Incorporating a social media component into customer experience is one way to engage customers, according to Olalah Njenga, founder and CEO of the YellowWood Group, a Raleigh-based marketing and sales performance company.

One opportunity to do that is for retailers to ask their customers to share their positive experience or purchase on social media.  Retailers should also consider offering an incentive, such as $5 off the next transaction, if the customer posts a picture of their purchase and tags the store.

“Socially, I think brands want people to be more engaged and share more,” Njenga said. “So, doing something that will illicit that kind of behavior is something that brands should really consider.”

Hotels, Njenga said, have it down to a science.  When Njenga shares her positive hotel experience with the front desk, the first thing she is asked to do is: “Could you please share that on Trip Advisor? Could you please give us five stars? Could you let other people see that you had a great experience?”