Download ADAPTING TO CUSTOMERS` PREFERRED COMMUNICATION

ADAPTING TO CUSTOMERS’ PREFERRED COMMUNICATION CHANNEL IS
KEY TO SUCCESS
By Zimkhitha Saungweme, Social Media Executive at PPS
The digital evolution has brought about significant changes in the way customers interact with
companies. Businesses need to be cognisant of these engagement trends in order to stay relevant.
While South African companies are aware of and are responding to these trends, they have been slower
to adapt to them, compared with international counterparts.
The first notable trend is that of multi-channel customer service, where customers want to use their
preferred communication channel when interacting with companies. Organisations should no longer
dictate how their customers must engage with them, but rather invest time in understanding where their
customers are and their channel preferences.
As a first step, brands should aim to recognise what channels their customers are already using. This is
extremely important for customer satisfaction because companies that communicate with clients through
their preferred channels are seen to be more relevant and progressive. This is particularly important for
companies looking to compete for Generation Y (also known as Millennials, born between 1980s to early
2000s), who are a “Mobile First” generation. For companies to succeed in delivering multi-channel
service, the service experience must be consistent across all channels.
As part of the digital revolution, there has also been a significant shift to mobile. It is widely accepted that
Millennials prefer mobile devices over PCs and television. The mobile migration, together with the
significant growth in mobile applications being downloaded globally and in South Africa, allow companies
to engage with customers via mobile devices. A recent Deloitte TMT Global Mobile Consumer Survey
showed that 84% of the nearly 2000 South African respondents have downloaded a mobile app onto
their smartphones. This provides enormous opportunities for companies to increase their levels of
engagement with customers.
The adoption of social media is a further significant communication trend, with consumers using social
media platforms to seek feedback on brands from their social connections. Social media has become the
new method of „word of mouth‟ marketing, as consumers use social media to voice their opinions on
brands and services received from companies. Social media platforms are also used as service
channels, which come with the expectations of faster turnaround times, forcing companies to invest in
adequate resources to effectively manage online interactions.
The fourth trend has emerged as a result of the high growth in internet usage. From a service
perspective, this has led to a rise in self-service adoption. Many consumers, Millennials in particular,
prefer to use the internet to research products or services and order these through online portals. This
do-it-yourself approach is preferred to face-to-face or telephonic communication, as consumers can
transact at their own convenience.
The above trends also present challenges, including significantly higher expectations on resolution times
for platforms like social media and ensuring consistent service excellence across channels. It is also
imperative to harness contextual awareness across all channels to ensure successful service delivery.
Customer communication channels should always be based on what is convenient for the customer.
Businesses wanting to attract new clients and retain existing customers must provide as convenient a
service as possible. By providing a channel that is tailored to customer needs, loyalty, engagement and
retention will automatically increase.