Live streaming: The next big thing in online customer engagement

The pandemic has proven to be a boon for the live streaming industry. It is valued at USD 183.3 billion by 2027. (Source) Though, the credit goes to telecommunication companies for their rapid increase in internet bandwidth. Consequently, the implementation of data compression and optical fiber connectivity is making seamless live streaming possible for businesses to engage consumers. If customers cannot visit stores, taking the stores to them is a widely adopted concept in the post-pandemic era.

What is live streaming?

In some words, live streaming is quite similar to video calls but provides a 3D view. It allows customer service representatives to respond to potential buyers exclusively in real-time. Businesses effectively leverage live streaming as an online consumer engagement strategy by proffering their products in front of a vast online customer base.

Traditionally, brick-and-mortar stores used to provide excellent customer service. Customers could touch and feel the product virtually and ask questions on the spot. Besides, the representatives could offer tailored recommendations to customers. However, the local stores have limited reach, and the consumers are intimidated to visit crowded places.

In this scenario, businesses are tapping into the potential of live streaming to enhance their online consumer engagement. In no time, it becomes captivating for consumers as it breaks the geographical limitation. Without having to step out of the house, customers can do live shopping online. The goal is to deliver a store-like phygital (physical + digital) shopping experience exceeding geographical boundaries. Today’s shoppers want transparent and self-serving online customer support. Therefore, brands are implementing live stream shopping and engaging their target audience better with their product.

 

How can live streaming enhance digital customer engagement?

Live streaming is an excellent way for businesses to connect with consumers in real-time. Allow the audience to join your live stream and grow their interest in the showcased product. Besides, answering their questions live builds trust between the brand and consumers. Let us dig deep and explore how live streaming can enhance digital customer engagement.

Approaching Gen Z customers

Gen Z consumers are more active online. Live streaming allows brands to connect with the modern audience effectively. The real-time customer engagement suits these Gen Z consumers who spend their time online, mostly. Brands today are adding live streaming of products as a crucial digital engagement strategy. Businesses have become successful in attracting modern customers and boosting sales through live streaming integration on websites, social media channels, etc.

Increase loyal customer base

Consumers appreciate transparency while purchasing a product. Transparency drives trust. Live streaming empowers businesses to be transparent and trustworthy that helps to gain loyal customers. With live video streaming, consumers can virtually touch and feel the product. Therefore, they understand how the product better influences their purchase decision. Customers always value ethical brands who like to proffer their product or service as it is. Thus, live streaming is a popular online engagement strategy, boosting the loyal customer base for brands. When customers know that your brand is authentic, they are most likely to come back.

Boost brand awareness

When we watch an audiovisual, it generally sticks in our subconscious more effectively than text conversations. We pay more heed to video content than any other form. Therefore, live streaming has the edge over different customer engagement strategies. It is an amalgamation of real-time video and audio, which is more impactful for the audience – just like a phygital store. Besides, people who watch your live stream tend to share with others. It allows multiple platforms and channels to engage consumers at the same time.

Consequently, it reaches a higher number of people. Live streaming gets the better of any other online customer engagement strategy. It is more engaging to customers, can go viral, and reach millions of people. With live video, businesses can get customer insights that boost their revenues. Live streaming allows you to keep consumers in line with your customer engagement objectives.

Tips to improve phygital customer experience through live streaming

Streaming technology is breaking geographical boundaries. Consumers can now purchase products from any part of the world without compromising on the store-like product experience. The pandemic has boosted the phygital shopping game, and live streaming has enhanced it. Whether you do online banking, selling products on the internet, or providing any service, live streaming has become a powerful tool for support agents to serve customers. Below, we have a few essential tips that can help you improve your phygital customer experience using live streaming.

Tip 1: Increase social media presence

We can say that the world lives on social media. Businesses also need to prioritize their social media activities to increase their brand awareness. While you are streaming a live video, the more you can connect to your audience, the more you will generate sales. Influencer streaming has become a bandwagon for live eCommerce in the digital era. It offers an interactive form of product marketing that resonates with younger audiences. Social media live streaming allows multiple channels to engage with your consumers. Influencers and streamers replace the traditional marketers and advertisers by using social media as a tool to live stream.

Tip 2: Set consumer focus Q&A

While live streaming in a phygital setup, it is nearly impossible to take all customer questions in one go. Therefore, brands need to set up a customer-centric Q&A list that the customer service agent can address during the live. The Q&A sets should answer a maximum of customer doubts and explain to them minor details about the product. This reduces customer’s efforts to be in a long queue to ask questions. This will make the live session far more informative for the audience and attract them to purchase the product.

Tip 3: Train your customer support agents well

In a live stream, what is being done or being said by the support agents will determine your sales accordingly. It would help if you highly had highly trained representatives with good communication skills. Train them to understand the product and customer behavior. Make them practice with the Q&A list and impromptu questions from the customers. Set their KPIs on their live interactions. Brands need to ensure that customer service agents do not mislead consumers, provide wrong information, or make false promises to sell the product.

Read More: Diving into the future of Phygital: Physical + Digital

Final thoughts

Indeed, live streaming has become a popular choice among businesses. It has several benefits, but all lead to one single goal – customer engagement. Especially when consumers are reluctant to visit stores, brands are driving their sales initiatives using live streaming.

However, it is not as simple as it seems. Brands go through many challenges, such as hiring and training customer service agents, streamlining the phygital process with experience, and constantly improving customer feedback.

Maxicus delivers the best form of customer engagement leveraging live streaming as a tool. We ensure consumers not only know about your product, but they experience it and purchase it.

Contact us to level up your digital customer engagement initiatives today.