Over the past few years, consumer behaviours have changed, and the reality is these changes are here to stay. This has brought on new challenges for retailers who need to find new and relevant ways to communicate with their customers. Are you wondering how to improve customer engagement in retail? This article has the answer.
Customer engagement is an essential component of success for any retail business. With this in mind, an omnichannel communications platform is a strategic technological business ally.
Firstly, it enables consistent mobile communication with customers, employees and citizens (in the case of government entities), through multiple channels. It also automates all business processes that involve communication, which leads to benefits including reduced operation costs, increased production and improved information security.
Here is more on why you should be integrating a omnichannel communications platform into your retail strategy to improve customer engagement.
Customer communication challenges for retailers
Some of the main challenges for retailers to navigate when communicating with their customers are:
- Obtaining and maintaining reliable information: These days, delivering the right information to the right person in the right format is really important. Studies show that 49% of people would buy more products if they received personalized offers, so a healthy database of accurate, up-to-date consumer information is invaluable.
- The need for omnichannel and automation: Consumers expect consistent, two-way communication through multiple channels, with the context maintained in all. Thus, implementing solutions and communication strategies with omnichannel as a base is increasingly important.
- Ensuring they employ a spectrum of communication channels: Common mistakes are considering social networks an all-powerful channel, or focusing marketing activities on email alone. Retailers need to focus on optimising the customer experience by incorporating multiple channels, including OTT applications (eg WhatsApp). Traditional channels like SMS, automated voice calls and voice broadcast messaging are also seeing a resurgence.
How to improve customer engagement in retail?
A CPaaS (Communication Platform as a Service) is a communication software solution hosted in the cloud. Organizations can integrate it into their IT systems, such as ERPs or CRMs among others, to provide mobile communication capabilities through messaging APIs.
A CPaaS helps retailers take advantage of mobile communication throughout the customer journey, so that their consumers’ interactions with their brand, and moments of truth, are more meaningful. This involves delivering personalized offers through the appropriate channel, timely communications during purchase, and measuring user satisfaction after purchasing the product.
One of the core advantages is that it keeps everything in one place and allows consumers to interact consistently with a retailer, through multiple channels.
How are retailers using omnichhanel communication platforms?
One example of a Communications Platform (CPaaS) being applied in an omnichannel promotion strategy is using SMS to send customised offers to people. About 98% of SMSs are read within three minutes, and its flexibility means you can place a URL within its content that redirects customers to a virtual store.
An omnichannel communications platform also fits perfectly into the online shopping delivery process. A communication strategy through a CPaaS helps retailers reduce the anxiety of an online purchase by keeping customers constantly informed of their order status, and allowing them to confirm or reschedule the date, time and place of delivery.
SMS use cases for retail to boost your communication strategy
CPaaS are becoming an integral part of retail strategy
It is clear that in a world focused on mobile devices as the main connection channel, retailers need to embrace CPaaS solutions.
Soprano Connect – Soprano’s CPaaS platform – gives our customers the opportunity to maintain better relationships with their own customers, offer a better shopping experience, and enhance their reputation and loyalty towards their brand.
Our solution integrates multiple mobile communication channels such as SMS, WhatsApp, RCS, voice calls and email, as well as including functionalities aimed at automating communication processes.
Want to hear more about how to improve engagement with Soprano? Head to retail mobile messaging solution.
