How Incorporating SMS Will Improve Your Call Center Customer Experience

A faulty communication system can cost a lot of money by wasting both employee time and customer trust. “PwC surveyed 15,000 consumers and found that 1 in 3 customers will leave a brand they love after just one bad experience, while 92% would leave a company entirely after two to three negative interactions.” Frequent downtime will cost money that could have been saved if quality control protection was implemented. Having smoothly running business operations is critical to optimizing profitability.

Smartphones have revolutionized the way we communicate and have now become common needs for people all over the world. Since the launch of Apple’s first iPhone in 2007, many millennials have become early adopters of new ways of collaborating. This generation, born between 1981 and 1996, now makes up a large segment of the workforce.

The older generations also started to follow the example of the millennials and adopted SMS later. “A Zipwhip survey found that 73% of consumers want more businesses to text them. Customers of all ages, from Baby Boomers to Generation Z, like ease, convenience and privacy offered by text messages. Businesses often get a better response rate with instant messaging because, unlike email or phone calls, people are more likely to send a short response rather than spend time formulating a response email or scheduling the time to call you back.

SMS solves a unique problem for both consumers and call center agents. Imagine a scenario where a customer has a quick minor question and doesn’t need a detailed answer over the phone. The customer can be immediately recognized with an automated text. So a customer can be served much faster. For the customer, the main advantage is comfort. They don’t have to spend time in their day waiting to speak with an agent to get the same information.

Call center agents can serve multiple people at the same time through multiple text channels. They will have a record of all the details of a conversation to be able to consult the history at any time and prevent the client from repeating himself to different agents. Agents will also be able to efficiently handle general questions, freeing up time for more complex queries. In fact, many call centers are creating AI-powered bots that can answer general SMS inquiries and, if necessary, turn the customer into a live agent.

Incorporating SMS into a call center gives consumers even more ways to interact with your business. Serving customers through multiple channels offers more choice, delivers more satisfying experiences, improves productivity, and strengthens your customer relationship.