The Customer Engagement Ecosystem

Abstract

Consumer engagement has been widely discussed in both the academic and practitioner literature, but there is no consensus about its meaning, what phenomena constitute engagement or what its antecedents and consequences are. Therefore, we propose that the term engagement should be eluded and that more specific terms should be used for the different phenomena. Building on previous literature, we propose the customer engagement ecosystem, a conceptual model that encompasses brand actions, other actors, customer brand experience, shopping behaviors, brand consumption and brand-dialog behaviors. The model posits that interactions between these elements are non-linear and reactive; meaning that each action causes a reaction of not only the intended recipient of the message, but the whole ecosystem. Hence, the model reflects the interconnected character of today’s marketing environment. It also recognizes the growing importance of empowered consumers by distinguishing different forms of brand dialog behaviors, which describe customers’ non-purchase focused behaviors.