3 Pillars of Successful Multi-channel Communications

David Gilbert

VP Americas

A nonlinear journey can still be seamless.

A customer may engage with your brand across all different channels. They may start with social media on their LinkedIn feed which prompts them to click through to your website or even trigger different channel marketing campaigns.

Some clients will not engage with an email but will respond to text messages, while others will prefer one channel for reaching out to customer support, another for making purchases, and yet another different channel for inbound promotions. Each customer has a different preference for how they receive marketing messages, and as best as possible, organizations need to offer a range of options that can accommodate all.

With automated multi-channel communications, a high-quality, high-touch customer experience can be delivered.

Consumers decide the right place and right time to have a conversation.

Customers no longer purchase goods and services strictly between the hours of nine to five. For organizations that are only available to finalize a purchase or make a premium change during these hours, it’s time to take a hard look. Why is that still the case?

When contacts go offline, customers might be persuaded to buy from the competition. This doesn’t mean contacts should be replaced by websites or call centers. It means contacts need digital tools and a multi-channel marketing strategy and touchpoints that keep customers from churning or choosing a competitor’s offer.

Organizations that possess an integrated omnichannel marketing toolset will continuously stand out, gain qualified leads, and maximize conversion throughout the customer lifecycle.

In order to support clients’ non-linear journeys, while transacting with them at the right time and place, organizations will need to adopt a multi-channel approach supported by these three pillars:

1. One size does not fit all

While the majority of organizations have built a digital presence, a legacy of static and basic rudimentary digital communication practices still exists.

A digital marketing campaign promoting a sales or new product offering blasted through a mass SMS will no longer cut through.

98% of people might open your SMS but every individual contact within a campaign has dozens of communications channels in the palm of their hand today. And therefore, are now much more particular about what they respond to depending on the platform and timing through which the message is sent.

For many, an SMS with a basic response prompt won’t be enough to fulfill their need for more information.

By leveraging a contact’s digital channel preferences, organizations can send a message via SMS, email, social, or even WhatsApp. This can include a direct link to a customized rich message landing page, personalized to the recipient, which includes more information and facilitates interactions such as booking a consultation, filling a web form, providing feedback, and so on.

2. Creating a single view of the customer

A single customer view (SCV) provides organizations with the ability to track the activity of their target audience and their communications across various channels.

When the SCV and communications are managed via one platform, powerful reporting and analytics provide detailed insights into how interactions and behaviors will drive future engagement.

By developing a better picture of each customer, their buyer persona, and their communications journey, organizations will have the intel for future interactions which are more engaging and meaningful, helping to increase the lifetime value of each customer.

Siloed communications are executed as a series of individual efforts connected only by similar branding. In contrast, an SCV approach connects the marketing efforts.

3. Giving your customers ‘choice’ in their communications journey: Integration of channels

In the pursuit of digital competency within the communications space, organizations adopt multiple channels as part of a comprehensive communications strategy.

The problem many face, however, is an ever-growing collection of siloed and divided channel platforms.

Whispir gives organizations unprecedented flexibility in multi-channel communications. Allowing your organization to have real conversations with your audience on the platform that suits them by effortlessly pivoting across multiple channels.