How to Optimize Customer Touchpoints to Grow Your Small Business

How many touchpoints do you have with your customers? Depending on your marketing efforts, you may have many...or just a few. 

Either way, you need a way to optimize your customer touchpoints so you can make the most of your engagements.

Let's take a look at what a customer touchpoint is and how you can use them to grow your local small business.

What Are Customer Touchpoints?

Customer touchpoints (also known as contact point, point of contact, or touch point), is a business term used for encounters between a customer and business that involves the exchange of information, services, or transactions.

Here are three examples of customer touchpoints:

1. A customer enters your store, browses, and then makes a purchase at the register.
2. A customer contacts your office and asks for information about one of your products or services.
3. A customer engages with one of your sales reps on social media or a chatbot.

Why is it Important to Optimize Customer Touchpoints?

Any time your brand comes into contact with a customer or prospect, you need a way to make the engagement meaningful. Otherwise, your business won't be memorable or effective at converting leads.

Depending on your industry, you may find it'll take several touchpoints with a business before a customer converts.

So it's ideal to guide your customers through their journey so they're more likely to make a purchase. You can do this by creating content that meets the needs of the prospect based on their stage in the sales funnel.

For example, customer touchpoints at the top of the funnel will involve content that helps answer questions (free ebooks and guides). Then in the middle, you're providing useful tips on overcoming their issues (how-to articles and videos).

At the bottom of the funnel, you need content that solidifies your business as their best solution (testimonials, reviews, and special promotions).

How to Optimize Customer Touchpoints Effectively

Before you can begin optimizing customer touchpoints, you first have to understand your target market. What are the concerns, questions, and problems they have that you can answer or resolve?

How do they go about looking for help? Do they prefer video over text?

Does their journey involve reading blogs, reaching out via chat, and/or contacting a business directly?

The better you understand your customers, the more relevant your content and channel will be.

Here's a quick look at some of the ways you can optimize each customer touchpoint:

• Strategically place helpful content in areas that'll guide your audience towards a decision (i.e., publish helpful blog posts on social media, forums, and comments).
• Create a landing page for specific groups of customers (i.e., one for each service)
• Offer a free helpful guide in exchange for signing up for your email newsletter. Then send emails based on the stage of the funnel they're in.
• Direct your customers to content at different touchpoints. For instance, have a link to a relevant resource in your emails and on receipts. This will make the customer experience feel consistent.
• Use messages and channels to identify the stage a customer is in.

5 Customer Touchpoints You Should Evaluate Regularly

Now, there are over a dozen customer touchpoints you may be tracking. And it's ideal to evaluate them all. But we're going to look at the five you don't want to overlook.

1. Your business phone number. Make sure it's easy to find and comes with a click-to-call feature for smartphone users. Also, be sure it's listed on every page of your website, social media, business listings, etc.
2. Who (or what) talks to your customers. Are you using an automated chatbot to interact with prospects? Or is it a human? Be sure the experience is seamless either way.
3. Your business website. Be sure to use a responsive design so mobile and desktop users have no issue accessing and using the site.
4. Your citations in business directories. Be sure you're listed in all the major business directories and that you have up-to-date information on them.
5. Your blog content. Continue updating your blog with relevant and informative content to attract and engage your target audience. Be sure to leave a call to action (call now, click here, subscribe, download, etc.)

Use the Right Tools to Optimize Customer Touchpoints

It's a lot easier to optimize customer touchpoints when you have the right tools. Imagine trying to keep track of every point of contact your business has with hundreds of customers.

It would require tedious spreadsheet tasks that no one wants to put up with. So instead, you can adopt GoSite's Contact Hub, which allows you to collect and store customer data, and engage with them via email, text, and chat.

You can use this on your desktop, as well as a mobile app. This way, you can stay connected with your customers anywhere you go.

Download the GoSite mobile app today to see how it can help optimize your customer touchpoints!