Technology has had a huge impact on the success of most modern companies. There’s no denying the fact that a business can barely grow in today’s environment without integrating some form of innovation. For instance, computers have made it possible to handle some tasks that once seemed impossible. Every accountant will admit that the replacement of paperwork with excel files has significantly improved their output.
Something else that ought to be mentioned when it comes to technology is the customer experience. There’s no doubt that the current success of audience engagement in most companies is due to the role played by the innovations made in the communications department. For instance, sending out a text blast has made it easy for businesses to reach a wide range of potential customers within a short period.
Whenever a topic on customer engagement comes up, social media seems to be an inevitable part of the discussion, and rightly so. But has there been any significant change in how companies engage their consumers after the introduction of modern technology? The next section of the article aims to dissect this particular subject.
- Communications Are Faster Than Before
Modern communications technology has undoubtedly been the much-needed addition to most businesses today, if the statistics are anything to go by. One thing that’s always been frustrating for customers is the idea of having to wait on queue for minutes or even hours on the phone. This issue is evident in customer service departments that still use older dialers.
Just as the name suggests, manual dialers were designed to be totally dependent on the user’s control. As such, when one called from the other end, they’d have to patiently wait until the agent handling that particular line was available. This typically slowed down the communication process and the agent would end up engaging fewer customers on average, some of which were already tired of waiting and only continued the conversation for the sake of finally speaking to a customer service agent.
Today, however, huge strides have been made in the communications department when it comes to innovation. The direct replacements of manual dialers—auto dialers—have significantly quickened the customer engagement process. Live chat portals on company websites are constantly becoming part of the basic requirements. This feature gives business representatives a chance to offer their help as soon as a potential customer shows interest. Also, the fact that it provides an instant conversation with a live person has made it everyone’s favorite option considering how long email responses can take.
When it comes to quick feedback, social media platforms are up there with the best. For instance, when you send a direct message to a company via their Twitter account or any other official platform, you’re likely to receive a response within minutes. Many business owners are starting to realize this evolution in customer engagement and are gradually adapting the “social media way.”
- Non-Intrusive Interaction
One mistake that many companies make is the assumption that every potential customer is ready to read their endless marketing messages. Inasmuch as that could be true for a small portion of the consumer base, some can be easily irritated by these messages or find them tiresome to the point that they’ll just go ahead and delete them without bothering to read or even open them. As such, a brand could end up spoiling its reputation or sabotaging their marketing efforts, which is entirely counterproductive to the desired results. Intrusive and aggressive marketing might have worked in the past, but there are better, more effective ways and strategies for advertising your products services today, thanks to advancements in technology and modernized methods.
Take Drop Cowboy Ringless Voicemail & Text for example. It’s one among the other new consumer engagement platforms geared towards non-invasive communication. Ringless voicemails have significantly transformed the industry and many companies have been more successful with effectively attracting consumers in their target market.
Have you explored or considered investing in ringless voicemail services? If not, you may be missing out on opportunities that will improve your potential for better returns on your marketing campaigns. Here’s an overview of some benefits offered by this modern system:
- No Interruptions
Of course, the first advantage is its non-intrusive nature. This means the customer will only read your messages when they’re ready and genuinely interested rather than feeling imposed upon or forced to do so. As such, whoever interacts with your advertisements will have enough space and time to internalize exactly what you’re selling, which is the reason ringless voicemail has one of the highest conversion rates.
- No Charges
Since it’s linked with the consumer’s telephone, one might think that the customer will be charged by the telephone provider. Guess what? Ringless voicemail will never appear anywhere in the consumer’s monthly bill. It’s actually one of the reasons most companies choose this option.
- Ideal Pitch Customizable For Each Target
Today, being as specific as possible is very important for the success of any company. For one, if you want to market your new products, the advertisement strategy should focus on the specific item and the tone to be used depending on the potential client. This is where ringless voicemails are beneficial because you have the opportunity to create personalized messages for specific groups of people. Another advantage is that you can adjust the pitch until it suits your desired requirements before sending it to the target audience. This form of quality control is something that’s really lacking when it’s a live representative on the line.
- Targeted And Personalized Engagement
Social media platforms are not only visually engaging and easily accessible, but they also present businesses with opportunities to personalize their promotional messages and advertisements. This form of digital marketing is when a brand engages customers based on their specific interests. With the advanced marketing technologies and customized algorithms of modern-day social media, almost all people who follow your account or channel have something in common. Most people, especially influencers, exploit this common interest for the benefit of the brand they’re promoting. For instance, if you’re a football enthusiast and you share the same or similar interests with most of your followers, you can take advantage of this to advertise football-related content or products.
