Messaging apps have become part of our daily lives. A large majority of French people said they communicate regularly with Messenger (78%) and/or WhatsApp (62%). For many of us, the speed and convenience of these mobile apps has become the default way to stay in touch and chat with family, friends and co-workers.
Given this growth, messaging is increasingly becoming a popular channel for customer service, providing nine key benefits:
1. Familiarity
Consumers and contact center agents are all familiar with messaging apps, which means there’s no need to train anyone to use them. A significant training gain.
2. Simplicity
Designed to be easy to access and use, the apps have been widely adopted across different demographics.
3. Commitment
While consumers have access to a multitude of channels, messaging apps are checked several times a day. It is therefore unlikely that incoming and relevant messages from companies will be missed. For this reason, many organizations such as social landlords use WhatsApp to confirm and remind appointments.
4. Confidentiality
With encryption and encryption, apps are designed to be secure, keeping conversations private. Thus, customer information can be shared without the need to verify the identity of the interlocutor. It is also more difficult for users to convey negative messages publicly, compared to social networks .
5. Controllable
Messaging apps provide a complete record of the conversation, stored on the devices of everyone involved. Plus, it’s easy to see when messages were delivered and read, proving they reached the recipient.
6. Multimedia support
The combination of messaging apps and smartphone cameras makes it easy to save and share photos and videos. Agents can also quickly share links containing information or advice.
7. Greater agent productivity
As with channels such as chat, experienced agents can handle multiple conversations simultaneously. This increases productivity without affecting customer satisfaction.
8. Flexibility
Conversations can be real-time (synchronous) like chat. Or they can be asynchronous, without the need for an instant response (as with email). This flexibility means messaging is suitable for both queries that require an instant response and those that are less urgent.
9. Collaborative
It’s easy to set up groups in messaging apps to focus on specific areas, speeding up collaboration. Experts can be quickly added to conversations between consumers and advisors, allowing them to help resolve issues.
How to successfully adopt messaging apps for customer service?
Given these benefits, many contact centers are adding messaging to their omnichannel strategy. However, as with any new channel, having the right strategy and processes in place is critical to success. Businesses should consider these five points:
1. Set expectations
In their personal lives, many people expect an almost instant response to their messages. Clearly, this is difficult to achieve in a busy contact center, so make sure consumers are aware of the deadlines you work within.
2. Focus on specific use cases
Figure out where implementing messaging can add value and build use cases around that, rather than just pushing it to everyone. For example, look at how to send proactive appointment reminders, rather than trying to replace other channels.
3. Choose your technology
Businesses can simply use third-party apps like Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp for customer service. However, these apps are obviously out of your control. Therefore, for large organizations, it may make more sense to include messaging functionality in their own existing applications if they are well used by consumers. These can also add additional features such as geolocation to help provide context to the conversation.
4. Create processes and train your staff
Standardize responses by providing templates for agents to use when responding on messaging apps – and train everyone on the language and tone to adopt on the channel. Also, set up handover processes for another agent to take over open messaging conversations.
5. Integrate messaging into your channel strategy
In an omnichannel world, consumers can start a conversation on a messaging app and then switch to a channel like chat or phone. Also, make sure there are no gaps and share all information automatically when these changes occur.
The growth of messaging opens up new opportunities to improve customer service. However, carefully integrate the channel into your strategy for optimal results. To help, Enghouse Interactive gives your agents the tools they need to communicate, collaborate, and access data to create the best possible customer experience. Do not hesitate to contact us!
Sourced from: Enghouse Interactive. View the original article here.