The digital age reshaped the way we reached our target audiences. More importantly, the way they reached us. Now, especially the consumers have almost the full control of communication context and timing to fulfill their demands from the brands. The number of channels business use to satisfy these needs increase accordingly.
We gathered the essential digital channels which will keep you ahead of the competition while empowering you with new engagement opportunities with your target audiences. Maybe some of them are already in the place. Still, would not it be good to enrich your toolbox with new paths to reach more customer nominees?
It’s a classic… But still, e-mail is super critical for engagement
You keep hearing and reading all the controversy about the effectiveness of e-mail marketing lately, but still, it’s here to stay. 91% of consumers check e-mail once a day, 74% of them prefer to receive communications from businesses and brands via mail. Plus, e-mail is still among the channels with the highest ROI.
SMS still can’t be underestimated in the digital age
For some industries like banking, SMS is a core activity. As far as mobile engagement is concerned, SMS & MMS based activities play important roles in catching modern consumers on the run. Maybe that’s the reason why 89% of marketers employing SMS marketing find it from somewhat to very effective, or more effective than corporate websites (64%) and display/banner ads (59%).
Push Notification is shining
As an output of the mobile revolution, push notifications enter to build engagement with the target audiences. 70% of consumers found all types of push notifications, including order updates, and location-based messages to be valuable.
New kids on the block storming: Chatbots
Recently especially the marketing world is crazy about the chatbots. They are the instant, direct and unarguably one of the most interactive ways of engaging with your target audience. Here is another piece on how you can use them effectively to add value to your business.
Social media never fades away
Social media invasion never stops. When developed with a sound strategy and practiced on the right platforms, social media can be a powerful foundation for engagement success.
Interactive Voice Notification (IVN) & Text to Speech (TTS)
Maybe more applicable for brands with a huge audience (like banking, insurance, etc.), IVN & TTS are impactful on cost-cutting of operational activities. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is also, an effective customer support tool.
Beacon and Location Based Services
Even though digital take the business world by the storm, still brick and mortar stay for many industries. Retail is most probably first to be remembered. Geolocation data provides ground for location-based marketing activities. In the US, more than 42% of companies already have proximity marketing (such as beacons and geolocation) in place. 39% say they will implement it in the next three years. 18.6% say they have no plans for beacons.
Maybe along with the implementation of digital channels, another important question arises: How can a brand use all of them together to create a unified customer journey. At SmartMessage, we support industries to reach this challenging target with our omnichannel experience approved by our clients from all around the world.
If you’d like to find out how, please feel free to contact us. We are here to help you.
