Olivia Maier
But with so many different communication channels available, how is a business supposed to figure out what will work best? Between email, text, phone calls, chatbots, live chat agents, there is just so much to consider.
We wanted to break down the pros and cons of each of these forms of customer contact, so you can best determine where you should be investing your resources.
Email communication can be great for sending information to a large number of people. This is best done through newsletters, product updates, etc. However, people are constantly bombarded with email, with the average person receiving over 100 emails a day. So for any urgent or time sensitive information, email may not be the best choice for communication.
People love their mobile phones, and the convenience of texting. However, business texting doesn’t always make sense if it comes from a personal cell phone number. This can raise privacy concerns from both the business and customers. If you have a phone number through a virtual phone system such as Yodel, you are able to text your customers with your business phone number. This can be a great way to communicate with customers.
Voice communication is valued by businesses and customers alike, as many customers will prefer phone calls over other communication channels when they need a problem resolved. However, a business might struggle with its ability to handle their current volume of phone calls. If that is the case, you should look for a phone system with features that help enhance and improve the phone communication experience such as Yodel.
Chatbots can be a great tool to communicate with website visitors, and answer easily addressed questions. However, for more advanced questions your website visitors may get frustrated. The best use of chatbots is seen when it is coupled with a live agent who can take over for the chat bot if needed.
Live chat agents are a great tool to couple with chatbots, as they can offer more personalized service to website visitors. These agents can offer support through a chatbox on the website, or by sending a link to a live call. For companies that see a large amount of unresolved chat bot questions, investing in live chat agents could be a great decision.
The most successful customer service plans will include multiple communication channels for both your customers and your team to take advantage of. That combination will look different for every team, but we recommend starting with your business phone communication. Yodel’s easy to use system is able to improve your ability to offer a high quality customer contact experience.
