7 ways messenger platforms help strengthen client relations

In the past, B2C communication was simple. It happened over the phone, by post, fax, or email… or not at all. But things have changed.

Now, customers demand the option to communicate using their preferred channel: messengers like WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, and Line. And as businesses have started to comply, they have seen some surprising benefits.

How messenger platforms strengthen client relations

1. Better customer service

Messenger communications are fast. Most people check and respond to messages immediately, or at least within a few hours. This rapid back-and-forth has obvious value for business communications.

Not only do messengers help businesses progress customer interactions more quickly, they also improve customer experience. Customers see a prompt turnaround on requests, and aren’t forced to spend time on hold with a call center just to get same day service.

2. Customers feel more valued

In the past, communicating with businesses has been frustrating for customers. Either they send a letter or fax, and wait a week or more for a response… or they’re stuck on hold for an hour because the only time they could call was during their lunch break, and that’s when everyone calls.

Using messengers in place of traditional channels is a huge step forward for client relations. By adopting messenger platforms, businesses allow customers to set the terms — using whichever messenger app they prefer.

This has obvious customer service benefits and makes the customer feel more valued and in control of the relationship.

3. Business interactions feel more personal

Most people see messengers as a way to communicate with friends and family. As a result, messenger conversations have a personal feel to them that can’t be emulated by an email or phone call.

When a business communicates using the customer’s preferred messenger, the customer naturally feels more connected to their business contact. In other words, client relations feel like a relationship, not just a business connection.

This human element is something businesses have historically lacked, and goes a long way to promoting customer loyalty.

4. Easier to seek advice

Often, customers don’t want to make decisions alone. They want to share and discuss the information provided by your business with their friends and family.

Messengers make this process easy. All a customer has to do is forward the relevant messages to their inner circle, and discuss. And once they have made a decision, letting your business know takes seconds.

5. Simple document sharing

One of the biggest issues with traditional communication channels is the difficulty of sharing important documents. Call centers, in particular, have struggled with this, often forcing customers to make several calls because there was no way to instantly share documents.

Messengers make this process trivial. Identity documents, signed papers, and other important documents can be photographed and sent within seconds, while a conversation takes place. This drastically speeds up the important stages of a B2C conversation, improves customer experience, and cuts down the number of interactions your business must handle to process a customer request.

6. Stay on the pulse of new communication channels

Communication is evolving rapidly. From emojis and selfies to instant voice messages, messengers are where this evolution is taking place.

As new channels open up, customers will increasingly demand to use them when communicating with your business. By adopting a messenger platform, your business will be prepared to work with new channels as soon as they become popular.

7. Prevent client poaching

Perhaps the biggest issue with using messengers for B2C communication is client poaching. Up to now, employees have used their personal messenger accounts to build client relations, making it easy to take those customers with them when they move on.

Businesses can protect themselves by adopting a messenger platform like LeapXpert.

Federated Messaging Orchestration Platform (FMOP) combines all B2C and internal communications using messengers into a single, user-friendly platform. This makes it easy for employees and customers to communicate while ensuring the business retains control over client relations.

To talk with one of our experts about how LeapXpert can revolutionize your customer communications, get in touch with us.