Increasing Customer Engagement Rates

Expedia just dropped new research on what actually drives travel decisions in the AI era, and if you work in hospitality, you should be paying attention. Because this confirms what many of us have been seeing on the ground. 1. Video is not optional. Travelers are nearly 3X more influenced by video than static images, and 71% said video content shaped their decisions. That is not engagement fluff. That is revenue impact. If your property is still leading with static room shots and templated captions, you are invisible. 2. Authenticity wins. Authentic, user generated content consistently outperformed fully AI generated material. Less than half of respondents said they were comfortable with fully AI created articles or influencer content. Translation, travelers are open to AI assisting behind the scenes, but they do not want to feel like they are being marketed to by a robot. 3. Representation drives trust. 34% of respondents said seeing themselves represented in content increased trust in a brand. Diversity is not a PR talking point. It directly impacts booking confidence. If your marketing only reflects one type of guest, you are quietly telling everyone else they do not belong. 4. Structure matters. The research showed that clear storytelling with a strong beginning, engaging middle, and clear call to action increases comprehension and recall. Video scenes lasting 2 to 9 seconds hit the sweet spot. Overly fast cuts reduce engagement. Sloppy pacing loses attention. This is not about being flashy. It is about being intentional. 5. Social is critical for younger travelers. 71% of travelers under 40 said they use social media for inspiration. If your social strategy is disconnected from your broader commercial strategy, you are leaking demand. Period. And here is a stat that should make every GM rethink how they position pre arrival marketing. 85% of respondents said they go on a pre trip shopping spree. That means travelers are in a buying mindset before they even arrive. Smart brands show up during planning, not just at check in. The biggest theme running through all of this is simple. AI can enhance efficiency. It can optimize targeting. It can accelerate production. But it does not replace emotional intelligence, point of view, and human storytelling. I live in hotels full time. I can tell within 5 minutes whether a property’s marketing feels human or manufactured. The ones that feel real, that show real guests, real staff, real perspective, always stand out. In a world drowning in AI generated content, the competitive advantage is not more automation. It is stronger humanity. https://lnkd.in/eM8dDtZG --- If you like the way I look at the world of hospitality, let’s chat: scott@mrscotteddy.com

How to Build a Top 1% Shopify Store in 2026 (After 10+ Years of Doing It) 1. Start With a Real Product and Positioning • Weak product positioning = low AOV, heavy discounting, no repeat buyers • Strong positioning = pricing power, loyalty, organic word of mouth • If you are blaming ads, creators, or algorithms, the product story is usually the problem • Top stores do not sell products, they sell a belief customers want to belong to 2. Build One Core Conversion Path • Homepage hero → collection or PDP → clear value proof → frictionless checkout • Too many paths kill momentum • Top stores obsess over one primary journey and remove everything else • Every pixel should push the customer forward, not sideways 3. Know the Shopify Math Cold • Contribution margin, blended CAC, AOV, repeat purchase rate, cash collected • Revenue screenshots mean nothing if cash flow is broken • If the math does not work at small spend, it will not work at scale • Great operators know their numbers weekly, not monthly 4. Drive Traffic With Direct Response Creative • Short form video wins in 2026 • 15 to 60 second videos that show the product in real life • Clear hook, clear problem, clear reason to buy now • The goal is not views, it is qualified traffic that converts 5. Turn Your PDP Into a Sales Page • Your product page is your closer • Show how it works, who it is for, why it is different • Answer objections before they scroll • Reviews, UGC, FAQs, and guarantees are non negotiable 6. Hammer the Customer With Trust Before Purchase • Retarget site visitors aggressively with education and proof • Founder videos, customer stories, behind the scenes, how it is made • Most brands stop after the click, top brands sell after the click • Trust is built through repetition, not clever copy 7. Build Retention Before You Chase More Traffic • Email and SMS are not optional • Welcome flows, post purchase flows, replenishment, loyalty • The money is made on the second and third order • Acquisition gets you attention, retention builds the business 8. Stay Ahead of Scale Constraints • Inventory, fulfillment, CX, creative output • Most Shopify brands stall because operations lag behind demand • If you wait for problems to show up, you are already late • Top operators build systems before they are forced to

