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Messaging for the masses

A new way for businesses and consumers to chat transforms the customer experience.

Darryl Marcus
By Darryl Marcus, GM for the South African branch of enterprise mobile messaging platform Pypestream.
Johannesburg, 22 Nov 2016

Imagine being able to chat with the bank, insurance company, medical aid provider, airline or even the gym in real-time, on a messaging app or via the Web site. There would be no more waiting on hold, frustrating department transfers, ineffective IVR, or switching between apps and Web sites to find what is needed. Questions and requests would be answered quickly and securely.

Through a combination of natural language processing and AI technology, standalone messaging apps that incorporate chatbots can let consumers do just that. By creating a direct, private and secure line of communication between businesses and their customers, enterprise mobile messaging connects companies with customers and employees via mobile chat.

According to the 2016 Global Mobile Messaging Consumer Report, nine out of 10 consumers globally want to use messaging to talk to businesses. In addition, a recent ATG Global Consumer Trend study found 90% of customers consider live chat helpful, and see it as an important customer service differentiator. What's more, messaging is the fastest adoption of a communication technology ever.

Wakey-wakey

Fuelled by a familiar and intuitive user interface, the appeal of mobile messaging, which is disrupting the traditional call centre model, is further driven by global research, which reveals current communication channels do not provide an effective means to connect with customers; this should be a big wakeup call for enterprises in a highly competitive environment.

Just 22% of the more than 200 billion e-mail messages sent every day are opened, while the actual response rate is a dismal 6%. The average engagement on social media, which is designed for peer-to-peer communication, ranges between 0.5% and 6%, and it is perceived as cluttered and unsecure.

Call centres have becomes sinkholes of cost, and are generally reviled as obstacle courses by customers. The vast majority of millennials do not want to talk to companies on the phone, while research from Mattersight shows only 28% of customers call customer service as their first attempt to solve a problem. They prefer to first try e-mail or social media, and will only call when forced to.

In addition, calls are expensive and agents are under pressure to keep them as short as possible. Apps are expensive to build and maintain, and are declining in usage as consumers become reluctant to download an app for each company they deal with.

From the customer's perspective, enterprise mobile messaging is the optimal solution. It's a digital technology development that stands to transform the customer experience in its current form. Keeping customers happy and ensuring their communication experiences are as smooth and stress-free as possible is vital, so enterprise mobile messaging should be a big priority for modern contact centres and marketers.

The vast majority of millennials do not want to talk to companies on the phone.

Mobile messaging offers several benefits, including the ability to resolve high volumes of enquiries at scale, thanks to automation; customised chatbots to handle common enquiries; and a drop in customer communication costs. The platform is not only more efficient, it is also more personal, thanks to the combination of chatbots and AI.

How does it work?

Texting enables call centres to respond to many consumers at once, making them much more efficient. Consumers can communicate directly with businesses to ask questions like: "Can I change my flight to a later time?", "My card has just been declined, what's the problem?", or "Please send me my data breakdown for May." Companies can also proactively communicate directly with consumers when they want to send out updates, promotional messages or advisories.

Customer enquiries are sent through a chat-enabled app or Web site and enquiries are routed to dedicated chatbots using natural language processing and keyword parsing. The custom-built bots are designed to resolve common, repetitive enquiries.

Complex issues that require the 'human touch' are rerouted to live agents for resolution. The transition between bots and humans is uninterrupted, so customers experience a single conversation. Because up to 80% of interactions can be automated, fewer call centre agents are required, which results in a significant reduction in costs.

With messaging now the communication platform of choice for consumers, it makes sense for businesses to have similar ways to communicate with their customers. Enterprise mobile messaging is set to change the game for businesses that are ready to adopt the technology.

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