Effectiveness of Using Social Media to Engage Customers - Literature review Example

Different approaches have been used in the literature for describing customer engagement. Paine (2011) notes that the criteria used for describing customer engagement cannot be standardized. It is explained that customer engagement can be related to different aspects of customer behavior, for example, the provision by the customer of his e-mail address so that he is informed on the new products/ services of a particular firm.
Evans (2010) states that consumer engagement is a complex concept. According to the above researcher, an entrepreneur can understand that his customers are engaged when they react as follows: ‘they collaborate and share the results of those efforts with other participants’ (Evans, 2010, p.212). In other words, consumer engagement is characterized by collaboration and information sharing. From a similar point of view, customer engagement has been characterized as a concept reflecting ‘the engagement of customers to a particular brand’ (Tuten, 2008, p.26). It is noted that the engagement of customers to a brand can be derived from the loyalty of the customers to the specific brand. Based on the above view, marketers can effectively promote customer engagement if they employ ‘tactics that enable customers to interact with the brand’ (Tuten, 2008, p.26).
In any case, customer engagement can be defined differently in the context of each organization, according to the priorities set and the organizational goals. Under these terms, customer engagement can be used just to emphasize the need for ‘showing care to the customer’ (Seruca, et al., 2006, p.49). When a customer feels that he is cared for at the highest possible level, then he is expected to be engaged (Seruca, et al., 2006, p.49). This means that in organizations that customers’ needs are not addressed, the level of customer engagement will be quite low.
In a report published by the Economist Intelligence Unit, customer engagement is described as ‘a way to create customer interaction and participation’ (The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007, p.2). The characteristics of customer engagement have been further explored through a survey developed between December 2006 and January 2007 (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2007, p.2). In the particular survey, about 300 executives have been asked to state their view concerning the criteria used for characterizing a customer as engaged. Graph 1 above shows the answers of the customer regarding this issue. These answers reflect the potential elements of customer engagement as appearing in markets worldwide.
In practice, the development of an accurate definition concerning customer engagement can be a challenging initiative. For this reason, a series of theoretical frameworks have been introduced for helping marketers to identify the potential effects of customer engagement on their products/ services. Using these frameworks, customer engagement can be described by focusing on different criteria. For example, if using the brand equity theory, customer engagement can be described as a concept related to ‘brand awareness, loyalty, quality, associations and competitiveness’ (Ahmad, et al., 2012, p.220).