In this new era of Customer Service, companies are becoming so knowledgeable about their customer that they are becoming mind readers. Okay – not exactly mind readers – but close! It’s becoming more and more imperative to get ahead of issues and anticipate what your customer wants and needs before they do. In the 2015 Forrester Trends: The Future of Customer Service, it was predicted that organizations would explore proactive engagement to improve operational performance as well as predict future customer behavior. In the same report, Kate Leggett wrote that connected devices were expected to proliferate at a rate of 50 billion by 2020 and that companies would deliver preemptive service which, in turn, would save companies money, better personalize customer engagement, and anticipate future customer needs. Well, 2020 is just a few short months away, and that prediction is coming true.
Proactive customer support is a no-brainer. Instead of sitting around waiting for problems to arise, agents are meeting issues and customers head on, and perceiving issues even before they become a problem. What’s more, companies are using multiple channels, in a seamless customer experience, to go the extra mile and show that they care. This is where customer loyalty is born.
In this post, we will explore two of these channels: Email and SMS communication. We will take a look at each of their individual characteristics and properties as well as show how the two compliment each other when used in partnership. We will also see the different ways that they can be used to improve your overall customer service so that you are operating not just reactively, but proactively as well.
The Long and the Short of it
When it comes to communicating with your customers, using both email and SMS can help to provide a seamless customer experience without pestering the customer. There are instances where one channel would work better or be more appropriate than the other. Let’s take a look at what each has to offer:
- Usually used for longer content
- It can include attachments and pictures or videos
- Typically not urgent in matter
- May include information that the user needs to keep to reference later
SMS
- Shorter messages in nature
- Can be used for more urgent issues that need immediate attention
- Can be deleted after reading
- Used to send reminders or alerts
- Available without WiFi
And while we are on the subject of SMS, just check out some of these SMS stats:
- SMS messages have a 98% open rate – 5x higher than email messages
- 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes of sending
- SMS has a 209% higher response rate than other communication channels such as email, phone, or social media outlets
While not all communication with your customers will be appropriate or useful to send via SMS, what these stats tell us is that this channel will almost guarantee the user will read the information you are providing. With the average individual spending over 4 hours on their mobile device each day, it’s no wonder that messages are seen and responded to quickly.
The Dynamic Duo
Combining email with SMS communication can enhance your customer’s experience without making them feel spammed with information and reminders. Have you ever booked a flight and had the option to receive status updates by text? Or maybe you placed an online order for a pair of jeans and opted to receive the tracking information via SMS? Your email inbox would contain the pertinent order information, while these texts would update you on the status of the flight, when you are able to check in, and the whereabouts of your jeans as they are en route to you. SMS communication is meant to work hand in hand with email communication, not to replace it.
ClickSend has taken this partnership a step further by helping to convert company emails into SMS messages to increase the chance of the customer reading the communication. When you have system notifications that your customers absolutely need to read, forwarding them to an SMS message is a great option.
For customer support agents, this streamlines everything into one medium. They can select to have responses from the customer sent directly to their email inbox making it easier to organize and track communication and respond. Customers don’t want to have to repeat themselves when dealing with an issue. By forwarding SMS replies into a help desk, ClickSend helps to keep the customer correspondence in one, easy to manage location.
Proactive Customer Support Using Email and SMS
We are all familiar with reactive customer support, there’s an issue with an order or a service that was paid for and the customer calls or emails the company to find out what is going on. Or maybe they go onto the company’s Facebook page and make a complaint where others can see that there was an issue. With proactive customer support, these types of issues are handled so that the complaint never happens. Thinking ahead of the problem – being proactive – will help to create loyal customers.
Let’s use the same example from earlier; maybe you place an order online for a pair of jeans from your favorite store. The closest store or warehouse made a mistake with their inventory and they are all out of these particular jeans. Instead of canceling your order, or taking too long to respond – with proactive customer support – an agent has tracked down the jeans at another store, and they are on their way to you. Oh, and you are aware of all of this information because you’ve been receiving SMS updates of how they are handling this issue before it even became a problem.
But proactive customer support can also mean going above and beyond for the customer even without an issue or problem on the horizon. Haven’t heard from or seen a repeat customer in a while? Send them a quick SMS to let them know they are missed and include a discount code to be used the same day. Or up the ante by offering your customer a special treat upon arrival to thank them for their loyalty.
Using an SMS auto-responder like this example from ClickSend can let your customer know that you care and are looking forward to their enjoyment of your product or service. The customer can reply with short one-word answers which takes them literally seconds, and in the end they receive an extra little gift to let them know that you appreciate their loyalty.
Conclusion
Using Email and SMS channels concurrently can enhance your customer’s experience and create loyalty. Understanding the differences within the two channels, and how to best use each of them will set you up to handle issues before they become problems. This can also work in your favor in surprising and wowing your customer to show them that they matter, and in turn, creating lifelong advocates.
About the author: Yaakov Karda is the co-founder of Chatra.io and a slow coffee enthusiast. When not brewing or working on the startup, he helps his wife with their art projects or explores Tel-Aviv on a bicycle.