The Significance of Real Time Communication
Lee Rainie and Andrew Perrin of Pew Research Center has pointed out 10 facts about the smartphone 📱, of which, one fact points out the significance of the smartphone to smartphone users. 46% of the users mentioned that they couldn’t live without their smartphones. Additionally, 72% feel that their smartphone helps them stay connected. All this is because technology is addictive.
Technological advancement has given rise to the development and popularity, particularly of smartphone-related features such as instant messaging, the social media, and the concept of “online” 📶, and this in turn has caused any individual with a smartphone to expect as well as demand instant gratification (which in the simplest form would be receiving a response from another individual in a matter of seconds), or in other words, real time communication. Agree? Of course, you do!
(So, what exactly is real time communication? The simplest definition of it would be as a method of sharing information, ideas and interactions with people through a network with no transmission delays 📲)
But, does real-time communication apply to businesses? Of course, why not? Your customers are smartphone holders, and they want it and want it ⏰NOW!
Customers 👥 count upon an efficient customer service at present than ever before. In an era where physical meetings are losing favour, it is upto to businesses to figure out ways to engage with their customers using technology. And, even when the customer engagement is rather virtual than physical, still there are preferences within the virtual engagement modes itself. That’s one reason why most of us would rather message a business than call. And all these have directly led to the increase in the importance of live chats and instant messaging as modes of customer communication.
BOTS play a significant role in the present day real time communication in the business context, being instant, automatic, and programmed (all what every customer expects). The Economist states that bots are the new frontier in business communication. This cannot be any truer because many popular websites handle a vast number of customers through the employment of bots, and the demand seems only to keep increasing.
Another significant aspect in implementing real time communication is support agents . When your clients are given the option to talk to a support agent and get their queries sorted within a small amount of time, customer satisfaction boosts and an element of trust is developed in the client. And when you keep your customers satisfied, they are likely to engage more with your brand and recommend it to their acquaintances. To quote Jeff Bezos, ‘word of mouth is very powerful’ 📢, and therefore, it is crucial for businesses to open the brand’s communication channels for long term growth.
To provide quality assistance and open new, effective channels of communication, it is essential that brands employs a service that delivers live and effective online support through instant messaging services. And if you desire to experience an increase in customer satisfaction and higher rates of conversions, provide your customers with effective channels of communication. You would only see larger conversions and loyal customers.
