By Joy Corso, CMO of Vonage

According to the 2022 Global Customer Engagement Report (GCER), 75% of customers are somewhat or very likely to stop buying products from a company when there is poor communication. That level of customer attrition significantly impacts the bottom line and is untenable long term; lost revenue combined with customer acquisition costs can sink an organization.

When evaluating a company’s future revenue growth and profitability, there are several factors to consider: past financial performance, market prospects, leadership, product viability, and more. But one crucial factor often falls further down the list of priorities: how a company engages with its customers. In the short term, companies might still achieve some success even if they have a poor customer service record, but the numbers will suffer over time as stakeholders recognize the impact of negative customer relations.

Companies that employ a strong communications strategy will experience long-term brand success, filling in the service gaps left by competitors. Great communication creates a better customer experience (CX) which, according to GCER data, leads 53% of customers to be more loyal and 36% to purchase more products. Though many businesses have made significant strides recently in meeting customer needs, more work remains. A vital piece of that success is embracing an omnichannel approach augmented by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Below, I’ll discuss the importance of great customer experience, where opportunities exist, and how tech provides companies with a competitive advantage.

The Value of Positive Customer Experience

Positive customer experience is a springboard for word-of-mouth marketing, increased demand, and higher revenues. These are key metrics to examine when identifying potential investment opportunities. Companies dedicated to regular evaluation and improvement offer greater long-term potential for strong financial performance and ROI since they’re constantly creating efficiencies and boosting performance metrics. 

To make an impact, brands must enhance engagement, provide a positive customer experience, and boost their value by ensuring people can get the answers they need efficiently and communicate through the channels they prefer without issue. In essence, they turn transactions into conversations. Below are six indicators of a top-notch digital customer experience:

1. Offer Choices – Most customers and prospects use multiple modes of communication: voice, video, social messaging, and chat, to name a few. This is an opportunity to make contact on their preferred platforms.
2. Promise Security – More digital activity means more opportunities for a breach of personal information. Businesses must insist on security and reassure customers it’s a top priority.
3. Provide Value – Value is not quantified in one specific manner, but customers expect something in return for spending their time and offering their data. Customers will recognize brands that make it worth their while.
4. Embrace Simplicity – Brands should continuously monitor the customer journey to identify and fix bottlenecks in short order. 
5. Be a Listener – The best way for businesses to offer value is to listen and understand what customers want to reward them for choosing their product.
6. Bring the Human Element – Not everyone wants to speak to a virtual assistant. A live human should be ready to answer customer inquiries.

Voice Calls Aren’t Dead

While the last few years have shown the value of modernized communication for the future, GCER data shows a preference for voice calls remains. Most consumers (55%) contact family or friends on a mobile phone call daily, while 57% use platforms like WhatsApp to make calls. Consumers also prefer using voice calls to contact businesses — 66% use one of those methods each day. However, 63% say they’ve been left extremely or very frustrated by long wait times.

For businesses with limited staff or resources overwhelmed by calls, voice technology can be a value-add that enhances customer interactions by providing a way for them to call and interact with AI that accurately routes customer requests and limits wait times.

The Power of Technology

Despite the appetite for traditional engagements like voice calls, technology — specifically AI — is a valuable part of a company’s communications strategy. Consumers’ most frustrating moments come when they have to connect multiple times on a single issue or find themselves being transferred to various agents. AI can help these issues by making an agent’s interactions with customers even smarter by providing access to previous customer context.

With conversational AI, businesses can improve customer experience and optimize workflows at scale. Every customer call can be answered immediately to address questions and complaints as they arise. Brands can also design, customize, and deploy consumer engagement experiences. Plus, AI provides data and insights on conversations to analyze current behavior and optimize future communications. Implementing an AI-driven strategy allows companies to cut costs and focus resources on critical strategic initiatives, becoming more financially viable without losing quality in customer interactions.

Don’t Be One-Dimensional

Businesses cannot afford to have tunnel vision regarding customer communications — an omnichannel approach offers a way to success that ensures happy customers and maintains a positive brand reputation. Consumers expect the companies they choose to meet their expectations. A brand’s communications strategy must be flexible, intelligent, and personal, enhancing collaboration and engagement with customers from anywhere. Adopting an omnichannel strategy is no different than strategically diversifying your portfolio. Rather than having limited channels for communication or a disjointed set of solutions, it makes sense to offer a suite of options that complement each other in a cohesive strategy. 

Brands must pay attention to what consumers want now and consider what they might want next month, next year, and even five years from now. Today’s business environment is hyper-competitive, and prioritizing seamless communication in line with consumer preferences will ensure brand protection and customer loyalty, leading to long-term success.

It is still essential to evaluate all the traditional financial performance metrics because those remain very important. But start looking at the level of service and support companies provide to their customers. Are they operating with the customer first and top of mind, or are they looking past long-term financial health in favor of short-term wins?

About the author

Joy Corso is Chief Marketing Officer of Vonage, leading all areas of Vonage’s global marketing functions. She was recently recognized as one of the ‘Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Tech,’ and has deep expertise in building high performing teams, leading corporate transformations, and driving brand engagement across key audiences.