Customers
The Top Five Benefits of Business Messaging Tools, According to Marketing Leaders
July 19, 2023
One of the best ways to wrap one’s mind around any topic is consulting with the experts who use it “in the field” every day – and the growing success of business messaging channels is no exception.
It’s why it’s worth considering the recent findings of a recent Meta study exploring the attitudes of marketers employed at enterprise-sized businesses: it found that 81% of marketers who use business messaging solutions expect to see a positive return on their marketing investment this year — more than those who felt the same about out-of-home marketing (76%) and nipping at the heels of mainstays like social media marketing and TV (both at 86%).
A marked preference for business messaging channels is emerging among consumers and marketers alike. But what exactly accounts for such a high level of confidence?
Below, we’ll dive a bit further into the findings of our survey, and explore the benefits that keep marketing leaders coming back to business messaging channels.
Improved Engagement with Prospects, Across The Marketing Funnel
While you may not be able to hold your customer’s hand as they make their way through the marketing funnel, the power of business messaging solutions can bring you pretty close to that level of gentle-but-effective nurturing.
And most marketers we spoke with felt messaging is the perfect guidance tool: Specifically, 56% of marketers who use business messaging solutions said they did so because it allows them to stay in touch with customers/leads throughout the entire buyer journey. Another 50% of marketers added that they believe their brand can effectively use these channels to assist their customers during both the pre- and post-purchase phases.
Whether addressing customer queries at all stages of the funnel, utilizing powerful capabilities like automation, deploying targeted messaging, or sending rapid-fire responses, messaging empowers marketing teams to engage customers on their schedule, in the channel where they’re most comfortable. In fact, another 56% of marketers who use messaging channels report that a key benefit is “providing rapid-fire responses to customers.”1
A Captive – But Comfortable! – Audience
It’s no secret that modern customers are almost always on their phones, and that text messaging is increasingly where they’re most comfortable talking with friends, colleagues, and family. The number of mobile phone messaging app users worldwide hit three billion for the first time in 2021, and is already slated to hit 3.5 billion by 2025.2
This captive audience can do wonders for your reach and engagement rates: One study found that business messaging sent over text can deliver as high as a 98% open rate.3 Strikingly, this outperforms other channels by as much as 400% or more.
Now, those customers are eager to interact with brands in a similarly familiar way – and tend to reward the brands who are capable of meeting those expectations. Indeed, one study found that 46% of consumers actively seek out businesses that provide alternatives to speaking on the phone, such as text and chat options.4 Another found 49% of consumers would share their phone number with a brand in exchange for a discount, and more than 50% would give their number for a free gift or free shipping.5
So, if customers are willing to opt-in to your marketing messages, take care to make sure they don’t regret the decision: it’s a tremendous opportunity to provide relevant, targeted, and personalized messages that provide value to the recipient. If you can provide something meaningful to your shoppers, they’re not only much more likely to actually see your message, but interact with it too.
Increased Customer Satisfaction/Loyalty
Meeting – and ideally, exceeding – your customers’ expectations should be among a marketer’s top priorities. Thankfully? All of those rapid responses in the spaces where your customers feel most comfortable almost always lead to a notable increase in customer satisfaction.
The surveyed marketing leaders backed this up: 51% noted that a “key benefit” of BMS was providing convenience, with 49% noting it “simplified communication” with customers.6
While many customers continue to interact with businesses through legacy channels like phone calls or email, this is largely because many customers believe these are the only options available to them. In fact, over two-thirds of consumers expressed a belief that being able to text businesses would increase their convenience when shopping.7
Promisingly, those figures also appear to be correlated with age: for example, a whopping 87% of millennials prefer text messaging businesses rather than legacy channels.8 The industry is changing, and your business can’t afford to get left behind!
Cost-Saving and Effective
While it may sound like adding a new channel to your brand’s marketing spend could bring along a number of prohibitive start-up and operating costs, many marketing leaders identified “cost savings” as a major benefit of incorporating business messaging into your brand experience.
According to our study, 60% of marketers who use messaging channels describe it as “very affordable” — higher than all other channels reviewed.
Particularly when paired with unique tools like automated responses for FAQs or common product inquiries, your agents are freed up to interact with customers who have only the most sensitive or complicated issues.
Revenue Boosting/Conversion Driving
The proverbial $64,000 question: Does business messaging drive revenue, particularly when compared to other similar channels? Thankfully, research suggests the answer to this question is a resounding “yes.”
One study found that 79% of businesses reported that using live chats has had a positive effect on sales, revenue, and customer loyalty.9 The same survey also found that 51% of customers said they’d buy from a company again if they offered live chat support.
When you consider just how significant a marginal bump to customer retention can be to a company’s bottom line – a Bain & Co. analysis once concluded a 5% bump in customer retention could lead to as much as a 25% increase in revenue10 – it’s easy to see why so many marketers are quick to embrace the channel. Combined with its ability to cut costs, business messaging solutions are capable of driving significant revenue growth to your business.
Conclusion
With its proven benefits of customer satisfaction, cost-savings, convenience, and the potential for driving conversions, it becomes harder and harder to dismiss the shift toward business messaging solutions as just a passing trend.
Business messaging allows brands to meet customers where they already are, providing a level of convenience and familiarity that not only enhances the customer experience, but fosters brand loyalty. As more and more businesses continue to adopt this marketing strategy, make sure that your team – and customers – aren’t being left behind.
Those aren’t the only benefits marketing leaders like: Check out our Ultimate Guide to WhatsApp Business Platform for Marketers for a closer look at how savvy marketers are using its tools to delight their customers.