Customer engagement in the digital age: how to activate and anchor it

• CSR
• Digital
• User experience
• VR

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In a market shaped by increased competition and customer volatility, retention is a major challenge, particularly in the telecommunications sector, where the attrition rate is high. Therefore, understanding and identifying means of customer engagement becomes crucial to maintaining customer relations over the long-term.

Two central questions emerge: How can companies cultivate this engagement in order to reinforce trust, attachment and loyalty? How is the growing digitisation of customer relations reshaping this dynamic?

Trust, the central pillar of customer engagement

The different dimensions of engagement

Although they are closely linked, it is first important to distinguish between loyalty and engagement. Loyalty can result from habits or constraints, such as passive purchasing practices, while engagement involves an emotional dimension and strong brand identification, promoting a long-term partnership. A highly engaged customer sees the brand as the only acceptable choice, which facilitates decision-making and reduces the propensity to change brands.

Customer engagement is generally defined as all positive interactions, emotions, attention and behaviours that a customer demonstrates towards a brand, product or service (Vivek et al., 2012) ^[1]. It reflects the degree of attachment, involvement and emotional identification with the brand (El Bayed, 2023) [2]. An engaged customer is not just a buyer, but also a loyal and active partner, maintaining a deep connection with the brand and contributing to its success through various forms of collaboration.

Customer engagement is multidimensional, integrating emotional, rational and moral aspects (Chtourou & Siadou-Martin, 2023) ^[3]. Emotional engagement, considered the most long-term dimension, is based on a psychological and emotional attachment to the brand, founded on trust, satisfaction and the perception of shared values.

Rational or calculated engagement is based on utilitarian considerations, such as financial benefits and loyalty programmes perceived to be superior to those of the competition (Warrington & Shim, 2000) ^[4]. Although it encourages repeat purchases, it is often less long-lasting, because it is based on tangible benefits rather than emotional involvement.

Finally, normative engagement is motivated by a sense of moral or social obligation towards the brand, reinforced by personal values or social pressures (Oliver, 1999) ^[5]. It reflects a desire to respect a relationship perceived as fair or consistent with the consumer’s values, reinforcing loyalty through duty, compliance or moral loyalty.

Trust: A central pillar of engagement

Trust—competence, integrity and benevolence (Gurvez, 1999) ^[6]—can be defined as belief in the brand’s competence (credibility), honesty (integrity) and benevolence (altruism). It directly influences satisfaction and willingness to engage, reducing uncertainty and increasing loyalty (Aurier & al., 2001) ^[7]. Positive emotions, such as pleasure or pride, also play a leading role in building emotional engagement. The ability to create an authentic emotional experience, such as through personalisation, is an effective strategy to reinforce a relationship of trust.

One means for companies looking to strengthen customer engagement and loyalty is to work on the personality of their brand, a key differentiator. According to the theory of congruence, “the individual makes an attachment to the brand whose personality, values and image are in line with their concept of self. The consumer seems to show a tendency towards attachment with brands that fit in with the image they have of themself or want to give to others” (Gouteron, 2019) ^[8]. Therefore, the individual chooses brands according to their real self, with the brand confirming their identity. It can also be selected according to the ideal self, allowing the individual to get closer to the image they want to become.

In this context, digital technology offers companies powerful ways of creating attachment with their customers. In the rest of this article, we will explore the most innovative strategies to trigger and maintain engagement, starting with CSR.

Innovative company strategies to strengthen customer engagement

Innovative company strategies to strengthen customer engagement rely on a variety of means, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR), influence marketing, immersive experiences and hyper-personalisation.

CSR: Creating legitimacy and axiological alignment

Corporate social responsibility is a strategic tool to enhance a company’s image, attract and retain responsible customers, and stand out from the competition. Authentic CSR practices—those that are integrated into the company’s strategy, based on tangible challenges, and measured and verified—boost satisfaction and loyalty by creating positive emotions and fostering engagement ^[9], ^[10]. A sincere CSR policy, integrated into the strategy, promotes a sustainable customer relationship and constitutes a competitive advantage ^[11-13].

