omnichannel customer engagement is the next-level approach to creating a seamless customer experience across various platforms and channels. This section offers a deep dive into the latest statistics surrounding omnichannel customer engagement, highlighting its growing importance in today’s digital landscape.
31% of consumers cite personalized shopping experiences as the reason they stay engaged and loyal to a brand. [Emarsys]
The right content, to the right person, at the right time. Omnichannel marketing can be complex to set up, but the benefits of being able to deliver 1:1 personalized engagements to your customers are unparalleled.
62% of customer-obsessed businesses stated their omnichannel customer engagement strategy has driven higher margins, compared to non-customer obsessed firms. [Forrester]
We told you there were benefits – least of all, higher margins. When companies embrace omnichannel marketing, aligned with customer obsession, they’re not just engaging their audience more effectively – they’re making more money.
Using the SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement platform improved customer engagement by 46%. [IDC Business Value Whitepaper]
After adoption of SAP Emarsys, organizations interviewed by IDC achieved increases in many key customer engagement performance indicators.
The same report found a 10% increase in cart value and a 12% increase to conversion rates.
Automations meant marketers were spending less time in execution, allowing them to launch 27% more campaigns.
68% of respondents from customer-obsessed firms said their company prioritizes personalizing interactions across multiple touchpoints in a customer’s journey. [Forrester]
Ever wonder what makes customer-obsessed firms stand out? A huge 68% of them are going all-in on personalization across the entire customer journey. These companies aren’t just interacting with customers – they’re tailoring every touchpoint to create a unique, personal experience.
Just 34% of respondents from non-customer-obsessed firms said their company has the same priority. [Forrester]
In stark contrast, half of the respondents from non-customer-obsessed companies reported the same commitment to personalizing the customer journey. This draws a clear line in the
sand – this gap in prioritizing personalization is the differentiator separating the customer engagement leaders from the followers.
Conclusion: Customer Engagement Is a Necessity
Looking at these statistics, one thing is clear – effective customer engagement is no longer a “nice to have” – it’s a necessity.
The future of marketing belongs to those who not only listen to their customers, but who act on their preferences and deliver tailored engagements that exceed their expectations.
From creating personalized experiences to meeting customers on their preferred channels with relevant content, invest in a customer engagement strategy and your brand will reap the rewards.
