Cross-channel communication doesn’t just provide a more seamless user experience — it also keeps customers coming back. Companies who offer a cross-channel experience have seen over 90% higher year-over-year increases in customer retention, according to Aberdeen.
Cross-channel engagement has been a blessing as well as a burden for some companies. On the one hand, businesses have more ways to interact with prospects and customers. On the other, all of these channels, be it social media, web chat, or text messaging, requires companies to actually monitor, respond, and engage consistently with customers over all of these channels. Not an easy task!
Cross-channel management doesn’t have to be a cumbersome exercise though. Today, it is imperative for all customer conversations to be in one holistic view or businesses will fail on business efficiency and effectiveness.
The companies realizing the most success with cross-channel messaging are seeing a significant boost in customer satisfaction and revenue, while also achieving positive impacts on productivity. Let’s dive into the ways that cross-channel messaging can be used to engage customers and drive more business.
Why does cross-channel messaging matter?
Convenience and choice are the fuel that powers today’s commerce engine. Your customers demand options that allow them to do business on their terms – which is often on a mobile device while they are on-the-go. In a nutshell, cross-channel messaging should matter to you because it matters to your customers and they’re telling you by how they spend their dollars.
According to Shopify, using cross-channel marketing increases revenue by 38% when one additional channel is added, and this number jumps all the way to 190% when three additional channels are used. Quiq’s conversational engagement platform supports over seven channels — all with rich messaging. Rich messaging is just one of the advances in cross-channel engagement that exceeds customer expectations.
Using cross-channel marketing increases revenue by 38% when one additional channel is added, and this number jumps all the way to 190% when three additional channels are used.
Rich cross-channel solutions
The latest developments of cross-channel-messaging involve the use of rich content. Rich messaging is messaging that is “enriched” containing more than just text. With rich messaging, you can complete transactions, schedule appointments, and share different types of media via Rich Communication Services (RCS). Let’s get fancy. Imagine a customer placing an order via text message or rich messaging on their phone, then hopping on their computer to pay for the transaction via web chat. The conversation follows them on whichever channel they use, and a wide variety of cool capabilities can be utilized via rich messaging.
Building an effective cross-channel approach
The modern contact center utilizes customer information from a variety of channels to create comprehensive customer profiles. Businesses are provided with more than just data points when you combine basic information such as addresses and emails, to more extensive information like past order history and customer status. This information allows businesses to provide personalized engagement, which is key to delivering better customer experiences and more effectively driving conversions.
Creating those profiles from disparate sources can create challenges. The challenges that arise with handling complex cross-channel environments, such as prioritizing channels, necessitate the use of streamlined business messaging software. Quiq enables businesses to deliver true cross-channel messaging experiences to customers across a wide variety of communication services with the efficiency of a centralized platform.
Adaptive response and the use of bots
Customer inquiries flying in from different channels can result in a large number of live conversations, so it’s critical to prioritize the conversations, with the most pressing conversations presented first. Urgent customer service needs must be differentiated from casual queries in order to ensure the highest priority issues are addressed first. One way to measure customer urgency is by how quickly the customer engages in the conversation — if there are long pauses between replies, chances may be the matter is not as urgent or the customer is not able to be fully engaged. Quiq’s Adaptive Response Timer is a unique feature that prioritizes customer service conversations based on the cadence or pace of customers.
Messaging bots are popular for their ability to instantly reply to queries and route customers to the correct human agent. The language that your bots use should be in line with your brand voice — be sure they utilize the same business lexicon that your support agents do. Bots can also be used to welcome users to your site and get them pointed in the right direction. As an important part of the cross-channel toolbox, bots can help shape the experience you deliver, no matter how – which channels – customers are using to get in touch.
Strength in continuity
You don’t have to wait for customers to message you to get the conversation started. Effective cross-channel communication relies on you reaching out from time to time on a customer’s preferred channel. The type of channel you reach out on can be tailored to the customer segment. For example, you can use Twitter direct messages to reach customers who like to stay current within the social media sphere. Cross-channel communication is not just about what you say — it’s also about where you say it. That means engaging with customers on the messaging platforms they prefer.
Cross-channel communication is not just about what you say — it’s also about how you say it.
In the end, true high-quality, cross-channel communication is about delivering a seamless and intuitive customer experience across the entire spectrum of digital messaging channels. When customers have the freedom to engage with your brand on their terms, their sense of loyalty and satisfaction is strengthened. Quiq allows you to have true cross-channel communication with your customers, so you can build brand loyalty and increase customer satisfaction.
To find out more about the ways you can more effectively engage with customers in a cross-channel environment, check out 10 Cross-Channel Customer Service Best Practices You Can Count On.
