“In a year filled with uncertainty, businesses have had to adapt the way in which they operate and as such communication and customer engagement has seen increased demand and significant change. Multiple device use has played a pivotal role in keeping businesses and consumers up to date, making mobile messaging a vital tool for the future success of any business in this new economic climate.”
So says Nick Millward, VP Europe at mGage, who highlights how 65% of consumers are basing their future purchase decisions on a company’s response to the current situation according to Edelman, making the understanding of customer needs and requirements more important than ever before.
As the trend towards convenient, simple and engaging content becomes paramount, brands need to extend far beyond the reach of just outbound SMS and listen to what their consumers want.
Millward emphasises that 69% of consumers prefer chat messaging services due to its ability to provide quick replies to simple questions. This coupled with the emergence of over half the consumers aged 34 years and under in favour of messaging services over picking up the phone is something that call and contact centres cannot ignore.
“There is a strong incentive for brands to utilise Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging within an omni-channel strategy to deliver exceptional customer service and loyalty reward programmes that consumers have come to expect,” adds Millward. “Combining app-like features with the simplicity of SMS, RCS messaging offers a unique capability for consumers to interact with organisations like never before, while providing lower customer management costs and increased Return on Investment (ROI) for brands.”
As attitudes shift and technology advances further, companies that incorporate conversational messaging within their communications strategy will be able to offer a far more personalised experience that fits in better with the ever-changing demands of consumers and the needs of the industry.
The implementation of new technologies such as RCS, will allow brands to build interactive and engaging chatbot flows for different stages of the customer journey, whether that is to amend a delivery or request customer feedback – all of which makes for a much more positive customer experience.
“With 89% of consumers preferring to communicate with an organisation through mobile messaging, brands need to be smarter about how they interact with their customers,” adds Millward. “Our research shows that consumers are retaining loyalty to brands that are providing more targeted and designed content in line with their interests. Whether you implement automated chat services, mobile chat or RCS, all of these mobile channels help businesses to improve customer experience. With faster response times resulting in improved call handling time and cost savings due to the reduced number of time-consuming phone calls, contact and call centres are able to re-allocate resources to answer or deal with more complex or delicate questions and achieve a more efficient and positive experience for brands and consumers alike.”
Millard was speaking at C+UX Expo.