The example of Decathlon illustrates this approach by articulating CSR with customer experience and value proposition. For example, the brand is reducing the carbon footprint of its operations by making its shops and warehouses more energy efficient, reducing the use of air freight and purchasing renewable electricity. It designs environmentally friendly products by using recycled materials, as well as low-impact and single material dyes to make recycling easier, and makes these efforts visible by means of dedicated signage for “eco-designed” products, “second life/rental” spaces and in-store repair workshops, as well as guaranteeing the availability of spare parts. At the same time, educational content (maintenance and repair tutorials) encourages customer autonomy.

However, to avoid accusations of greenwashing (for example, in the case of promises disproportionate to the actual environmental benefits of a product or service), companies must communicate in a transparent, rigorous and verifiable manner about their CSR initiatives, especially on social media, faced with consumers who are increasingly demanding in terms of transparency and environmental awareness ^[14].

Influence marketing: Peer mediation and the reputation economy

Influence marketing has become essential in increasing customer engagement, creating a genuine relationship with the brand. Influencers, perceived as reliable, generate personalised content that elicits positive emotions and encourages action, particularly making purchases ^[15]. They create communities, foster interaction and turn some followers into ambassadors. These exchanges also offer valuable feedback for adjusting products and services.

In addition, the growing use of AI-generated virtual influencers reduces costs and personalises interactions. Some are perceived as more authentic than real influencers, strongly influencing purchasing decisions. For example, virtual influencer Lil Miquela, created in 2016 by Brud Inc., has collaborated with brands such as Prada, Samsung, Dior and BMW; in 2023, she participated in the Instagram launch campaign for the BMW ix2, the brand’s first 100% electric model. The use of a virtual ambassador to accompany a vehicle embodying a new era of technology for many drivers reinforces the perceived congruence between product innovation and marketing innovation, and increases the campaign’s visibility among audiences familiar with digital codes. The authenticity and credibility of influencers, whether virtual or real, are crucial in strengthening customer trust, engagement and loyalty ^[16-20].

At the same time, the beginnings of a legal framework to regulate influencer marketing are emerging. In France, any company that collaborates with an influencer must now enter into a written partnership contract, and the published content (posts and stories) must explicitly state that it is a commercial collaboration.

A rapidly growing phenomenon, the integration of purchasing directly within social media (“in-app purchases”) is becoming widespread: for example, it enables customers to fill their basket and then make a purchase during a live shopping event without being redirected to an external website. The customer therefore goes from finding out about a product to buying it, right through to payment, without leaving the platform.

Immersive experiences: Simulated corporeality and self-projection

Immersive experiences (augmented reality, virtual reality) allow users to interact naturally with digital content, providing realistic simulations. These experiences bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds, giving users a unique mix of reality and virtuality. In particular, immersive experiences are increasingly being used in e-commerce. Augmented reality makes it easy to view products. Websites and mobile apps allow customers to try on clothing, glasses, jewellery and other fashion accessories virtually. As an illustration, Ray‑Ban offers augmented reality frame fittings on its website and via Snapchat/Instagram, allowing users to see different shapes of frames and shades of glasses in real time directly on their own face. Virtual reality simulates complete immersive environments: for example, with Qverse, Qatar Airways’ website offers a 3D tour (with or without headset) of its cabins for each class of travel and certain airport spaces, all guided by an avatar, in order to help users immerse themselves into the flight experience before buying a ticket.

Immersive experiences generate emotions and stimulate the imagination; they allow customers to see themselves and stimulate impulse buying. They promote emotional and lasting connections with brands ^[21-24].

However, obstacles persist in the deployment of these immersive technologies. Mastery of these technical features remains a challenge for companies and implementation costs further limit large-scale adoption. Therefore, these features are still often restricted to premium or luxury brands.

Hyper-personalisation to support engagement

Hyper-personalisation consists of adapting the offering, experience, messages and interactions for each customer in a very refined and individual way, using behavioural, transactional and contextual data, often via AI. Unlike traditional personalisation, which segments into groups, it focuses on an individual approach, making each interaction unique and relevant.

