Both technology and customer preferences evolve at breakneck speed, so it can be difficult to stay on top of everything that affects your business. As Statflo wraps up 2021, we want to look back on the important trends that not just caught our eye but are already having a noticeable impact across industries and sectors.
One thing you’ll notice is the power of text messaging to address and capitalize on these trends, even as they evolve. Text messaging is not going anywhere; in fact, its influence and importance continue to grow.
That’s why a digital solution like business texting – robust, versatile, agile - is perfectly positioned to help companies adapt to the perpetual flux of technological and consumer change, from enhancing the customer experience to tackling compliance issues head on, now and going forward.
Go omnichannel for better CX
People are now both more digitally-savvy and are no longer satisfied with confining themselves to a single channel to satisfy their needs. That’s why a recent survey found that businesses who adopt omnichannel strategies achieve 91% greater year-over-year customer retention rates compared to businesses that don’t.
Customers want businesses to provide the tools to effortlessly switch channels and keep up with the conversation, expecting the same high-quality, personalized digital experience across all channels.
Digital solutions like one-to-one business texting integrate seamlessly with existing systems to provide a consistent experience across as many channels as customers use, so you can meet customers where they are, on the channels they prefer.
Those investing in omnichannel solutions can start optimizing the customer experience right away, pushing boundaries and setting the pace, while others stuck in legacy system silos will be forced to play catch-up.
Build trust with compliance
Trust is the foundation of customer loyalty and companies need to protect it at all costs. And yet it seems like every day a different company’s security woes are being aired in public.
From reputation to bottom line, security failures jeopardize your entire company. Companies must be assured that the digital technologies they adopt and implement follow stringent compliance guidelines and certifications around data security and storage of client information, and this is no less true when it comes to using text messaging.
When reaching out to customers through texting, failure to comply with standardized regulations like GDPR, CCPA and CASL can lead to large fines and a tarnished brand, so ensuring your business texting solutions follow proper compliance is critical.
Deploy your data
With the tools at our disposal, we are all awash in a sea of data - but how you choose to use that data can be the game-changer for your business.
Emerging from all the various steps and touchpoints of their interactions with your business, you can easily track a wide range of unique customer data points about their personal preferences, online behaviors, and consumer expectations.
Business texting platforms let you pull together a spectrum of relevant customer data to zoom out and get a complete picture of the overall customer journey. Or zoom in and pinpoint the specific ways you can improve individual steps for specific customers.
The end result? Making better data-driven decisions that not only help streamline workflows and optimize strategies but, when fed back into CX, continually optimize the customer journey.
Always personalize
Data helps you understand who your audience is and how they like to communicate. One of the best ways to deploy data is through personalization.
Consumers now routinely expect companies to deliver more personalized offerings and communications, tailored to their experiences and needs. Investing in the tools that leverage this personalization leads directly to customer loyalty: according to Twilio’s 2021 annual report on the state of personalization, 60% of consumers say they are likely to become repeat buyers after a personalized shopping experience.
For example, texting platforms can include flexible widgets that make customer data available to the frontline team so they can have more personalized conversations, one of the first steps towards opening up new revenue streams.
Innovate with purpose
Digital innovation continues to disrupt how we do business and companies that want to be forward-acting – and not just forward-looking - need to free themselves from legacy systems and mindsets.
Part of the commitment to change means finding the right solutions for your business. The best and most innovative tools should do a lot of heavy lifting, including bringing value-added context to customer conversations, helping personalize the digital experience to suit the specific needs of customers and, ultimately, building the bridge to trust and loyalty.
As we’ve already seen, texting platforms have an inherent flexibility and can adapt to a variety of current business and technological challenges. And understanding the purpose behind one-to-one texting messaging can really help narrow down what will work for your business.
Looking back...to move forward
Success in 2022 depends on delivering new solutions and better experiences more quickly and efficiently than ever before. More than anything, companies should be keeping their focus on implementing robust, versatile tools that strategically leverage data to both optimize workflow and create a personalized, omnichannel experience.
Businesses always need to respond to the trends that emerge from the shifting expectations and preferences of their customers. To stay ahead, businesses must put themselves in their customer’s shoes, try to think like them, and consistently analyze the ease and enjoyability of their customer experience.
Asking these questions means that you’re on the right path heading into the new year...and beyond!
To learn about how one-to-one business texting will prepare you for 2022, request a demo today!