Personalized customer engagement isn’t limited to social media platforms; the internet offers bountiful opportunities in that regard. E-commerce websites are a good example. Have you ever searched for an item on an online store but ended up picking up one of the products in the “recommendation” menu? Well, that’s the power of Internet cookies and browsing history. Once your search data has been collected, it’s used to filter out products and the best ones are recommended to the user. Apart from facilitating the marketing process, this technique simplifies every step of the customer journey.
- Simplified Processes
Speaking of task simplification, it doesn’t come any better than current technology. Remember those days when one had to rush to the nearest bank branch to drop their cheque? Those days are behind us, thanks to the “mobile cheque deposit” feature on mobile-friendly apps. This is just an example of the innovations currently being implemented by various businesses to improve the customer’s experience.
When the topic of customer engagement is brought up, many people are inclined to think that it’s all about business-customer communication. Well, it’s actually more than that! At the core of every definition, you’ll realize they share the idea that customer engagement entails all the interactions between a company and its customers. Therefore, making all products accessible to the common consumer is part of this subject and modern technology has done a great job in this sector.
So, how does a simplified process improve customer experience? Well, at the end of the day, the client will be happy that a seemingly demanding task can be done seamlessly within a very short period. This fact alone can do wonders for the customer’s loyalty towards a company because of the confidence and trust that’s been nurtured.
- Customers Have More Choices Around Engagement
Traditionally, the interactions between customers and business representatives have always been controlled by the latter. However, with the introduction of technology, things seem to be shifting the other way around. Self-service has become part and parcel of modern customer engagement systems.
For instance, when one calls the customer care hotline, they always have one specific question in mind. Rather than having to wait in line to receive appropriate answers, all you need to do is dial a given number and follow the prompts. This way, you’ll be able to specify whatever you need and the next available representative will be able to help you accordingly if you require any clarifications or specific assistance.
Online platforms have also provided a section where customers can solve their issues without having to contact customer care. For instance, if you have a flat tire and would like to have it replaced, you can then go to the manufacturer’s website and read whichever article is available. This way, you’ll be able to gain the required knowledge without spending a cent.
But it’s not only the big companies that are implementing this type of technology to improve their customer engagement. Self-checkout lanes, for instance, have been introduced in many retail shops, especially grocery stores. These self-service stations couldn’t come at a better time than now when the world is still fighting against the Coronavirus pandemic. Most upcoming businesses are trying to adopt this technique given its effectiveness.
- Quick Updates
In this day and age, everyone wants to receive quick responses and updates on whatever brands they’re following. Customer engagement is at the core of every marketing campaign. Therefore, the quicker you send and respond to feedback, the closer you’ll get to your customers. It’s a technique that has been mastered by almost all successful companies you see around. Whichever method you decide to use, you can be sure that modern technology will play a significant role in it.
Social media is undoubtedly more mainstream and widely utilized than ever before, among consumers and businesses alike thanks to ever-advancing technologies. Apart from socialization among the users, this platform has proven very useful and beneficial to marketers. In the past, the best communication mediums available for broadcasting their updates and informing customers were newspapers, company websites, and mainstream media. Inasmuch as the latter would reach many people, it was more expensive and required more time and effort.
The rise of social media, however, means even the large-scale companies don’t have to depend on those expensive options anymore. Provided you have a high volume of followers, one post on your Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook can reach many people within seconds. If you’re still expanding your follower base, then there’s the option of hiring influencers. These are people who specialize in persuasively influencing other social media users, especially those following them, to purchase a given product.
Of course, social media isn’t the only way of sending updates today. As earlier stated, many companies were forced to use their websites as their primary strategy due to limited options. Posting updates on your website today isn’t necessarily ineffective or a waste of time, but you do need to put in significantly more effort to ensure that the target audience notices them. There are many reasons mobile applications have become increasingly popular. For one, when a user installs your app on their smartphone, they’ll be able to receive instant notifications regarding any new product or service posted on your website.
Conclusion
Modern technology has a variety of benefits and advantages to offer. One of the benefits of incorporating modern technology in your business is its capacity to streamline communication, making it easier, faster, and more direct. This is one of the building blocks of effective and successful consumer engagement, and recent innovations continue to improve on this.
Another way that modern technology has enhanced business-to-consumer interaction is through non-intrusive communication methods, which include ringless voicemail. Personalized marketing, quick updates, and the fact that the customer has more decision-making control over their interactions with your business are other contributions made by modern technology in today’s industries.
Have you made the necessary improvements in your company? If not, then consider your options to incorporate this new technology in your systems as soon as possible. Keep in mind that the faster you upgrade, the higher the chance you have of outpacing your competitors.
