STOCKHOLM and ATLANTA – February 8, 2022 – Nearly 80% of companies have or will implement conversational customer engagement — the practice of communicating interactively with customers from one digital channel to another while retaining context — to improve customer experience, according to new research from IDC commissioned by Sinch. Of those, more than half will do so using a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) to deliver the efficient, hyper-personalized contextual experiences customers want most.
In a new IDC White Paper, “Digital Customer Experience: Leveraging Conversations to Drive Innovation and Differentiation in the Enterprise,” IDC’s Courtney Munroe, Research Vice President for Worldwide Telecommunications Research, analyzes the global survey of customer experience decision-makers at 355 enterprises to provide insights on the use of conversational customer engagement and to assess its impact on business outcomes.
In the IDC White Paper, Munroe explains: “As enterprises emerge from dealing with the impact of COVID-19, re-architecting their IT infrastructure to leverage digital platforms will be a major priority, and customer experience is the top driver of these investments as it directly impacts the organization’s bottom line.”
He goes on to explore the transformations underway at global enterprises as leaders work to build a better customer experience through customer engagements – interactions that are becoming increasingly conversational for good reason.
Multichannel communications have empowered companies to connect with their customers on the channel of their choice, such as SMS, voice, email, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Instagram. It’s through conversational customer engagement that businesses can accelerate CX innovation to build long-term loyalty and drive immediate revenue growth.
Among the IDC White Paper’s highlights:
- 79% of respondents have initiated or plan to implement conversational customer engagement within the next two years. The majority (52%) will leverage CPaaS platforms to do so.
- While most companies employ multiple channels and a majority are leveraging conversations, only 22% of companies use more than three channels for conversational engagement. Consumers worldwide typically use four messaging channels.
- Customer service activities — such as customer care and support and customer satisfaction surveys — are the top use cases, followed by operations activities and transactions tied to financial payments.
- Only 35% of organizations allow a customer to transfer from a chatbot to a live agent for enhanced support. Those who have implemented conversational customer engagement are much more likely to provide this fulfilling customer experience.
The IDC White Paper, “Digital Customer Experience: Leveraging Conversations to Drive Innovation and Differentiation in the Enterprise,” doc #US48593121, January 2022, can be downloaded here.
About Sinch
Sinch brings businesses and people closer with tools enabling personal engagement. Its leading cloud communications platform lets businesses reach every mobile phone on the planet, in seconds or less, through mobile messaging, email, voice and video. Sinch is a trusted software provider to mobile operators, and its platform powers business-critical communications for many of the world’s largest companies. Sinch has been profitable and fast-growing since its foundation in 2008. It is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and has local presence in more than 50 countries. Shares are traded at NASDAQ Stockholm: XSTO:SINCH. Visit us at sinch.com.
For further information, please contact:
Jeff Hasen
Vice President, Communications
jeff.hasen@sinch.com
Author Information
As a detail-oriented researcher, Sherril is expert at discovering, gathering and compiling industry and market data to create clear, actionable market and competitive intelligence. With deep experience in market analysis and segmentation she is a consummate collaborator with strong communication skills adept at supporting and forming relationships with cross-functional teams in all levels of organizations.
She brings more than 20 years of experience in technology research and marketing; prior to her current role, she was a Research Analyst at Omdia, authoring market and ecosystem reports on Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and User Interface technologies. Sherril was previously Manager of Market Research at Intrado Life and Safety, providing competitive analysis and intelligence, business development support, and analyst relations.
Sherril holds a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from University of Colorado, Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University.
