Outbound communication technology has demonstrated how it can enhance the customer experience and positively affect the customer lifecycle from start to finish. Today, we wrap up our three-part blog series and show the role outbound communications play in a multichannel strategy.
If there was one word that seems to be increasingly floating around our industry, it’s multichannel.
For many organizations, outbound multichannel campaigns help businesses define, orchestrate and communicate important communication to its customers using multiple channels such as IVR, contact center agents, email, mobile, websites and social media. Unlike other hot buzz words, the increased attention the word multichannel is receiving is absolutely deserved. For example, as we’ve discussed here before, by building a multichannel strategy, especially one focused on proactive, outbound communications, businesses can measurably improve the customer lifecycle as well as increase customer satisfaction.
However, as we’ve seen with previous trends, while businesses and customer experience teams can understand the value a technology or new approach can bring to their organization, designing and deploying an outbound multichannel strategy can be much easier said than done. As we’ve held several conversations recently with our customers and partners on how to build an effective and personalized multichannel strategy, we wanted to point out the four must-ask questions that need to be raised prior to developing any multichannel strategy:
1. Who is the target demographic?
Understanding not only the type of customer, but also the channels most frequently used by that customer profile can help businesses better focus their resources as well as build compelling proactive content that will resonate with their customers.
2. What kind of message does your organization want to deliver?
For example, is it a reminder of an upcoming appointment or a response to a customer issue? Determining the nature of the message can quickly inform which channels the business will use in order to maximize reach and outbound message exposure.
3. What is the urgency of this message?
Similar to identifying the nature of the message content, labeling the priority of the message can help the organization not only most effectively connect with their customers, but choose the best channel and time to do so.
4. Does this communication need a two-way interaction?
While businesses should always be armed to quickly respond to their customers, some customer communications will inevitably be conversations. For example, leveraging a mobile voice assistant or ensuring the contact center is appropriately staffed will ensure customers receive the personalized attention they deserve.
By taking each of these questions into consideration prior to creating an outbound multichannel strategy, customer experience teams can build the communications that make the most sense for their business goals, customer needs and solution capabilities. From a customer perspective, a personalized multichannel strategy can differentiate a brand from other companies and strengthen the brand loyalty.
We have more ideas on how to create a thorough and tailored multichannel and outbound strategies here, but please let us know of the successful outbound strategies, solutions and tactics your organization has deployed in order to improve your customers’ experience!
