Messaging isn’t about you. It’s about your buyers.
So what do terms like unified messaging and omnichannel vs multichannel messaging really mean?
It’s a new way of communicating with consumers because it’s focused on the way buyers want to do business and not your company’s goals. In an increasingly digital and mobile first world, businesses are having to compete to keep consumers engaged with their brand. And adopting messaging is the fastest way to turn buyers into loyal customers of your business.
But as you embark on the journey of going all in with messaging and making your business conversational, the differing terminology you come across can leave you thinking it’s more complicated than it really is. Once you cut through the jargon, it’s easy to see that messaging defined simply is just communicating with buyers on the channels they use on a daily basis. Straightforward right?
Unified messaging
Unified messaging (also referred to as unified messaging systems by technology providers) refers to the handling of all your customer communications, across the different channels you offer (such as email, WhatsApp, Live Chat and SMS) in a single inbox.
So whether a customer messages you via WhatsApp or drops you an email, your team can see and respond from one system provided you’re using a unified messaging platform.
Gone are the days of having to log into different tools for different channels.
Amount of interest in unified messaging worldwide
Multichannel messaging
Today’s consumers are not only spoilt for choice when it comes to business to buy from but also when it comes to messaging channels.
A quick look at the app store on your mobile device can give you a snapshot of the vast messaging channels that people have at their disposal.
From WhatsApp to Facebook, Messenger, Google Business Messages and Apple Business Chat, consumers today are having conversations across a wide range of apps and not being accessible on those apps can damage a business’ market share.
Multichannel messaging in layman’s terms refers to extending your businesses reach across different communication channels and devices and in turn providing customers with the ability to engage with your business over the medium of their choice (phone, SMS, email, Live Chat, WhatsApp, etc).
Amount of interest in multichannel messaging worldwide
Omnichannel messaging
We as people are not single channel users. Just think of the last conversation you had with a friend or relative. We might start off by talking to them via WhatsApp during the day and then pick up the phone to continue that conversation later in the evening.
We didn’t have to restate everything we mentioned in the WhatsApp conversation and we certainly didn’t have to reintroduce ourselves. Today’s customers expect the same experience when communicating with brands.
Omnichannel messaging refers to just that.
Combining the accessibility of multiple channels with the uniformity of conversations to deliver 2-way contextual conversations that are no different to the way we’d speak to our loved ones.
Amount of interest in omnichannel messaging worldwide
Why having only one messaging channel won’t cut it anymore
More touchpoints = more revenue opportunities.
As commerce becomes more conversational, delivering more conversational experiences with buyers in ways that suit them give your business more opportunities to sell, cross-sell and upsell while delivering a buying experience more in line with what consumers expect.
Using these messaging channels with an open messaging platform
So now that we’ve got our heads around the messaging jargon flown around the web you’re probably wondering: “What’s next? And how do I get started?”
Well the first point of action will be finding the right messaging platform to execute on delivering the conversational experience your consumers want:
• Be everywhere your customers are from one single dashboard
• Let customers message you via their favorite channel
• All without losing context from previous conversations
With a platform like Web1on1 😉
Give it a try today without any costs or commitment and see how going all in with messaging can delight your customers.
