The whole world has a phone in their pocket. But it would appear that its primary function - making calls - is on the way out.
Quick messages have become an SMS or a voice note, catch-ups with friends and family have become Zoom calls or FaceTime, and business calls have become emails.
It’s unsurprising, then, that when contacting a company with a query or complaint, consumers would prefer not to call.
And it’s easy to see why. Why would anyone be enthusiastic about the prospect of being placed on hold, having your call transferred from department to department, or accidentally being cut off and having to start over?
Eighty-five percent of smartphone users say that they prefer texting to emails or phone calls. In the case of young people, they are even more opposed than average to phone calls.
Why don’t young people call anymore?
For many young people now, speaking on the phone is an outdated practice. If your business can only be reached by telephone, it is much more likely to be viewed as a nuisance and a waste of time.
According to a survey by BankMyCell, 75 percent of Millennials and Gen-Zers (those born approximately between 1981 and 2015) say they find calls “too time-consuming” and list it as the top reason for avoiding calls.
As well as waiting in a queue and having to go through many automated menus before even reaching the correct person, talking on the phone also requires a level of small talk and niceties, which young people think is an inefficient use of their time.
Besides being a waste of their time, young people also find speaking on the phone an uneasy experience. A staggering 81 percent of respondents to one survey said that they experienced anxiety when talking to someone on the phone, especially while working up the courage to make the call in the first place. This is because unlike messaging or an email, calls require a certain level of spontaneity or improvisation.
It is therefore quite unsurprising that text-based messaging is taking on increasing importance in the world of customer service. And with young customers in the future, businesses would be wise to change their offerings sooner rather than later.
Why text-based messaging is the future of customer service
Providing text-based messaging as part of your customer service offering will bring your company in line with what the majority of your customers have come to expect from a modern business.
Giving customers the option to get in touch via text comes with many benefits for users:
- Multiple ways to get in contact. With an adaptive helpdesk such as Superagent, customers can get in touch via multiple text channels, including SMS, Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger (coming soon), and many more. They can choose the one they are most comfortable with.
- A familiar mode of communication. Almost everyone nowadays is adept at communicating via text messaging. What’s more, because it’s the same way that customers would ordinarily communicate with friends and family, they will already have the necessary app open and ready to make contact with you.
- Efficient communication. Consumers want solutions, not a discussion. Communication is much more succinct in text messaging. Users can shoot off their messages in smaller chunks, without the need for unnecessary formalities or chit-chat.
- Users can interact at their own pace. If texting, users can multitask while awaiting a response and they can pick up where they left off, thus avoiding repetition.
Text-based messaging has many advantages for businesses too:
- Increase volume of interactions. Offering text as a means of contact means that customer support agents can handle multiple tickets at once without ever dropping a client. Compared to taking just one call at a time, agents can handle up to six interactions at once with text-based customer support.
- Increase the speed of your responses. Features such as conversation blocks enable you to have pre-written responses, ready at the click of a mouse. This ensures that issues are dealt with quickly and there is no need for further investigation.
- Increase the quality of your responses. The templates you prepare for your conversation blocks will be tried-and-tested responses, cutting out human error (both in response and execution).
- Maintain the same tone across your business. With all agents making use of the same templates, it’s easier for uniformity of message to be maintained.
- Decreased monotony. Conversation blocks also have the added benefit of decreasing the monotony of dealing with the same issues repeatedly.
How texting can increase customer loyalty among young people
Customer loyalty is an incredibly important part of any business. It’s well known that it costs five times more to acquire new customers than it does to retain the customers you already have. What’s more, returning customers are 50 percent more likely than new customers to try one of your new products. They will also spend 31 percent more.
Loyal customers are also more likely to recommend you to family and friends. Therefore it is very important that you keep the needs of young people in mind. After all, if this new generation becomes hooked to one of your competitors, they may forever be out of your reach.
So, how do you make them loyal? Give them what they want.
Get Superagent for your business
With Superagent, offer young people exactly what they’re looking for - multiple alternatives to speaking on the phone.
Bring together multiple text channels in one place and give them a plethora of options to receive quick and agile customer service.
This will ensure that they get the best possible customer experience and are converted from one-time buyers to loyal and repeat customers.
Download the program here now, for desktop or mobile.