But like with most things in life, the way a fantastic customer experience is delivered has also changed. This is because customer needs are evolving, and businesses must adapt to these changing needs.
Where phone and email used to be the primary tools of customer support, businesses now have the opportunity to leverage channels like WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and live chat. Most of these tools are already used and loved by customers, making messaging an essential channel for any business to improve the customer journey.
But what makes messaging so vital when you run an e-commerce store?
Why do I need messaging?
Messaging is one of the most popular ways to communicate. From messages to family and friends to business messages between colleagues: it has become an indispensable part of daily life. More than 5 billion people worldwide send messages every day.
Messaging is so popular that you can use it in your business, too. Customers want simple, personalized interactions with the companies they buy from. They don't want to wait days for a canned email from support or hang on the phone in a queue until an agent becomes free to solve a simple problem. This is likely why the majority of customers prefer messaging a business over calling.
And it's not just about solving problems. Consider e-commerce chat as a cornerstone of conversational commerce. This is where customers ask questions before they buy, and put simply: the one who answers the question first wins the sale.
So, with a messaging service, you can:
Connect with your customers on a more personal level, building a deeper relationship compared to email. This increases customer satisfaction and makes them return more often.
Messaging saves you and your customers time. Through messaging, simple issues can be resolved quickly without customers having to wait for a response. In addition, questions about orders or payment and other concerns can be resolved on the spot.
Messaging also saves your business time. Since messaging is much faster, customer support agents do not have to spend hours on the phone resolving straightforward issues.
Clearly, this shows that it is a convenient and interactive way to connect with your customers and answer their questions at a time that suits them. This makes messaging an indispensable part of your customer service.
But I already have phone and email support!
Why should you invest in messaging when you already offer customer support through other channels like phone and email?
Don't get us wrong, this is not about discarding phone or email. On the contrary. Email support is crucial to any customer service strategy. It is a simple and cost-effective way to solve your customers' problems. Similarly, the demand for phone support is high, so it would be wrong not to offer it
But customers want fast answers. Keep in mind that in a customer-centric environment, the customer comes first, so answering questions and resolving problems faster significantly improves customer satisfaction. The goal is not to replace your current systems, but to complement them to improve your customer service. So look at it as an extra tool in your toolkit.
And remember: happy customers are repeat customers, so improving customer service and customer satisfaction increases customer retention and, in turn, revenue.
What about chatbots?
The next question is: if you invest in a messaging service, should you also invest in a chatbot? And here, the answer is a resounding yes. AI chatbots are a natural consequence when you want to implement messaging in customer support.
In addition to the benefits that messaging services themselves offer, chatbots bring the following advantages:
They free up time for your customer service agents by answering simple questions that would take much longer via email or phone. Agents spend up to 70% of their time answering these simple questions, and eliminating them gives them more time for complex concerns.
They answer customer questions and solve their problems faster. Nobody can deny that computers are faster than humans. A chatbot can sort through options in the blink of an eye and give the customer the answer they need, when they need it. This also means customers don't have to wait for an email or an agent to get an answer.
Chatbots save you money. They don't draw a salary, and when they work effectively, there is no need to hire more agents to expand your customer service team. This makes them a cost-effective solution that saves you money over time.
In short: yes, you should definitely consider investing in a chatbot as part of your messaging solution for customer service. The automation that chatbots provide can go a long way in optimizing your customer service and support efforts.
What are the benefits for my customers?
By now, the benefits of messaging in customer service should be obvious. In summary, it improves customer service in the following ways:
Messaging is simple and familiar. Customers already use messaging for their personal communication, so they don't have to learn a new technology to get in touch with you.
Messaging is always available. Customers can ask questions at any time and are not restricted by business hours. They don't have to wait for an email or a callback to resolve their issue.
Messaging is convenient. Customers no longer have to wait on the phone or rush to send an email to support before the end of business hours. They can ask questions when it is convenient for them.
Details from past conversations are always at hand. It is clearly documented which questions have been answered and what information has already been provided.
Messaging can work with digital content. Unlike phone calls, messaging can provide customers with visual content such as links to websites, images, and videos to help them solve their problems.
Ultimately, this enriches and improves the customer journey, ensuring that customers are happy to return.
Why is messaging great for my business?
Now you've seen what it means for your customers, but you probably also want to know what it means for you, the business owner. It's obvious that by improving the customer experience and increasing customer retention, you increase your revenue. But what are the other benefits?
Messaging accelerates digital transformation. It encourages customers to use digital channels instead of higher-cost channels like phone. This, in turn, makes it easier to automate customer service, especially through the use of chatbots.
Messaging increases agent success. Agents can collaborate in teams and consult with team members to resolve customer issues. This increases agent satisfaction and skill development.
Messaging is cost-effective. Resolving customer issues faster means messaging is more cost-effective than phone calls, both directly and indirectly. Over time, this saves you money.
How do I get started?
So, as you can see, messaging is an important channel for customer support in e-commerce. It can add that certain extra touch to all your efforts. But where do you start?
Mercury.ai offers a high-quality all-in-one solution. Our platform provides messaging and AI assistants to automate customer interaction. It makes it easy to build, run, and analyze smart virtual assistants and chatbots across multiple channels and languages.
It also enables you to deliver impactful customer experiences in a website chat, in WhatsApp, and in Facebook Messenger. This relieves your agents of repetitive service inquiries and frees up their time to focus on empathetic and complex use cases. This reduces costs and increases revenue.