Product SEO Tip: Google and LLMs want answered product-related questions on your site to increase visibility in AI-powered search: I’ve tested this by adding Q&A sections to product pages, building compatibility hubs, and tracking what shows up in Google snippets and AI summaries. Here’s what I found: (For Shopify product page SEO) - Pages with real Q&A display more in “People Also Ask” - Specific questions drove more buyer clicks - Digestible answers got pulled in AI search answers - Hidden or generic FAQs don’t perform Bottom line: Google and AI reward unique answers (scraped content should be unique). How do you make this work? 1. Answer what only you know: (Can you offer fresh & recent data?) - Share test results or real use cases - Add insights from support tickets - Include product-specific advice buyers trust 2. Make it readable: (and rankable) - Keep answers visible on-page - Use clear subheadings and anchor links - Add FAQ schema if it fits 3. Find real buyer questions: (Check emails, speak to your sales team) - Pull from your own GSC - Use Amazon Q&A and on-site search - Group questions by what shoppers need to know There's lots of ways to find customer barriers. But this is a great way to get started! ----- Most stores hand off these answers to Google, Reddit, or AI tools. The smart ones answer them on their own site, so you win the traffic, trust, and conversions. There's a big opportunity. Are you building an answer engine eCom store?

More traffic means nothing if you can’t turn visitors into customers. We helped an eCommerce client grow revenue by 72% and 3X’d their organic traffic along the way. Turns out, when you give users a better experience and convert them, Google will naturally send you more free traffic. Here’s exactly how we did it, and how you can too. 👇 1️⃣ Your blog should actively drive sales, not just rank. Find your top-selling products in Google Analytics. Go to Reports → Monetization → Ecommerce purchases. Sort by revenue or units sold. These are your “money” pages. Next, add contextual internal links from relevant blog posts. Link naturally within sentences using descriptive, keyword-rich anchor text. 2️⃣ Add product widgets at strategic points in your content: Place widgets in 3 key areas: - Within articles when discussing related items - Sidebar for consistent visibility - Bottom of posts for subtle promotion Try these proven widget types: - Popular/bestselling products  - Recently viewed items  - New arrivals  - Special offers/discounts  - "People also buy" recommendations Make sure your widgets have:  - Clear, clickable images  - Direct "Add to Cart" buttons when possible  - Quick view functionality 3️⃣ Keep visitors engaged with related posts sections at the end of each article. Not all your visitors will buy right away. Extract SEO value from them using related posts. WordPress users can try Contextual Related Posts plugin, while Shopify stores can use Related Blog Posts Pro. Longer site visits mean more product discovery opportunities. 4️⃣ Never use generic product descriptions. Create unique descriptions at scale with ChatGPT’s (free) Ecommerce SEO Product Description Writer. Feed in your product name, features, and what makes it different. Then enhance the output with customer-focused benefits, clear features, and FAQs. 5️⃣ Structure descriptions into scannable sections: - Brief overview for busy shoppers - Detailed info for researchers - Feature lists with practical benefits - Clean technical specs - How-to sections for complex products The key here is to give Google exactly what it wants - unique content that satisfies user intent AND converts. The result of these tweaks? • 204% increase in organic traffic (9,107 → 27,699 monthly sessions) • 72% increase in monthly revenue • 1.75x more keywords in top 10 positions (2K → 3.5K)

