October 30, 2019

    Why Messaging Is The New Normal

    People surveyed across 15 markets are already more likely to rate the effectiveness of using messaging for communication with a business as “excellent” or “very good”, compared to calling them on the phone. This illustrates a trend that’s seeing instantaneous and visual methods of reaching out to other people become the preferred method of interaction between commercial organizations and their consumers.

    Messaging On The Rise

    As far back as 2016, messaging emerged as the key method of communication for Millennials and the younger generation. This was largely due to the speed, directness, and visual nature of the medium, which also allows for multiple conversations to happen at the same time.

    A New Mode Of Business Communication

    Moving forward to the present, messaging platforms and apps have evolved to become even more versatile, responsive, and accessible.

    Business users have taken note of this – and the value they can give and get, using messaging tools as a vehicle to deliver services such as customer care and technical support.

    There’s a natural tendency for people to like getting a direct response to any questions they might have – and direct chat or messaging readily allows for this. A fully featured platform can enable business users to easily offer their consumers the convenience of messaging across multiple channels.

    The Numbers Suggest It

    One recent study suggests that nine out of ten customers would like the ability to message a business. Facebook’s research goes even further to confirm this trend, with the discovery that:

    • 67% of people across eight markets surveyed globally say their messaging has increased over the past two years.
    • Across that same set of markets, 51% of people say that messaging has replaced other forms of communication.
    • More than half of the people surveyed across 15 markets consider business messaging the “modern way to communicate.”

    A Growing And Global Trend

    As mobile technology extends its reach across the world, this preference for messaging has gone global. A survey of daily messaging app users across four markets revealed a significant majority who had messaged a business in the past three months. Brazil led the way with 85%, followed by India (74%), the UK and the USA (both with 61%).

    It’s a “mobile-first” environment in many of the world’s emerging markets, and people in these economies are 2.4 times more likely than those in mature mobile markets to say they message businesses. 71% of people surveyed across Colombia, Germany, Mexico, and the US say they’re open to messaging businesses.

    Business organizations in the professional services, retail, local entertainment, public welfare, and media sectors are most likely to be in regular communication with their consumers via messaging.

    Meeting Expectations

    As well as a direct and real-time responsive line to the brands and businesses that interest them, consumers turn to messaging as a pipeline for advice and expertise, and as a medium for getting updates and information to improve their shopping and other commercial experiences.

    In the minds of many customers, business messaging is associated with ease of use, “any time, anywhere” access, fast or instantaneous responses, reliability, time savings, and fun. Notably, 70% of consumers in Brazil, 66% in India, 54% in the UK, and 61% in the US expect a faster response from messaging than if they’d used a more traditional method of communication.

    To meet all these demands, business organizations require a business messaging platform that’s fast, multi-channel, secure, and reliable.

    With net2phone, phone, messaging, and chat are all in one place, for a single low price. And the new net2phone (version 2.0) offers SMS/MMS and Live Chat on your website through one centralized inbox, for effective and immediate communication with your customers.

    If you’d like to know more about messaging or business communication, get in touch with our representatives at net2phone.

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