As communication technology has transformed in the past several decades, consumers too have changed in the way they interact with businesses. While face-to-face communication is still one of the most prevalent forms of consumer-to-business interaction, newer forms of communication such as telephone, email, and website are quickly growing in popularity. Although making the effort to open new communication channels may seem like the obvious choice, many companies in recent times have been slow to adapt. As a result, customer experience has worsened, company reputations have declined, and more.
But why should companies make the switch? Which type of communication channel do customers like in particular? Should companies have more than one form of channel available? In this blog, we will try to answer these important questions.
Why make the switch
Business must prioritise the happiness of their customers and adapt to their specific needs in order to succeed. According to a 2019 study carried out by Northridge Group, “72% of consumers report they are likely to switch to a competitive brand after just one bad experience.” With voice and digital technology becoming the norm, businesses must also make the effort to introduce voice and digital communication channels to their customers. According to the same study, a staggering 86% of consumers prefer email, telephone, and website channels over others. By adapting to these changes, businesses can boost customer retention and improve the quality of their services.
However, according to another recent study carried out by the CMO council, 45% of consumers still prefer in-person communication to be present in a company. With such a large portion of consumers preferring in-person communication, it raises the question: should in-person communication be eliminated completely, or should it remain an option?
The answer to this question is the latter. Maintaining multiple communication channels, or multi-channel communication, within your business is extremely important for a number of reasons all relating to improved customer experience. The most important reason is that it allows customers to access your services at any place, any time, and through a multitude of devices. Customers interact with companies in a variety of ways based on a multitude of factors such as age, geographical region, and income. For example, someone without internet access may want to see some form of in-person communication available. On the other hand, someone with internet access may prioritise digital convenience over in-person communication. Respecting these differences lets customers know that you care, ultimately helping to boost overall customer experience.
Benefits of digital communication channels
Below, we will highlight some of the many benefits of implementing digital communication channels into your company.
1. Reduced costs
With traditional forms of communication, time and money must be spent for travel, meeting, and so on. With digital communication, however, employee productivity is boosted, call center operation can be streamlined, and overall costs are reduced significantly. Not to mention, the time required for each customer-business interaction is much lower than other methods.
2. Improved Customer Satisfaction Levels
As opposed to in-person communication, digital communication is much more accessible. While it does require some form of device and internet connection, it eliminates the need for customers to go out of their way to directly interact with your company. Digital communication has also shown to reduce many potential customer pain points such as delayed support response, a lack of personnel, and inconsistent customer service.
3. Increased capabilities for employees
With digital communication channels, employees have greater access to digital service solutions or automation tools than they would normally. As such, employee productivity is boosted and company services can be carried out more efficiently.
One potential risk to consider when developing new communication channels is a decreased connection across multiple channels. When companies are managing more than one communication channel, they often store the data in separate locations for convenience. However, by doing this, a disconnect can often form between the customers and business due to an increase in data inconsistencies. For instance, a customer may see that a certain product has a discount on the company website, but in-store does not. Such inconsistencies are often the result of having separated data silos.
In order to address this issue, a strategy known as the omni-channel approach can be employed, which essentially consolidates multiple communication channels into one centralised location. By doing this, the risk of data errors such as duplications or deletions are mitigated and overall customer experience is increased. For a more in-depth look into this approach, please explore one of our previous blogs regarding this topic.
Conclusion
Businesses must adapt. They have in the past and will continue to do so far into the future. As digital technologies continue to evolve and grow widespread, consumer preferences shift as well. In order to keep up with these changing preferences, businesses must integrate new technologies and features in order to maintain a competitive edge. The same is true in the case of communication channels. While digital and voice channels may not be appropriate for all companies, they are certainly something that your business should look into.