It surprises me how many e-commerce brands pretend to offer a personalized storefront, but show the same store to everyone. The attached visual that shows what a modern storefront actually looks like behind the scenes, which is a simple system that reacts in real time. Thought it would be useful to break this down into three stages with the recommended tech stack below: Stage 1: Signals (data in) You capture (live) what’s already happening the moment someone arrives. How they got there, what they’re doing, what device they’re on, and whether they’ve bought before. Typical stack: • Segment or RudderStack for event capture • Shopify events and customer data • Google Tag Manager • Meta / TikTok UTMs for paid context Focus on clean, real-time signals without overengineering identity. Stage 2: Decisions (what to show) Those signals get turned into a simple decision immediately. Which message, which products, which path makes sense for this visitor right now. If it’s not fast enough to change the first screen, it doesn’t count. Typical stack: • Dynamic Yield or Nosto • Vercel edge logic • Cloudflare Workers • Simple rules or light models, not heavy AI Remember, speed beats sophistication. Stage 3: Experience (what changes) The storefront responds on arrival. The hero, first product grid, and primary CTA change instantly so the site feels relevant from the first moment. Typical stack: • Shopify Hydrogen or native Shopify sections • Contentful or Optimizely • Server-side or edge-rendered changes, not client-side flicker Important, personalize above the fold first. A returning high-value customer sees new arrivals and a faster path to checkout. A first-time visitor from paid sees a clearer offer and fewer choices. A deal-driven shopper sees bundles and savings upfront. Everything else comes later. If you want to start without overengineering: • Pick the two audiences that matter most • Personalize only the hero and first product grid • Measure lift on conversion rate and revenue per session • Add complexity only after this works Start simple: focus on one working example that proves the storefront can adapt in real time in a way customers actually feel.

Navigating Sales in an Uncertain Economy: The Power of Existing Customers A founder recently asked me a critical question: "When the pipeline looks dry, and the economy is turbulent for my industry, how should I navigate?" It’s a challenge many businesses face. In uncertain times, new customer acquisition slows, budgets tighten, and sales teams feel the pressure to generate fresh leads. However, the most effective strategy isn’t always looking outward—it’s strengthening existing customer relationships. A data from HubSpot highlights this: 72% of company revenue comes from existing customers, while only 28% comes from new ones. Yet, many businesses continue to prioritize acquisition over expansion. A Strategic Shift: From Hunting to Nurturing Instead of asking, “Where can I find new customers?” the right question is: “How can I help my existing customers sustain, grow, and navigate this phase?” Engaging with current customers provides critical insights into shifting industry trends, evolving needs, and new challenges. These conversations often reveal untapped opportunities for value creation, whether through: ✔ Cost optimization—helping them do more with less. ✔ Technology enhancements—offering solutions that improve efficiency. ✔ Revenue acceleration—identifying ways your product can drive business growth. A Case in Point During a market slowdown, one of our key customers—a well-established company in their industry—was struggling to acquire new business. Their growth had stalled, and they were losing deals to competitors that offered a more modern, tech-driven experience. Rather than focusing on immediate renewals, we sat down with their leadership team to understand the core issue. Through deeper discussions, we uncovered that their existing technology was outdated, making them less competitive. By integrating modern tech capabilities through our solution, we helped them close this gap. Within months, they were not only retaining existing clients but also winning new deals, putting them back on a growth trajectory. This didn’t just secure our relationship—it reinforced our position as a strategic partner rather than just a vendor. Go Deep, Not Just Wide Market turbulence is not the time to sell harder—it’s the time to engage smarter. Businesses that embed themselves in their customers’ success unlock long-term growth. 📌 Deepen engagement by identifying new use cases and challenges. 📌 Leverage customer insights to refine offerings and improve solutions. 📌 Encourage referrals—a warm introduction from an existing customer is far more effective than a cold outreach. Final Thought Sustainable growth is not just about expanding the pipeline—it’s about maximizing the value within it. The companies that thrive during downturns are those that prioritize relationships over transactions. How do you approach customer retention and expansion in uncertain times? Let’s discuss. 👇 #Sales #SaaS #RevenueGrowth #B2BSales #SalesStrategy

