The evolution of digital and social media has dramatically changed the entire customer service dynamic. Online communities and social media channels have now become increasingly important methods for getting support or answers to simple questions. In fact, according to Sapio Research, 73 percent of consumers are more comfortable now than they were two years ago reaching out via digital channels for customer service.
This tells us that consumers want to be able to connect with brands in whatever way they want – preferably in a quick, one-to-one fashion – and on the channel of their choice. This could be via Facebook Messenger, tweets rerouted to Twitter Direct Messages, web chats, community forums, or even messaging through a brand’s mobile app. Gartner has even suggested that, by 2019, over 80 percent of people around the world will have used a social channel as an initial point of contact for brand-related support from peers, a community, or a brand itself
You’re likely seeing a trend here. Think about your own experience. When given a choice to sort out dinner plans with a friend, for example, do you pick up the phone and call or do you shoot off a quick text message with the hope (or, rather, the expectation) of getting an immediate response? Likely, if you’re like a growing majority of consumers, you probably went the text route. Why? Because it’s quick and easy – and typically gets you an instant response.
So, it should come as no surprise that consumers now expect brands to manage their customer service needs in the same way they go about their day-to-day interactions. For one, messaging is asynchronous, which is a fancy way of saying that it can happen anywhere, at anytime, on any device, and across virtually any platform or media channel. It’s in-the-moment. For example, you step out quickly for a coffee. You’re not happy with the service you got, so you send a tweet from your phone to the company to air your concern. Now, you’re back at the office and in front of your computer. You see a response from the company asking to move the conversation to DM. In a matter of minutes, you’ve managed to have a cross-channel customer service experience – probably without even realizing it.
That’s why we’re so excited to announce the launch of Lithium Messaging, an asynchronous messaging solution for brands to seamlessly and securely communicate to customers in a more personalized way across social, web, and mobile – all at an efficient, manageable scale. This adds more digital touchpoints for brands to reach customers, including:
- Private messaging in a brand’s mobile app
- Click-to-chat on a brand’s website
- Secure messaging transfer from social channels
- Messaging in a brand’s community
With Lithium Messaging, you can centrally manage conversations across these touchpoints and create stellar customer experiences wherever and whenever your customers reach out to you.
Sprint, a U.S.-based telecommunications company, has recently tapped into Lithium Messaging with Secure Verification to authenticate customers from social in a secure, Sprint-owned environment. This has allowed the company to resolve customer service issues without asking them to call an agent, reducing Sprint’s customer call backs by 77 percent.
Check out our press release to learn more.
