What is customer engagement? Definition, trends, and examples for 2025

If you ran a business, wouldn’t it be helpful to know exactly how your customers feel about the job you’re doing? Of course it would. And while you don’t need to be a psychic to figure this out, you do need to be paying attention to the answers your customers are already giving you. Every message they ignore, every repeated support ticket they submit, and every recurring question is a form of feedback.

That’s why customer engagement matters more than ever. The way you show up across channels, moments, and messages shapes how people feel about your brand. And according to our survey of over 2,800 global consumers in the State of customer communications 2025, they’ll be quick to disconnect when you miss the mark. In fact, 41% of consumers say that too many messages are among the top reasons they tune brands out. And 81% say they’re frustrated when they have to repeat themselves across different support channels.

That’s why the best brands are rethinking what customer engagement really looks like, and making every message count. In this post, we’ll break down what customer engagement really looks like in 2025, explore the trends reshaping it, and show you how to build a strategy that keeps customers coming back.

Before we dive into trends and examples, let’s first get clear on what customer engagement really means. Customer engagement is how brands build relationships with their customers across various communication channels. Through consistent and ongoing dialogue, businesses get to know their customers and learn how to deliver the best value.

And here’s the thing: Customer engagement isn’t always about selling. Most interactions aren’t transactional at all. Great engagement might look like:

• Helpful reminders
• Educational materials
• Personalized self-support resources
• Proactive advice or helpful reminders

The relationship starts well before a purchase and continues long after. Showing up in the right place, with the right message, at the right time can help turn one-time buyers into loyal customers.

If you’re still guessing what your customers want, it’s time to shift. Developing rapport with your customers can give you insights into the customer journey worth their weight in gold.

When your strategy centers around thoughtful, two-way, engaging conversations, the payoff is big:

• A smoother, more fulfilling customer experience
• Stronger brand awareness
• A growing base of repeat, loyal customers
• More opportunities to personalize, convert, and scale
• A better brand reputation that’s built on trust

A customer engagement strategy is how you stand out in a crowded market and turn transactions into long-term value.

Customer engagement should evolve across every step of the customer journey, from awareness to loyalty. Every touchpoint, whether it’s digital or in-store, is a chance to meet customer needs and have a conversation.

Here’s how engagement can look at each stage:

• Awareness: Personalized ads, educational content, or an SMS opt-in campaign that sparks interest and supports customer acquisition
• Consideration: Email nurturing, retargeting, and interactive messaging to guide decision-making and grow your customer base
• Purchase: Transactional messaging, real-time support, and smart automation to reduce friction no matter if a customer checks out in a mobile app or at a register
• Onboarding: In-app messaging, tutorials, or check-ins that set the tone and reinforce your offering or product’s functionality
• Customer retention: Loyalty programs, proactive notifications, or personalized promotions
• Advocacy: Surveys, referral incentives, and social engagement to turn happy customers into brand advocates

Make your engagement approach individual to each stage so you can build long-term, high-value customer relationships.

So now that you know a little more about customer engagement, you might be thinking… sure, but what do customers actually expect from brands? And that’s a great question.

Our 2025 State of customer communications research has some answers. Here are six key trends that are reshaping how organizations are connecting with people, and what it takes to build lasting relationships.

1. Customers expect to connect across multiple channels. 36% of consumers we surveyed said they want to receive informational messages on more than one channel. That means brands need to move beyond a single-channel mindset, using email, SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, and more to meet people where they are.
2. People want to choose how they hear from you. 58% of consumers want to choose their preferred channel when they opt in. Giving them that choice (and honoring it) builds trust and long-term customer loyalty.
3. Speed is part of the customer experience. 87% of consumers expect fraud alerts either instantly or within five minutes. For high-stakes messages, you have to be quick.
4. RCS is emerging as a trusted, engaging channel. 87% of business leaders we surveyed said they were at least somewhat familiar with RCS, and 59% of consumers said they trust RCS verification messages more than SMS. With features like branded senders and interactivity, RCS is changing how messages show up (and stand out!).  
5. Consumers generally trust AI when it’s used responsibly. More than half (52%) of consumers said they would trust AI-generated answers for routine updates. But their trust hinges on relevancy and transparency – meaning brands need to be clear about when and how AI is used.
6. Personalization still wins. 42% of consumers expect promotions to reflect their preferences, and 54% say personalized rewards are the most valuable messages they receive. Clearly, consumers expect you to know more than just their first name and want you to know what matters to them as an individual.

Together, these trends show that customer engagement in 2025 is about meeting people on their terms. So how can your brand put these insights into action? Let’s break down how to build a customer engagement strategy that delivers.

Like any construction project, building a great engagement strategy requires the right structure and tools. You wouldn’t try to build a house with just glue and duct tape, would you?

A great customer engagement strategy is grounded in data, powered by the right technology, and shaped by the expectations of your target audience. Every interaction is a chance to build trust and strengthen their customer experience.

Understanding who your customers are is just the beginning. You also need to know where they prefer to connect, which might include:

• SMS or MMS
• RCS
• WhatsApp
• Other mobile messaging channels like Messenger, Instagram, or Telegram
• Email
• Social media
• In-app messaging

An omnichannel approach ensures you’re present on all the channels that matter most to your audience. With a customer engagement platform like Sinch Engage, you can unify many of those touchpoints to create seamless, personalized experiences.

