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?”
