While your immediate communications goal is to drive the user to action, the reality is that engagement remains essential long after the user has registered or enrolled. Managing and interpreting metrics while continuing to connect with users is critical to maintaining the communications cycle and building even deeper connections.
Identifying the four communications stages
Granicus Experience Group (GXG) has identified four critical stages that best enable government to communicate with customers and accelerate progress. These stages build upon each other to form a communications funnel that creates a singular pathway for agencies to reach, inform, and engage with customers. These four stages are:
- Awareness & Opt-In
- Trust & Consideration
- Decision & Action
- Management & Engagement
Learn more with our guide: 4 Stages of Communications for a Successful Government Customer Experience
Management & engagement: Building long-term trust after the action
Government agencies are tasked with cultivating personalized experiences to build lasting trust with customers. Reaching people where they are and pivoting to deliver the right messages at the right time helps keep lines of communication open. It also demonstrates an understanding of what the customer needs, which is a key component in building trust.
Generally, people expect their government to communicate effectively and operate efficiently, while providing a wide range of public services. Building an audience and establishing a relationship before you need them to act demonstrates to customers that your agency has a stake in nurturing these connections. A proactive communications approach and remedying pain points builds an agency’s reputation, supports understanding and respect, and creates a positive customer experience (CX).
Bolstering CX & paving the way for future engagement
Regular communication in the form people want to receive it helps strengthen your relationship with the public and shows that your agency is acting in good faith to inform and engage. You can’t simply shoot off emails and expect the customer to take immediate action. Sharing explanatory information and upcoming deadlines often and with enough time for people to process and plan will yield better results and make it more likely people will engage.
Remember that building your audience is not just about numbers. Of course, it is critical to grow your audience, add information to your database, and track metrics. However, it is just as important to keep your audience interested and engaged to create a seamless encounter with your agency. Think about a time you engaged with a company, whether positive or negative. Now consider how you described your experience to others. Word of mouth can certainly help persuade someone to participate or not, so providing a positive experience is pivotal to improving the CX for future prospective enrollees.
Digital tools help advance audience management & engagement
Disseminating timely and relevant information during the previous communications stages helps create trust and strengthens the bond for future program cycles. If a user received regular updates about their enrollment status during the decision and action phase, she might be more inclined to participate in future programs.
Transparent communications — whether email, SMS, or phone call — help manage expectations and improve overall customer experience. Digital government experience experts from Granicus Experience Group (GXG) partner with local, state, and federal government agencies to craft a multi-channel communications strategy. GXG experts use technology to uncover insights to build more citizen-centric programs. Additionally, digital tools like Engagement Cloud featuring govDelivery, coupled with a customizable platform, help get and keep customers engaged.
Granicus webinar series: Learn more about the digital transformation
A comprehensive communications strategy that incorporates digital components can make all the difference in reaching, growing, and educating customers. The importance of digital solutions will continue to grow as government agencies look for new and innovative ways to improve the customer experience.
Learn more about how Granicus is driving the digital transformation and paving the way for government to adapt to changing customer communications expectations in this webinar, the final episode in a four-part series.