This approach reinforces the feeling of being understood and valued, improving engagement, retention and satisfaction.

In advertising, there has been a shift from mass marketing to data-driven strategies, where each message is adapted to the individual’s preferences, behaviours and emotions.

In e-commerce, AI makes it possible to analyse buying behaviours and offer ever more personalised recommendations, thereby optimising the user experience and increasing loyalty ^[25].

In music, the example of Spotify’s AI DJ illustrates this end-to-end logic: The functionality relies on the analysis of the user’s interactions and preferences to continuously generate tailor-made “sets” that combine listening histories, favourite genres and sub-genres, willingness to try something new, time of day and assumed mood. A virtual DJ comments on the selection over time through a synthetic voice, contextualising the playlists and articulating a personalised narration around the suggested tracks. This expressive guidance, which combines algorithmic recommendation and voice mediation, increases the feeling of being “known”, perceived relevance and emotional connection, with expected effects on listening time, recurrence of use and retention.

However, hyper-personalisation raises ethical issues related to data protection and privacy. Transparency and regulatory compliance are key to maintaining customer trust.

Omnichannel engagement: Seamless journey and relationship continuity

Omnichannel engagement is a strategic approach for companies wanting to deliver a seamless, consistent and integrated customer experience across all their communication and sales channels. For the company, this is about actively engaging each customer at every stage of their journey, whether in-store or online (website, social media, mobile apps etc.). The challenge for companies is to create a personalised and continuous relationship, in order to strengthen the trust and loyalty of its customers. Fostering harmonious interaction between all points of contact reinforces the customer’s engagement.

In particular, in retail, the omnichannel approach is establishing itself as a response to new consumer expectations, particularly in highly digitised urban environments. The engagement of younger generations, especially generation Z, is strongly influenced by the quality of omnichannel integration ^[26]. An integrated, effective and responsive experience promotes emotional and cognitive engagement, which translates into an attachment to the brand.

The example of Sephora is a concrete illustration of this omnichannel approach. The customer account and loyalty program are unified, so that benefits, purchase history and preferences follow the user both in-store and online. The shopping experience is fluid and continuous: Online, the customer can discover a product, try it in augmented reality, finalise the purchase and then select delivery or click and collect; in-store, they scan a barcode to access reviews and ingredients, receive personalised advice and can make an order from other stock if the product is not available locally, before getting a digital receipt synched with their account. Services add to this continuity, such as making beauty appointments online with the results integrated into the customer’s profile, video consultations (face-to-face or live as a group) or support from virtual agents. After purchase, online orders can be returned in-store and alerts (e.g. back in stock, price drop) are shared between devices and channels. Lastly, the Sephora Community adds information to product datasheets and offers live shopping events with products added directly to baskets, reinforcing the engagement-conversion loop.

Finally, it should be noted that adoption of the omnichannel approach often involves a major overhaul of the business information systems architecture ^[28].

Conclusion

Customer engagement is not the result of a purely rational decision: It is built up over time, at the intersection of emotions, cognitive evaluations, social norms and the meaning attributed to the relationship. An authentic CSR approach, influence marketing, immersive experiences, hyper-personalisation and the omnichannel approach offer opportunities for companies to create deep and lasting relationships.

With regard to Orange, the company benefits from a normative level of engagement from its long-standing customers, inherited from its status as an incumbent carrier and consolidated by its role as a “trusted carrier”.

This capital is supported by tangible evidence of reliability and responsibility: data and privacy protection; cybersecurity tools (such as parental controls, anti-spam measures and protection against fraudulent SMS), digital inclusion initiatives (such as the Orange Foundationand Orange Digital Centers) and a circular economy approach favouring extending equipment life (e.g. collection and recycling of mobile devices).

This trust is accompanied by emotional engagement, fostered in particular by cultural and sporting partnerships. It is also stimulated by innovation (for example, demonstrations at Orange 5G Labs) and by engaging with customer communities (such as the Orange Community).

Finally, the “For Good Connections” initiative embodies this ambition by promoting meaningful and responsible connections that serve people, society and the environment.