Page 67 - SAMENA Trends - September 2021

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

Retail brands can send notifications also realized the value of digital media and customer segment. While Gen X prefers
about recent purchases, delivery status, enriched mobile experiences. The world email, SMS and Facebook Messenger,
abandoned carts, and more with an SMS or won’t go back to the way it was before millennials and Gen Z might prefer
email. Ride-share apps can let customers 2020, and as such, enterprises must step WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram. As more
book cabs, call the drivers within the app up their customer engagement game. channels of communication emerge, these
to guide them, and pay for the trip using preferences are bound to change and
payment methods integrated with the CPaaS provides the flexibility to switch evolve.
app. In an increasingly digital world, the between multiple channels to provide a
demand for such CPaaS applications will true omni-channel customer experience. Similarly, the preferred communication
continue to surge. channels across geographies might vary.
How a centralized communications For instance, if the target demographic
According to IDC, the CPaaS market is platform can streamline communication is in North America, CSPs should focus
expected to grow from $4.2 billion in 2019 Sewing together a motley group of on Facebook Messenger, whereas for
to $17.7 billion by 2024, revolutionizing communication channels might make it customers in South America, the priority
enterprise customer engagement easier for businesses to stay in touch with should be WhatsApp.
strategies over the next few years. Upstart their customers. However, they can lead to
CPaaS providers and aggregators are incoherent messaging. That’s why a CPaaS shouldn’t tie itself to
leading the way, offering stiff competition a single digital channel. Instead, it should
to CSPs as they’re simple, affordable, and For example, a retail brand can end up opt for the channels where its target
easy-to-scale. sending the same messages via SMS demographic is the most active.
To differentiate themselves, CSPs must: and email, irritating the customer and
• Embrace a digital-first approach leading to higher attrition rates. CPaaS The way forward for CSPs
• Offer unified CPaaS solutions allows integration of disparate digital In an experience-first economy, enriching
• Choose to integrate right digital communication channels, thus, building customer interactions to build loyalty and
channels a coherent system that helps send improve retention will be crucial for any
customized and coordinated notifications business to thrive.
Let’s explore each of these differentiating according to customer segment or buyer
factors. journey stage. With CPaaS, enterprises can personalize
customer journeys and build an end-to-
How a CPaaS-driven digital transformation How focusing on customer’s preferred end interface that handles all customer
can improve engagement digital channels can give CSPs an edge interactions from sales to support. In
The pandemic exposed the shortcomings Different customer demographics across addition to generating new revenue
of human-capital-intensive customer care the world prefer different digital channels. streams, CPaaS solutions provide CSPs
or call centers. As enterprises digitized Before building a CPaaS solution, CSPs with an edge to serve the digital natives
their customer support within weeks, they must map the right channel for each with superior customer experience.

67 SEPTEMBER 2021