One of the first things every sales leader shares with me is their dashboard. But here's the problem, your CRM is lying to you. Sales velocity. Pipeline growth. Productivity metrics. All the dashboards look great. And yes, those numbers do tell part of the story. Sales engagement analytics can show which touchpoints convert to revenue. They help visualize how activity impacts the top line. All important. All useful. But that's also where the problem lies, because each of those metrics focuses on your team and their activity. Meanwhile, the buyer has quietly taken control of the process. - Ghosting is up. - “No-decision” outcomes are up. - Deals are stalling or getting pushed due to “timing.” - Meetings are being canceled—or never happen at all. And initial contact? Harder than ever. Why? Because buyers want less interaction with sales and more access to information, on their terms. If your team is seeing more no-shows, more silence, and more deals stuck in limbo, your outreach strategy may not be broken… It may simply be misaligned. Today’s buyers are already 70% or more through their journey before a salesperson ever gets involved. So instead of obsessing over how much your reps are reaching out, start looking at something far more revealing: How are buyers engaging? Ask yourself: ·       Are prospects initiating conversations or requesting meetings to clarify what they’ve already learned? ·       Are they asking for content, data, or insights? ·       Are they engaging with your posts and asking thoughtful questions? ·       Are they consuming content designed for their stage of the buying journey? If the answer is no, it’s not a pipeline problem, it’s a relevance problem. The most effective salespeople today don’t look like salespeople at all. They look like industry experts, educators, and trusted guides. They don’t push deals forward, they pull buyers in. So how do you increase buyer engagement? A few practical shifts: ·       Create content that answers buyer questions, not product questions ·       Share insights that help prospects make better decisions—even if they don’t buy from you ·       Design content for each stage of the buying journey, not just top-of-funnel awareness ·       Replace “checking in” messages with context, perspective, or data ·       Make it easy for buyers to self-educate before they ever talk to sales Which means your strategy shouldn’t just measure how often your team contacts prospects, it should measure how often prospects contact your team, and what triggered it. That’s where the real truth lives. #sales

Your email marketing list has three types of people on it: Readers who never buy Buyers who never read And the 8% who do both Most brands optimize for the readers. They craft perfect subject lines, test send times, obsess over open rates. Meanwhile, the buyers are ignoring every email and just coming back when they need to reorder. Here's what nobody talks about: Your buyers don't need more emails. They need fewer, better timed ones. I pulled data from brand's ESP. Here's what we found: People who bought 3+ times had an average email open rate of 11%. People who bought once had an average email open rate of 34%. The best customers were ignoring most emails! So we split the list: Segment 1: High engagement, low purchase These people open everything but never buy. They're tire kickers. Entertainment seekers. Freebie hunters. Action: Moved them to a weekly digest instead of daily sends. One email, all the content. Stop burning domain reputation on people who aren't converting. Segment 2: Low engagement, high purchase These people buy every 40-60 days like clockwork. They ignore promotional emails. They don't care about your content. Action: Sent them exactly three emails between purchases: - Day 30: Refill reminder (just inventory check, no pitch) - Day 45: "You're probably running low" - Day 55: Reorder link, one-click Open rates stayed low (12%). Conversion rate on those three emails: 43%. Segment 3: High engagement, high purchase The golden 8%. They read AND buy. Action: These people got everything. New products first. Behind-the-scenes content. Early access. VIP treatment. The result after 90 days: Total email volume: Down 62% Revenue from email: Up 31% Unsubscribe rate: Down 55% The lesson: Stop treating your email list as ONE Your best customers don't want to hear from you more. They want to hear from you smarter. Figure out who's buying despite your emails, and get out of their way.

D2C brands in India are spending upwards of ₹2000 to acquire a single customer, yet most struggle to generate a second purchase. Despite heavy investments in acquisition channels, these brands face a fundamental challenge: They don't have effective systems to drive repeat purchases. The data shows that over 70% of customers make just one purchase and never return. The problem isn't just about acquisition costs—it's about not leveraging customer data and engagement tools effectively. Most D2C brands collect valuable customer information but fail to use it for personalized communication, product recommendations, or targeted offers. Modern customer engagement platforms offer solutions through features like behavior tracking, journey mapping, and automated campaigns. These tools can identify purchase patterns, predict customer churn, and trigger relevant communications at the right moment. The key is shifting focus from pure acquisition to building systematic engagement workflows. Brands need to implement tools that can segment customers based on their behavior, automate personalized communications, and measure interaction impact. Those who adapt quickly will see significantly better unit economics.