Not every customer interaction needs to be transactional – in fact, most shouldn’t be. Helpful content like reminders, educational resources, and more can be a great way to keep your brand top-of-mind.

Sharing the right content starts with a solid marketing strategy. That means knowing your audience, aligning your messages to their needs, and choosing the right channels to deliver them.

The more relevant your content is to each customer, the more value it adds, and the more meaningful the interaction becomes.

Personalized experiences build stronger relationships. And everything from customer support to product demonstrations should be tailored to the individual customer.

A customer engagement platform will help you track each customer interaction and pass data between systems so you can offer personalized messages, offers, and service moments based on your customers’ real behaviors and preferences.

Customer feedback is one of your most valuable tools, but only if you ask for it and act on it. Use surveys, follow-ups, and quick polls to invite input at key moments in the customer journey. Then use those insights to close gaps and exceed customer expectations!

At the same time, don’t forget to show appreciation. Customer loyalty programs are great ways to reward engaged customers and incentivize repeat purchases. Even small rewards can go a long way in strengthening long-term relationships.

With your conversational customer engagement program up and running, your next focus should be on customer data.

The only way to improve your customer engagement strategy is to measure it. Use your platform to track which channels perform best, which touchpoints lead to action, and where customers drop off. This customer data will give you the visibility to make smarter decisions.

With the right tools, insights, and strategy in place, effective customer engagement becomes both scalable and sustainable.

There’s really nothing quite like seeing the results of a successful customer engagement strategy. Let’s look at two case studies from well-known brands: Nissan and AAA.

The average customer might wait five to seven years before buying a new car. So how do you keep the relationship strong in the meantime?

Nissan set out to boost brand loyalty and connect with customers between purchases with a personalized mobile messaging strategy using SMS and rich media.

Nissan integrated Adobe Campaign and Sinch’s messaging platform to reach the right people, with the right message, at the right time. Nissan saw:

• Five times higher engagement
• 80% conversion rate
• 200,000 customers reached in six months

Bottom line: With the right solution, Nissan strengthened their customer relationships, improved conversion rates, and sold more cars!

When members began texting AAA’s 800-HELP line, their system wasn’t SMS-enabled, and urgent requests were getting missed.

To fix this problem, AAA text-enabled their toll-free number. This meant AAA members could create a request for roadside assistance from their mobile phones without having to call in and wait to speak to an agent.

The results:

• 10,000+ inbound texts per month
• 8% conversion rate to service requests
• $30K+ in soft cost savings monthly

Bottom line: AAA delivered a faster support experience and a smarter way to measure customer engagement.

Now that you’ve seen how real brands are driving results, let’s answer some common questions about customer engagement and how to make it work for your business.

The 3C’s of customer engagement are “connection,” “consistency,” and “convenience.” They’re the foundation of a strong, customer-centric strategy.

• Connection is about building an emotional connection with both potential customers and loyal ones. It’s how you turn transactions into relationships.
• Consistency means creating positive experiences across every touchpoint and channel so customers know what to expect from your brand.
• Convenience ensures it’s easy for customers to interact with you, get support, and access the information they need, when and where they need it.

Together, the 3C’s help you create engagement that’s meaningful and built to last.

These three terms work together, but they’re not the same.

• Customer engagement is how people interact with your brand, on various channels and through different programs. It includes ongoing two-way communication that happens before, during, and after a purchase. Engaged customers are more likely to try new products and stick around.
• Customer experience (CX) is how customers feel about every interaction they’ve had with your brand. It’s shaped by everything from support conversations to how easy it is to find what they need.
• Customer satisfaction measures how happy customers are after a specific interaction, like a support call or purchase. High satisfaction often leads to repeat business and lower churn rate.

All three are critical. But strong customer engagement is what keeps positive experiences going, and customers coming back.

Of course, you need to know what works. To truly optimize your engagement strategy, you need the right customer engagement metrics to help you understand what’s working for both new and existing customers.

Start with leading indicators that show how engaged your customers are right now:

• Email open and click-through rates
• Text read and reply rates
• Social media engagement
• Monthly active users (MAU)
• Conversion rates

You should also be tracking lagging indicators that reflect long-term impact on the customer experience:

• Customer satisfaction (CSAT)
• Net Promoter Score (NPS)
• Customer effort score (CES)
• Customer lifetime value (CLV)
• Retention and churn rates

These customer engagement metrics give you a full view of how well you’re meeting customer expectations, and where to improve across the customer lifecycle.

AI and AI chatbots make engagement better by making it easier to deliver fast, personalized responses at scale. They can help guide new customers to purchase, answer routine questions, reduce wait times, improve customer satisfaction, and free up human teams for more complex support.

Gone are the days where it was enough for a customer to just find you and complete a sale. If they only buy once and never come back, that’s a problem.

An effective customer engagement strategy helps you build lasting relationships by showing up throughout their whole journey. It’s how you meet customer needs, create great brand experiences, and earn long-term customers.

Want to know what customers expect and how leading brands are responding? Download the full State of customer communications 2025 report for insights from over 2,800 global consumers and 1,600 business leaders.

If you’re ready to talk specifics about your customer engagement strategy, reach out to our team to talk specifics. You can also book a demo or try out our out-of-the-box customer engagement platform Sinch Engage for free.