The CX Channels of the Future: Live Chat, SMS and Social Messaging

When it comes to customer service and the customer experience, phone support and interaction are nowhere near dead; but research indicates younger generations are adopting digital-first channels like social messaging, live chat, and SMS at a much higher rate than older generations. Support has undergone a transformation, and these other channels  provide brands the opportunity to meet customers where they are. 

With 64% of consumers reporting they enjoy talking to customer service via the same channels they use to communicate with family and friends, it’s important for brands to meet customers where they are through live chat, SMS, and social messaging. Doing so is integral to success amid  the shift from traditional customer service to a holistic customer experience (CX). 

The Transition From CS to CX

In a nutshell, customer service is the standard exchange between a customer and a service agent. This can include questions about products, advice on a particular item, or details about a sale price.

Customer experience, on the other hand, is the whole end-to-end journey that a customer has with the brand. This begins from their initial interaction (browsing or searching) and continues throughout the purchase, receipt of an item, and everything in between. CX is an immersive experience with the business as a whole, while CS is often limited to a given exchange of information.

What Are the Channels for Modern CX?

As brands make the move from a simplified customer service strategy to a holistic customer experience strategy, it’s essential that they provide a variety of communication options, including live chat, SMS, and social messaging.

Live Chat   

Regardless of your other channels, your brand website will always be a primary resource for current and prospective customers to gain information or contact you. With the increasing demand for virtual support options, putting your website to work with a live chat feature is another critical piece of the future of customer experience. In fact, Kustomer research found that 79% of CX professionals believe live chat will become more popular over the next three years.

Live chat helps resolve customer issues more efficiently. Many customers may ask questions about policies or products when doing business online; the easier businesses can make it to get those questions answered, the more likely they are to complete their purchase instead of abandoning their carts. 

For so many customers, their frustration stems from an inability to connect with another human for support — live chat is a low-cost, easy-to-use solution that gives the customer that human connection while also benefiting the brand.

SMS (Text Messaging)

SMS customer support means providing support via text messaging or apps, like WhatsApp.  Its convenience and reliability have led it to become an incredibly popular virtual support option. Kustomer research found that 56% of CX professionals believe SMS will become more popular over the next three years.

SMS is significantly less costly than routing all support inquiries to a call center. For example, a Forrester study shows that on average a customer service phone call costs $16, while an entire SMS thread between agent and customer costs between $1 and $6.

Not only do your operating costs dwindle with SMS support, but your labor efficiency skyrockets. A single phone call with a customer can cost an agent precious time that could be better used to service multiple customers via text.

Plus, the beauty of SMS is the seamless integration of automation. Whether it’s a simple SMS appointment reminder or an AI-powered conversation, automation can save your agents time and your company money.

Social Messaging

The lines between marketing, sales, support, and CX are continuing to blur, as the channels consumers use to buy become the same channels they connect with brands on. 

Social media channels provide companies with the ability to engage with customers on a one-on-one basis via platform-specific direct messaging. Kustomer research found that 72% of CX professionals believe social media will become more popular as a customer service channel over the next three years.

In terms of post-purchase support, it is now  a best practice to create customer support-specific channels for consumers to reach on social media. This shows customers you are willing to meet them where they are already communicating.

Social platforms give you the power to shape your brand’s perception. Platforms like Facebook are rewarding active and communicative companies with responsiveness badges. Not only do these badges show your commitment to good customer support, but they also encourage users to utilize social messaging for support.

Your social messaging strategy should also include a social listening strategy. By keeping an ear to the ground and staying on top of conversations about your company on social media, your organization can more easily predict what inquiries or issues will arise and prepare to deal with them.

Social Messaging Meets Social Commerce

Brands are utilizing social messaging to make huge impacts with social commerce, creating a social media environment that guides users through the purchasing process. Online shoppers are turning to social media when they shop; in fact, 87% of online shoppers use platforms like Facebook and Instagram when making shopping decisions, and brands can optimize social messaging to tap into this trend.

Providing an exceptional customer experience on social media is the only way to harness this opportunity. Social messaging empowers customers and brands to connect with each other at every stage of the funnel:

1. Pre-purchase support: When a consumer sees your brand on social media, whether via an ad, an influencer, or your brand’s page, they may have a question about your product or service before deciding to purchase. Instead of making them switch channels to get their questions answered, make yourself instantly available on the channel they are currently interacting on.
2. Purchase support: With the advent of social commerce, and the rapid adoption of buying directly within social platforms, it’s essential to support your customers during that process. Technical issues? Security questions? Be there to resolve any problems and ensure you aren’t hit with “social cart abandonment.”
3. Post-purchase support: While we would all love to provide our customers with the perfect customer experience, that’s not always possible. And social media can be a channel of support escalation, or a more public channel to drive urgency when customers have issues. Whether supporting via comments or direct messages, it’s essential to provide a seamless support experience on social media, turning customers into advocates rather than PR nightmares.

By using social messaging strategically, brands can turn pre-purchase support into timely purchase support by giving your customers the information they want at the exact moment they want it and within the platform they’re already using. With the right social CX protocols in place, a simple question and answer can be quickly transformed into a purchase decision and even post-purchase support without the customer ever needing to leave their preferred social platform. 

Elevate Your Brand’s CX With the Right Tools 

Expanding your CX communication channels in an integrated, strategic way is challenging without the right tools. For example, the Kustomer CRM delivers efficient, informative experiences with the features and intelligence needed to satisfy today’s customers, and make customer service profitable. To learn more, explore the integration between Kustomer and UJET.