Company expert highlights the right path to obtain better results in a year full of challenges
With the current economic climate impacting customer engagement strategies, companies of all sizes and industries need to consider the trends for the year ahead. With that in mind, Twilio, through its product marketing manager for Latin America, Marcela Klein, compiled seven key predictions of how companies will need to adapt their customer engagement strategies in 2023 to better connect with customers and get better results.
- Winning and retaining customers must be a priority
According to economic forecasts for the new year, companies around the world will be impacted by a new wave of instability, and with that, everyone is starting the year by closely reviewing their budgets. “Organisations must focus on what really makes a difference for their business, which is why improving the process to grow the customer base and maximize customer lifetime value must be top priorities”, points out Marcela.
To create an optimal flow of customer engagement, companies first need to understand their customer, and this is where data is crucial. By collecting and synthesizing real-time data, brands can profile their customers so marketing, sales and support teams know exactly how, when and where to interact with those users.
This type of data can be captured in any channel aimed at serving the consumer, allowing the creation of a unique and personalized customer journey, transforming 'potential customers' into 'loyal customers' for the brand.
- Be assertive when personalizing
“We know personalization is important. But being assertive when creating a personalized journey is becoming crucial to ensure customer loyalty in a customer engagement strategy”, points out the expert. “Say a shoe brand puts you in a profile and starts sending you ads for sandals based on the warm weather in your area, not realizing that you're actually a huge tennis fan but don't wear sandals. Wouldn't you rather buy from a brand that first wants to gain your trust and asks which shoes you really like?”, he explains.
All signs in the market show that customers expect this personalization from brands. When companies gain the trust of their customers, they become a consultant (and not just a salesperson), offering unique experiences, and consequently, gain a fan for their brand.
“What if you could share your preferences with a brand you trust, who would send you a message when that pair of white sneakers you've had your eye on for three weeks finally goes on sale?”, exemplifies Marcela. "It's this kind of interaction that helps brands build long-term, loyal relationships with their customers."
- Transparency and trust will become non-negotiable
Changing consumer preferences are driving companies to change the way they collect and use data. Most consumers want personalized interactions with companies, but only if it's accompanied by transparency and control.
If companies are to earn their customer's trust, they must be honest about how they plan to use their data and provide customers with sufficient control of their own information. That kind of trust becomes even more important when taking into account the imminent move to discontinue Third-Party Cookies – third-party cookies – which is planned to happen in 2024.
81% of companies, as noted in Twilio's 2022 Customer Engagement Report, said they still rely on third-party data in their marketing strategies. However, cookies and other tracking technologies have been under threat for many years due to their invasive nature.
The result of consumer demand for more transparency, combined with new regulation, has led to the end of cookies.
To build that trust, brands need to ensure they consistently respect customers' data preferences, especially by complying with data regulations and only engaging customers who want to be contacted. This improves customer confidence and also increases the deliverability of voice calls, emails and SMS, WhatsApp, improving the overall ROI of a customer engagement strategy.
According to Forrester, a global research firm, “When individuals have greater trust in a company, it results in higher revenue and deeper engagement. In such cases, customers are more willing to share their personal data.”
IDC, International Data Corporation, the leading global provider of market intelligence, confirms the importance of trust, stating that by 2027 “companies that reliably collect, analyze and contextualize customer data will successfully create creative business models that will double the customer lifetime value.”
- Customer service will become proactive instead of reactive
“We've all had frustrating customer service experiences where an agent asks you to share the same information over and over again. The agent doesn't have the context of your previous interactions, so you keep repeating the same information over and over again, your name, social security number, date of birth, etc. For example, when an airline cancels your flight, you must provide your confirmation number several times during the rebooking process. Wouldn't it be nice if airline attendants had all this information at their fingertips? Or even better, if they contacted you proactively to reschedule your canceled flight?”, points out Marcela.
Proactive engagement is the future of customer service. Customers expect interactions that anticipate their needs and proactively address them. This proactive approach also goes beyond problem solving. Both in-app and website experiences will need to engage customers prior to purchase in order to build trust and increase overall conversion in a customer engagement strategy.
- Conversations drive more sales
Digital messaging conversations are the future of business. Consumers now expect to be able to ask questions and buy directly through messaging channels such as WhatsApp without ever having to visit a company's physical store, website or app. Conversations through digital messages combine the personalized service of face-to-face experiences with the accessibility of e-commerce—and bring a new kind of online store.
