Consumer expectations of easy, positive interactions with brands via technology is the norm today. If your company is unable to effectively manage the customer experience, you’re probably behind the competition. This topic is broad and quite important to a business’ success and customer acquisition strategy, so we’re addressing it in a two-part blog post series. Being able to communicate with consumers on their preferred channels, and managing those communications in a timely and effective way are both crucial to ensuring customer happiness – let’s explore why.
Selling the Customer Experience
Convenience sells. Beyond the product or service you offer, you’re also selling a brand experience, and consumers expect quick answers and efficient communication. Historically, the most popular online medium for communicating with brands was email. But preferences can and do shift, especially when driven by technology advancements and consumer adoption of those technologies. It is clear, based on observation and market experience, that online messaging with brands is on the rise. Adding ongoing management of direct messaging and texting to your portfolio of communication tools is essential to converting leads and satisfying customer inquiries. By adopting such capabilities, you let customers decide how they want to interact with your business based on their preferences.
The Value of Managing Text and Messaging Communications with Customers
Providing a seamless, efficient customer experience improves conversion rates and boosts long-term customer engagement and satisfaction measures. Unlike traditional methods of communicating with brands, conversing over text or direct messaging (private messages sent on social media platforms) is flexible and fast. Waiting on hold or checking back a day later for an email response is inconvenient and downgrades customer satisfaction. Prospects who receive a timely response are more likely to trust and do business with a company that shows that it values their time. Responsiveness lets the customer know that they are the priority.
Texting is rapidly becoming the most preferred consumer method of connecting with businesses. According to a study done by Twilio, a whopping 89% of customers prefer texting over other channels. In fact, according to a recent Gallup poll, texting is already the most common form of communication for adults under age 50. Adding texting to your customer communication capabilities helps provide another convenient avenue where your audience can ask questions, receive confirmation and reminders, give feedback, receive offers and more. It also demonstrates your consideration and helps reinforce the idea that your brand is there to serve them.
The Benefits of Unified Communications Systems
Managing all your incoming messages – texts, direct messages, web chat and more – in one place is possible. The solution: a messaging communications system that syncs conversations from each channel and centralizes them in one hub. Whether your prospects are messaging you on Facebook, Instagram or Google, or communicating with you over text via a number that is prominent on your website, unified messaging helps you manage all your conversations in one place. It’s a subset of functionality of the ever-evolving unified communication concept that our clients are adopting at a brisk pace and one that we’re pleased to support.
With a unified messaging system, you don’t have to worry about dropping the ball and forgetting to check all your business channels to respond to a customer. Nor will you need to worry about missing a messaging notification. It’s far easier and more efficient to respond to your incoming texts and messages from social media in one place, and it’s also a communication method customers prefer. Other options include voicemail-to-text conversion directly in your central management platform for added convenience and improved response times. Convert more leads, faster. Then, spend the extra time you got back on other important revenue-generating and customer-serving tasks.
There are numerous technology platform options that provide unified messaging features and also include a shared inbox for customer response. At Bleevit, we prefer a solution that can integrate with multiple channels in order to manage incoming voicemails, direct messages, texts and webchat messages all in a single interface, either on a desktop or mobile phone. Speaking of webchat, our next blog post in this series about taking charge of your customer experience management will be about leveraging chatbot tools to power business growth.
Our team stands ready to help you start growing your business with more efficient customer communication solutions. If you’re interested in learning more and improving your customer experience, reach out to our specialists at Bleevit Interactive. Schedule a free consultation today.
WRITTEN BY
Robin Hogan, COO & Co-Founder – Bleevit Interactive
Robin leverages unsurpassed client dedication and a diverse skill set with over 20 years of senior-level experience to bring passion to her work and depth to her writing. She works tirelessly to deploy successful marketing strategies and cloud technologies for local businesses.
When she’s not working, Robin enjoys spending time with family and friends, supporting local community organizations and tending to her bountiful garden. Email her at hello@bleevit.com if you have questions or want more information.
