There is a fundamental difference among customer service, customer engagement and customer experience. This blog will focus on how to use all three strategies to differentiate your shopping center as a place that turns customers into advocates.

First know this: you can never be too prepared when it comes to emergencies like fires. Unpreparedness brings panic and chaos. Planning helps bring organization and solutions to a dangerous situation.

Sales promotions can garner customers’ attention and loyalty. Personalized promotions are a good way to boost short-term sales, attract new and existing mall shoppers and increase dwell time for your center.

The COVID-19 crisis is showing us the importance of having an emergency plan in place. Natural disasters begs us to be prepared, but also that each situation is unique and sometimes unpredictable. Ultimately, though, your organization having an emergency plan can possibly save lives and keep those around you from giving in to panic.

Optimizing your shopping mall's marketing budget to seem bigger is something every center wants to do to maximize revenue and profits. In an age of Amazon, marketing is an essential to drive customers to visit your shopping malls.

As if we didn’t have enough to worry about, Hurricane Laura is bearing down on Louisiana and Texas potentially bringing along with it severe damage and potentially a lives lost. Keep in mind that in 2019, AccuWeather said that more than $22 billion in hurricane-related damages were reported which this year has the potential to surpass.

In an age of Amazon, shopping center marketers need to think and market differently especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 32% of shoppers go to stores because they enjoy the experience; more than three-quarters try to avoid stores altogether, according to the Salesforce Connected Shopper Report. Shopping centers must drive shoppers in by creating a unique selling proposition especially as many consumers are hesitant to venture out during this current pandemic.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything it is that emergencies can happen at any moment -- severe weather, natural disasters or active shooters. These are events that threaten employee safety and impact business operations. Businesses need to choose the right emergency communications strategy, which includes a modern emergency mass notification system.

How important is customer engagement for your shopping mall? Take a look into the very near future:

Just because your shoppers aren’t currently visiting your shopping center, doesn’t mean you can’t reach out to them. You can’t afford shoppers forgetting about the great things your tenants and the center have to offer because you didn’t remind them.