Research shows that 89% of consumers want two-way conversations with businesses across multiple channels. Yet more than half (53%) say they are frustrated because they often cannot reply to a message sent by a company—to ask a question, get an update, or complete an action such as a booking.
The survey, commissioned by cloud communications platform Sinch, polled 3,000 consumers across 15 countries.
This follows research from Mitto, a provider of global omnichannel messaging services, which found that 87% of US consumers use social media apps to engage with brands, while 80% of consumers in China, Brazil, India, and Nigeria use chat applications for brand interactions.
Securing purchases
Mitto’s US findings suggest that stronger engagement influences buying decisions. Fifty-five percent of respondents said a brand’s social media messaging influenced purchases on the brand’s website, 39% said it affected in-store purchases, and 42% made purchases via the social media app.
Consumers most want brands to send promo codes (70%), deals (61%), customer support messages (54%), and order updates (52%).
Clearly, better engagement can convert more customers. Yet when Sinch asked how long it typically takes to receive a response from a brand online, nearly one in four people said it takes a day or longer. Most respondents said they would be less likely to purchase from a brand if response times were poor.
Artificial intelligence?
The Sinch research found that 70% of people have interacted with an AI-powered chatbot at least once, but 95% of respondents said they still wanted to be connected with a live agent. A recent IDC whitepaper indicates that about 35% of organizations now use chatbots.
Sinch said the study highlights the gap between customers’ desire for more personal brand interactions and the limitations of many brands’ current one-way messaging approaches.
“Our research shows that customers are ready to take their relationships with brands to the next level, with two-way messaging across channels that gives them the freedom to shape the conversation to their needs,” said Jonathan Bean, CMO of Sinch.
“However, because many brands aren’t yet equipped to provide this enhanced conversational experience, customers are being unintentionally ignored, which can lead them to abandon a business altogether. Activating omnichannel two-way messaging is a critical way of boosting the customer experience and forging more loyal, satisfied relationships with consumers.”
Managing billing
About 20 years ago, the Telecommunications Managers Association (TMA) in the UK focused on several industry pain points: the high cost of leased lines from a handful of providers, and the lack of broadband options for businesses while incumbent BT delayed unbundling exchanges to enable faster rollout of ADSL and other broadband services.
Billing was another major concern—many organizations struggled to understand telecom costs and often faced overcharging. Alternative providers also found reselling difficult because carrier billing systems were complex.
Most exchanges have now been unbundled through government action and market pressures, but billing issues persist.
The TMA evolved into the Communications Management Association (CMA) to reflect that members were managing data as well as voice due to the convergence of telephony and IT networks. The CMA was later absorbed by the British Computer Society (BCS), the chartered institute for IT.
This brief history shows how increasingly complex it has become for organizations that must manage telecom invoices.
Adapting
How can businesses adapt? Implementing strong revenue assurance checks before and after each billing run makes a significant difference. These checks should verify that purchase prices match the tariffs agreed with carriers.
Without an automated billing platform, customers and resellers can struggle to reconcile charges as they scale their operations.
Gareth Pritchard, Marketing Manager for Union Street, a provider of billing platforms, says billing automation helps businesses manage complexity—and resellers should also look for commercial opportunities.
For example, many mobile users subscribe to unlimited voice and data plans they don’t fully use. Smart providers will buy a large bundle from a carrier and resell portions of it to end customers who won’t consume the entire allocation.
The result is higher margins for the reseller, provided a capable automated billing system is in place.
Roaming
I’ve been testing Vodafone’s 5G MiFi, a mobile router that shares data with multiple devices and can be used at a fixed location or taken on the move.
Where a 5G signal is available, network performance is excellent and the battery life is reliable—often lasting several days between charges.
Outside the UK, I’ve used the device in the US, Spain, and the Middle East.
In Spain’s Canary Islands, I only found a 4G signal, but it performed superbly and supported two phones plus my wife, an F1 fan, who watched the entire Saudi Arabia Grand Prix on her iPad by the pool without interruptions.
As I write this, I’m on a work trip to Tel Aviv, Israel. I haven’t found a 5G signal in the city centre yet, but 4G and 3G coverage is sufficient for everyday needs. The networks that appear are among Vodafone’s many roaming partners, making the operator reliable for travel use.
(Photo by Razvan Chisu on Unsplash)