Businesses live and die by their customer base.

This isn’t news, is it?

Perhaps not.

But what is notable is how the behavior of any given customer is changing. This rings true whether we’re talking about customers you already have to your target audience.

Because while there’s no shortage of ways to attract and acquire customers, many businesses do fall short when it comes to keeping them around.

Failure to encourage consistent interactions among your base is a surefire way for people to fall out of your funnel. Given the relatively high cost of customer acquisition, the ability to encourage long-term customers who regularly engage with your business is the holy grail of any company today.

So how do you create that sense of interactivity and loyalty among your base? Consider the following five six strategies.

Create a Customer Portal

For starters, businesses shouldn’t simply treat their product or service as a “passive” experience.

Building an app to engage mobile customers is a great starting point to both appeal to the current frenzy of mobile customers and encourage meaningful interactions. Getting into your customers’ pockets gives you touch-points via notifications which are totally can’t miss versus the likes of email or social notifications.

For an ecommerce business, this might mean offering in-app purchases and discounts. On the flip side, service-based businesses could build an app that allows for streamlined payments and invoicing. The choice is up to you, granted you’re giving customers something to do.

Provide a Customizable Customer Experience

Consumers totally do not want to be treated like everyone else in the crowd.

Much like people love to fill out their social profiles, the same rings true when it comes to the businesses they register with. For example, are you providing your customers the opportunity to upload a profile photo to their respective business profile? What about customizable color schemes and wishlists?

These small touches shouldn’t be overlooked by businesses who want their customers to feel like they’re being addressed as individuals.

Publish Educational Materials

Among the many benefits of writing an ebook for your business such as industry influence, don’t neglect the mere act of educating your audience. If people are willing to listen to what you have to say, you’ve opened up a valuable, long-term dialogue in the process.

Consistent education helps raise awareness about your product while also providing your customers with a place to click-through.

Of course, ebooks aren’t the only way to educate your audience. Other lead magnets such as video courses and webinars are booming in popularity thanks to the rapid rise of video-viewing.

Regular blog posts, social Q&As and YouTube tutorials are likewise fair game. These channels allow to you pick your customers’ brains while also teaching them valuable information to make the most of whatever it is you might be selling.

Emphasize Stellar Customer Service

Surprisingly, today’s preferred customer service channels still include the likes of email and the traditional telephone.

Even so, providing multiple customer service channels (think: Facebook Messenger and livechat) means that you can have a constant pulse on people want, enabling you to engage in real-time. The mere act of having these channels available signals that you’re happy to go back-and-forth with customers, enabling you to learn more about them in the process.

Suggest New Products and Services

If Amazon has taught us anything, it’s that shoppers crave personalization and are more than happy to receive that nudge from businesses they trust.

Recommending products and services, whether they be best-sellers or based on buyer behavior, is common practice for a reason. Whether through email or a traditional sales call, recommendations provide an incentive for that much-needed follow-up that transforms one-off customers into consistent buyers.

Diversify Your Products

People want choices, plain and simple.

This doesn’t mean selling a million different products, but rather adapting what you offer to appeal to a wider audience. For example, you might sell a digital course that’s perfect for people who want a self-paced educational experience. However, you might also want to offer premium consulting services for people who want in-depth knowledge on-demand.

Although customers might be out there for the taking, don’t overlook the art of asking those customers to do more to engage with your business. The more avenues you take to make your business more interactive, the more opportunities you have to learn about and sell to your customers. In short, a win-win!