Why Mobile Messaging is the New Cornerstone of Mobile Strategy

“We at Forrester believe that today mobile messaging is the most part of your mobile strategy” –Nicole Dvorak, Data Scientist at Forrester Research

Communication over mobile messaging has no doubt become mainstream. The 4.2 billion monthly active users on Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and SnapChat confirm that. What’s unclear is why businesses have been slower to adopt messaging for customer support and marketing. Despite the conclusive research of Forrester and other consultancies, businesses have been cautious in their approach to this transformative technology. We at SnapSolv have built messaging-as-a-service that businesses can readily deploy to engage with new generation customers. Below we delve into why businesses cannot afford to miss out on this phenomenon.

Customer Satisfaction is Paramount

The statistics on the importance of customer retention are plentiful. Acquiring a new customer costs 5 to 10 times as much as retaining an existing one. A 5% increase in customer retention yields a 25% to 95% increase in profits. 71% of consumers that have ended relationships with companies cite poor customer service.

What’s not often quoted is the echo effect. 39% of consumers influence their friends & family if they are disgruntled. Social media and messaging apps have created a means to quickly and permanently hurt a company’s reputation. Companies cannot afford missteps in their communications with customers.

Proactive Support – Anytime, from Anywhere

Messaging allows companies to proactively address customer issues quickly, easily, and without friction. An unhappy customer does not want to look up a company’s phone number. An unhappy customer does not want to wait on hold. An unhappy customer does not want to wait for an email response. An unhappy customer wants resolution as quickly as possible, regardless of their location. Mobile messaging is the simplest & best way to accomplish this.

Furthermore, using a robust app like SnapSolv has inherent benefits over simple SMS. You don’t need a customer’s phone number, you can communicate with them cross-channel (web, mobile & tablet), and you can manage and delegate through a powerful dashboard. Customers who get charged for SMS messages also strongly prefer an app over simple SMS.

Differentiate with Mobile Messaging

Companies that are on the forefront of mobile messaging to customers have a distinct advantage. As the world has transitioned from brick-and-mortar to mobile & web, so too has communication methodology. Buyer’s journey has become less influenced by businesses as consumers can do their own research.  However, businesses must be available at any time during the decision and purchasing process, and mobile messaging enables that.

A recent study found that 56% of US Millennials say their phone is their most valuable shopping tool. How is a business supposed to engage with consumers, particularly Millennials, if not through their most preferred communication channel? Omnichannel engagement – being available wherever the consumer is – is an absolute must for businesses hoping to compete for customers in the modern age.

Marketing with Messaging

Effective advertising has progressively gotten harder for businesses due the amount of “noise” consumers encounter. Pre-internet, to reach an audience all businesses had to do was plan tv/radio/print advertising and send direct mailers. Post-internet, consumers are bombarded with advertising everywhere.

Messaging breaks through the clutter. 90%+ of messages get read. The average person checks their phone 150 to 200 times a day. Your customers will listen to you via mobile messaging, assuming you provide timely, relevant and personalized content. Messaging helps you connect with customers and remain one of the, on average, 26 apps that remain on their phone.

Rich push notifications also allow companies to go beyond text. We live in a visual world, and sending a customer a photo gives your company an edge. Have a new product to advertise, a complementary product to one already purchased by the consumer, an event you want to publicize? Send a rich push notification and there is very high probability of response rate than a generic email.

Operational Efficiency

So far, we’ve only been looking at top line revenue impact of mobile messaging. That alone would be enough to convince a business owner to add mobile messaging to support mix. But SnapSolv also provides operational efficiencies.

Some efficiencies are obvious. For instance, one agent can handle multiple chat sessions at a time, whereas a support worker can only do one phone call at a time. But we also provide agents with full chat history as it pertains to the customer, giving context to the conversation that should speed up the communication process. We also provide for canned answers to frequently asked questions, saving support workers valuable time. And by maintaining a chat session across web/mobile/tablet, you never have to have a user start over to explain themselves again. Time is money – and SnapSolv saves you time.

Summary

Retaining happy customers is more important than ever. Your most valuable customers expect you to be available to them at any time. They want a differentiated support experience that truly feels personalized. They want it to be fast, effective and regardless of location. Mobile messaging enables this.

Technology has dramatically altered the buying experience. Mobile Messaging is another important step in addressing the needs of consumers. Engage with customers how they want you to, when they want you to, saving money in the process.