People are spending an increasing amount of time online: they communicate in messengers and handle work problems in chat rooms. The trend of using online chats has expanded all over the world: users have learned that such communication is much more pleasant. This trend was immediately taken up by huge corporation owners and integrated into their marketing plans by linking numerous popular platforms, such as Facebook or WhatsApp. Businessmen rapidly recognized the value of such a tool, as sales in channels began to increase actively, changing how messengers and social networks were seen. Almost every entrepreneur is now perplexed by the quest for the finest solution: which channel to connect to ensure the most productive engagement with customers and create good customer support? More on the most successful ways to communicate with clients further in the post.
Benefits of business online chats
It is difficult to picture Internet sales without chatbots, messengers, and widgets on the site with free management consulting. When interacting with a brand on messaging apps, users choose the most convenient and appropriate channel for the current scenario. This is based on their comfort level with each option.
That is what the company benefits from having online chats:
Increased coverage.
Not always users can communicate with the manager by phone. The reasons may be different, so it is often easier for people to respond to a message by text than to talk for 10-15 minutes, and when a consultant is trying to sell a product or service. The percentage of openness of emails and chat messages is much higher than the percentage of productive calls with potential buyers.
Customer loyalty.
People have become so appreciative of their comfort and sense of security. Phone calls without warning have recently been recognized as bad form. It is much more pleasant and convenient for users to communicate with sellers in chat rooms, and messengers. However, this problem can be easily solved by the option of using a custom phone number, as when you see the phone number consisting of several repeating digits and letters you will raise brand awareness and make it easier for the customers to recognize the number.
High engagement.
If the company uses a CRM system, then it will not be difficult for the manager to find out some details about the client before starting a dialogue.
Saving company resources.
Developing a chatbot and buying one service for email newsletters is much cheaper than paying workers or hiring a call center for outsourcing.
Increasing customer confidence.
Sending emails and messages through messengers and social networks does not carry the same weight with users as a phone call. Clients are loyal to text messages sent on behalf of the manager and are more willing to answer the consultant’s questions in the chat.
How and in which channels to communicate with customers to get maximum benefits
In today’s world, the quality and features of communication are extremely crucial. Consumers must now receive responses to their questions as soon as feasible. At the same time, users want managers and technical support professionals to engage in customer service, quickly finding a common language, and refraining from asking superfluous and dumb inquiries.
Before adopting any new channel of communication with consumers, you should first determine which social networks and messengers the target audience prefers. It is also vital to consider how much time buyers spend on their devices. If a client orders office equipment using a desktop computer, he is unlikely to access the organization’s website from a mobile phone. The device type of the user is crucial since it dictates the format of the content and the channel of interaction chosen.
Email newsletters are rightfully recognized as one of the most effective methods for establishing contact with potential buyers, engaging existing customers, and increasing sales. The required attachments to use this channel are minimal. You will need an employee responsible for writing texts and creating content. You will also need a technical employee who knows how to work with the email program itself.
The advantages of mailing emails are that:
- in such a message, you can place much more content than in any messenger;
- in the letter, you can play with fonts, highlighting the main thing and drawing the reader’s attention to certain points;
- with the help of the subject of the letter, and attractive headers, you can increase the interest of customers and encourage them to read the message.
Mobile push notifications
As noted by business owners who already have experience using push notifications for advertising, this type of interaction with customers allows you to increase sales. The highest level of engagement comes from customers who have previously made purchases in an online store. For the effectiveness of push notifications to be high, you must inform customers about unique offers. If the offer is not valuable, users will stop paying attention to push notifications or refuse notifications altogether.
It is also worth remembering that you should seek the user’s permission before sending out push notifications. Users typically adjust these settings within the mobile application, and providing clients with the ability to choose their mailing topic is highly recommended. To make this tool as effective as possible, you must watch the indicators. Consumers determine the topics of their interest. How frequently do they switch to the app after receiving a message? At what frequency do they make purchases? How does customer behavior vary with and without push mailing?
Main resource
Pop-up notifications are often shown to a new, unregistered user with an offer to register, help a consultant in an online chat, to select the right products, and order a callback. Pop-ups, despite being annoying to many users, deliver excellent results as an interaction channel. This means that some of the visitors still click on this and follow the prompts of the system.
You can use messaging apps to inform clients about other important events.
- order status;
- the appearance of a product in a warehouse that was in favorites;
- the maximum discount on the last size of a certain item that was in the basket;
- the received response from the brand representative to the user’s comment;
- changing the status of the customer’s request to technical support.
Messengers
Brand advertising through messengers can be successful for any type of company that sells goods and services to ordinary people rather than organizations and wants to communicate more personally with their target audience. With the rising information load on users, the content utilized in messengers should be as brief and catchy as possible.
Applications for mobile devices
Companies that have mobile apps have greater potential for close client connection. Users perceive messages and notifications within the program calmly. Customers are willing to complete surveys, provide feedback, and fill out extensive questionnaires within accounts. Users who are content with an application’s performance can rate the quality of service on third-party resources. But, it is still worthwhile to provide some sort of incentive for any type of client connection with the brand. These incentives could include free shipping, higher personal discount, promo code for the next purchase, and so on.
To sum up
You should initially try all potential possibilities before developing a successful approach for connecting with clients in messengers. It is not necessary to limit yourself to one channel; instead, it is preferable to gradually learn new features by experimenting with diverse content formats and text display styles. It’s crucial to tailor text messages to the appropriate channel.
For push notifications, use only a few lines. For email marketing, develop a full-fledged letter designed following the company values. Multichannel in business is now more important than ever, thus the brand should strive for maximum media presence.
