One-time security codes, delivery notifications, push marketing: brands depend on effective customer communication.
SMS and email are the go-to channels for many; traditionally the most direct way in which to share critical information and messaging.
However, that kind of one-way communication is limiting and lacks the kind of revenue-generating personalisation and contextualisation capable of cutting through to today’s modern consumer. A wasted opportunity, if you will. After all, engagement (any kind of engagement) with a customer is a valuable chance to promote products and brand values. Whenever those interactions occur, surely a two-way dialogue is more potent.
The deployment of an omnichannel Communication as a Service (CPaaS) platform provides those brands with a means of facilitating and encouraging that two-way conversation; via channels most-appropriate for their customer base, and by delivering rich content likely to resonate.
Picking an expert platform provider that not only understands the dynamics at play, but which also has the technological smarts to support delivery is key.
“All organisations have the ability to message their customers for, say, security or to notify that a delivery is occurring, but two-way engagement via a range of communication channels can add significant value,” says Divya Ghai Wakankar, Vice President of Enterprise Business & Marketing at leading provider BICS, which ticks both those boxes.
“Think X and Meta and WhatsApp and Arkchat. These are the kind of over-the-top channels capable of supporting advanced two-way messaging strategies that can take customers through a brand’s product line, convert a sale, and continue to nurture the relationship going forward.
“That kind of engagement plays a critical role in brands’ success because it enables a level of personalisation and contextualisation to which consumers are more likely to respond positively.”
Of course, the popularity of a particular channel over another depends on multiple factors such as demographics and geographical adoption levels. For example, non-millennials are likely to prefer voice or email; millennials prefer WhatsApp and Instagram. Similarly, Slack in the US is not as popular in Europe, and Arkchat is currently popular mainly in Asia.
“That is why it is so important to deploy an omnichannel CPaaS,” says Wakankar.
“Brands may well have to communicate with their customers via a range of different channels. It’s crucial that all those channels are leveraged in synch with each other and that they are working towards delivering the same goal. It’s very much about how consumers are interacting among themselves. What is their platform of choice?”
That said, brands must also be careful not to over-do digital engagement. Bombarding customers with marketing messages may stifle two-way engagement as opposed to promote it.
“Customers may not want to receive lots of marketing messages, but they do want to receive notifications that their package has been despatched,” says Wakankar. “They must be able to manage a Do Not Disturb list per touch-point, in a way which ensures the right customers receive the right level of engagement.”
As is increasingly the case, Artificial Intelligence has the power to help.
“Personalisation is key,” says Wakankar. “AI can help a brand understand its customers’ buying and engagement behaviours and preferences. For example, a customer may be interested in a particular product at a particular time, such as when buying a birthday present for near-and-dear ones. They may want to communicate at that particular instance for that specific reason but may not wish to engage for the rest of the year.”
That kind of informed, targeted engagement also reduces spamming – another bonus for customers and another way in which brands can nurture positive relationships.
“When brands are sending personalised content to customers based on them wanting to receive and engage with it, the justification for – and effectiveness of – mass, generalised messaging reduces,” says Wakankar. “That is good news for consumers and means brands’ messages cut through more effectively.”
It seems CPaaS that supports modern, two-way engagement presents many opportunities to promote customer satisfaction and loyalty.
And that is a message worth taking on board..!
To learn more about how BICS can help your and your customers’ businesses promote meaningful two-way engagement, click here.
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