“For example, companies like NuBank use the Twilio Flex platform, Twilio's cloud communications platform, to create a personalized and flexible omnichannel contact center experience for their customers, agents and supervisors. With Flex, customer service agents are able to serve multiple customers, having personalized conversations”, says Marcela.
Twilio conducted a survey of 3,900 consumers in 10 countries to understand how conversational messaging has the power to drive more sales. The data points out that an estimated 77% of consumers want to start a conversation through digital messaging, typically WhatsApp, for help with selecting a product or service, and 58% would use messaging channels to purchase a product or service if they had this is the option. About 80% of consumers would like brands to offer conversational channels through messaging. And 95% of consumers say they would trust a brand more if it was easy to start a conversation.
That is, two-way communication is an essential element in building relationships. Consumers may be interested, unsure, or stuck on an issue they can't figure out, and they want to be heard. One-way communication without the ability to reply to messages can make consumers feel that engagement on their part is unwanted. “It's like walking into a store, looking for someone to answer a question and leaving because no one is there to help”, concludes Marcela.
- Your customers want to be served by WhatsApp
Whether they're researching products, getting support or placing an order, many shoppers want to talk to a person with the ease of clicking a button. When browsing the internet and social networks, users are impacted by ads from different brands, and want to start a conversation there. This experience opens up new lines of communication in the same windows where people are chatting with friends and family.
64% of consumers say they are likely to have sent a message to a brand directly through an ad. “We've already seen how important it is to maintain a conversation channel with your customers. By creating an ad campaign with a direct link to WhatsApp, you can encourage conversations throughout the customer's purchase journey”, explains Marcela. The specialist points out some relevant factors:
- Introduce your brand to new potential customers on Facebook and Instagram;
- Recommend products and improve the conversion of abandoned carts;
- Provide your prospects with the information they need to complete a purchase;
- Leverage engagement with targeted ads that unlock special offers for members;
- Keep customers engaged with timely, relevant product updates.
“Magalu, for example, which uses the solution for WhatsApp and Twilio Flex, increased the number of sellers in its marketplace and increased sales volume with WhatsApp's Click to Ad strategy. The leading company in the Brazilian market uses Click to WhatsApp ads to show the benefits of its marketplace to potential sellers, who can click on the ad to start the registration process via WhatsApp,” says Marcela.
The onboarding conversion rate for new Magalu sellers went from 21% in traditional channels to 46% with WhatsApp.
- Consumers will demand an omnichannel experience
In recent years, we've seen a sharp increase in the number of engagement channels customers use to interact with brands (phone, email, chat, form, WhatsApp, Facebook Message). As a result, the customer journey has become even more non-linear, making it difficult for brands to show their customers that they really know and understand them.
“Let's go back to our tennis example. Maybe in the past you went to the brand's website, took a look at some product reviews and ended up buying? And now? You might go to the sneaker brand's website, decide the price isn't quite right, come back weeks later, contact customer service via WhatsApp to ask a question, add to cart, browse again, see an ad in another place and end up buying the shoes in a physical store”, exemplifies Marcela.
It is increasingly difficult for companies to anticipate their customer's next move so they can deliver the right content at the right time across different touchpoints to make the consumer feel unique. In summary, a brand's customer engagement strategy needs to be able to deliver experiences that anticipate the needs of each individual across different channels.
Channel preferences for service in Latin America
According to the IBM Research Insights report, “Today's customers are different in the way they shop – but they are alike in their expectation that retailers and brands are present and ready to serve them wherever they are – physically, and online and at every point of your journey.”
With the current economic situation, mastering an omnichannel customer engagement strategy becomes an even more important differentiator. That's why Forrester advises companies not to expect consumers "to be spending-shy in 2023. But expect them to be much more discerning, seeking richer experiences that combine the digital fluidity of the pandemic with the familiarity and intimacy of the pandemic." from the times when we only had access to physical stores”
Customer engagement strategies will undoubtedly change in 2023. The companies that are able to anticipate and adapt are the ones that will thrive.
Note: The release was adapted from an article originally written by Amanda Garcia, Twilio's global content marketing manager, and modified with input from
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