Top Customer Engagement Strategies For 2025

Focusing on engaging customers effectively can provide numerous benefits that directly impact the bottom line. When customers feel valued and heard, they’re more likely to buy again—and spend more when they do. 

Engaging your customers also helps differentiate your brand, stand out from the competition, and establish a loyal customer base that will continue to support your business over time.

• Recent studies and surveys reflect the numerous positive results, including:
  
• Loyal customers are 64% more likely to purchase more frequently than non-loyal, non-engaged customers. [McKinsey]
  
• Research by Bain & Company found that engaged customers spend between 20% and 40% more than other customers.
  
• Extensive personalization using the best action increases average revenue per user by 166%. (IBM)
  
• During a 2023 survey of the general population of selected countries worldwide, 78% of respondents believed that a lack of relevance is a leading factor in brands’ failure to engage with their consumer base, and 56% listed a lack of authenticity as another downfall.

Staying competitive in 2025 means focusing on these engagement-driven results. Below, you’ll see precisely how top brands are doing it.

Grasping the basics of customer engagement strategies is crucial, and real-world examples can provide invaluable insights. Here are some best practices employed by industry leaders to enhance customer loyalty, retention, and overall engagement.

Criteo’s Take on Customer Centricity

Criteo is a global technology company that serves over 20,000 clients. They provide personalized advertising experiences across various devices and channels.

Criteo offers a great example of how to put customers first. 

• Focus on real needs: “If you want to increase retention or improve engagement rates, customer centricity is key,” says Lucas Bergstroem, VP of ISV Partnerships at Emarsys. Rather than guessing or using generic approaches, Criteo helps brands build stronger, lasting connections by concentrating on real customer challenges.
• Overcoming fragmented journeys: Today’s consumers hop across multiple channels before purchasing, so Criteo streamlines the experience using automation and machine learning. This ensures that each touchpoint feels consistent and relevant.
• Seasonal shoppers: Criteo analyzes seasonal trends, noting shifts in buyer behavior throughout the year. “Be patient and persistent to maximize longer purchase paths,” advises Sophie Sui, Strategic Partner Manager from Criteo. Early, well-timed outreach can capture these shoppers and keep them engaged beyond a single holiday season.

Criteo’s success underscores the importance of advanced technology and personalization. By breaking down data silos and understanding what each customer truly wants, they power long-term loyalty and higher revenue.

BrandAlley, a leading online fashion retailer, has achieved remarkable success by adopting predictive marketing strategies. Alex Functio, BrandAlley’s head of marketing, shares insights into their journey from traditional marketing to AI-driven personalization.

• Transition to predictive marketing: BrandAlley recognized the importance of placing customers at the center of their strategy and shifted from conventional marketing tactics to predictive personalization. 

Want to learn from these successes? Here are the key tactics shared by Criteo, BrandAlley, and other industry leaders:

• Place the customer at the core
  • Gather feedback and data from every channel where customers interact (email, social, in-store, etc.).
  • Use those insights to shape content, offers, and next-step recommendations.
• Leverage AI and automation
  • Automate repetitive tasks, so your team can focus on strategy.
  • Implement machine learning to deliver relevant messages at the perfect time.
• Segment and personalize
  • Break your audience into groups based on behavior, demographics, and purchase history.
  • Tailor campaigns to address each group’s specific pain points and preferences.
• Refine seasonal engagement
  • Look at how shopping patterns change during key seasons or holidays.
  • Reach out earlier and more strategically to capture new customers and encourage repeat business.
• Adapt quickly to trends
  • Continuously monitor data to spot emerging customer needs.
  • When you see demand in a specific category, product line, or service, shift your focus or prioritize accordingly.

A robust customer engagement strategy isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a proven path to higher loyalty, more significant revenue, and a brand people want to stick with. 

Leaders like Criteo and BrandAlley show that putting the customer at the center of every campaign pays off. You can build more affluent, profitable customer relationships by focusing on personalization, leveraging AI, and staying agile with seasonal shifts.

Kirk Donlan is a content marketing manager at SAP Emarsys where he uses his marketing, customer success, and copywriting experience to develop engaging, industry-specific content for marketers and marketing leadership.

Connect with Kirk: LinkedIn