Customer engagement is important for the growth of any business. In the barter world, member engagement is the difference between respectable growth and unacceptable churn.

Research has found that the number one reason for churn in any service industry is lack of service use. The member’s relationship with the company is also a factor. 

Both of these suggest that member engagement should be a priority for your barter exchange.

In the noisy world of technology, how can your exchange build member engagement? Take a look at some simple, yet effective strategies…
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Think about this scenario: You sign up for a trial version of software somewhere in the middle of your busy day. You get an acknowledgement email with a login and you plan on exploring it more thoroughly when you have time.

What happens later? You forget – it becomes another thing on your long list of tasks. You don’t even notice that you’ve never heard another word from the software company until some random email arrives from a name you don’t recognize. Muttering about receiving so much spam, you hit the delete button…

The same will happen in your barter exchange if you don’t set a pattern of regular communication. Ideally, you want people to know who you are, anticipate that you will be communicating with them and actually take notice of your communications. 

Don't communicate regularly, and they will just hit the delete button.

There’s never an easy answer when it comes to email. It’s not something you can “set and forget” if you want your members to engage with you. We’ve suggested previously to take a proactive rather than reactive approach and to maintain a focus on the member’s needs. This requires you to email regularly to see better results.

If you’ve got past the hurdle of creating a regular schedule and actually writing the emails, check out Intercom.io. It's integrated with VirtualBarter Phoenix and Reciprio Marketplaces. 

It just requires a low cost monthly subscription from Intercom, which will pay you back tenfold in increased revenues and member satisfaction.
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Your subject line is what leads people to open your emails. If you want to know the most effective subject lines for your business, test them! Play around with different types of subject lines and compare them to determine the best for opens.

You should also monitor content type and subject matter to see what your audience wants. Monitor click-through rates with your email analytics, but also look at page analytics to see how long people are hanging around and where they are going next on your website.

Want better analytical tools? Ask about integrating analytics to your Reciprio marketplace and member portal.

Your message packs a bigger punch when it is well-targeted instead of a blanket broadcast. How could this look? You could set up emails to go out based upon action and triggers.

For example, if they view a listing in the marketplace, you could send them a message detailing how to list their offers in the marketplace. 

Audience segmentation is also important if you want to separate your disengaged customers and send them a sequence of emails for re-engagement.

Want to learn more? Connect with us to learn about engagement and automated marketing integrations available in VirtualBarter.