As one of the world’s largest logistics companies, DHL Express must exceed the expectations of thousands of customers every day. And that could never happen without a well-defined customer engagement strategy and a work force trained to execute it.

We talked with Christine Nashick, Chief Marketing Officer for DHL Express in the Americas, about best practices she and her team use to implement and reinforce the company’s customer engagement strategy across a massive footprint.

Opportunities abound
Every single touch point between your company and your customers represents an opportunity to strengthen those relationships, Nashick says. And it all starts with motivated people.

“Employees have to be made aware of how their jobs directly impact customer relationships, and they have to be happy, motivated and empowered,” she says. “Motivated employees who understand how their piece fits the entire puzzle are going to be employees who help build great customer relationships.”

Communication matters
How do you develop happy, motivated and empowered employees? You need to communicate expectations and evaluate results.

“None of this happens without daily communication,” Nashick says. “Sharing data related to customer satisfaction and retention. Sharing examples of projects that are cross-functional among departments, and how each facet of the project impacts the end goal. Reinforcing expectations around communicating with customers. We want to communicate it and then measure it.”

Ask these questions
How do you engage customers? How does that differ from how the competition does it? What makes customers want to seek out a relationship with your company? If you know the answers to those questions, Nashick says, you’ll have a much better grasp on how to create unique experiences that customers can’t find anywhere else.

“Track what you do and track what the competition does,” she says. “If there is something they’re doing that you’re not, why is that working? How can you counter that with your own unique plan? You want your customers to have an experience with you that they can’t get anywhere else.”

In the end, it’s good business basics – communication, measurement and separating your company from the competition. If you can do that, your company will be well on its way to building an effective customer engagement plan.