A global study from Sinch has found that COVID-19 behaviours like avoiding dining out, crowds, and flying are here to stay, even in a world in its post-pandemic stages. According to the Sinch study, even when the pandemic is over, around 58% of people will still avoid crowds, while 52% will be staying away from unnecessary travel.
Around 46% of respondents said that they’d be spending less time inside stores, while 45% want to dine out less often. The study also revealed that, despite a decade of digital transformation, brands are still struggling to deliver the most useful mobile and digital experiences people are looking for.
These experience include things like making and confirming appointments via text, receiving personal videos, and being able to chat through messenger with banks, service providers, and doctors.
The research highlights the opportunities available for companies agile enough to update the value they’re bringing to customers.
Changing Behaviours Throughout the World
Communicating with friends, businesses, and family through video, messaging, and other online/mobile services, rather than interacting in person is something that’s likely to continue.
As digital methods for communication overtake physical interactions, companies are struggling to catch up. There’s a rising demand for new levels of mobile and digital services that companies aren’t fulfilling yet. Unfortunately, many companies don’t know which channels their clients prefer, and they’re struggling with siloed systems and data that makes it tougher to evolve.
According to Sinch, what makes this situation particularly powerful is that the ecosystem of channels and tools powering digital conversations is exploding. As customers avoid physical interactions, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have around 3.3 billion monthly active users. Despite this, companies are slow to embrace messaging innovations.
Few organisations can give customers meaningful messaging moments that they’re looking for.
An Opportunity to Evolve
The opportunity in this landscape is quantified by the gaps in the services customers use already, and the things they believe would be useful going forward. For instance, 91% of consumers want mobile notifications of suspicious activity, particularly in banking, however, only 31% get them.
89% of customers say they want notifications of service outages, but only 27% get them, and 88% would like information about public health care issues delivered by text, but only 24% get them. Other helpful findings include:
- 41% receive personal discounts via messaging or text, but 86% want them
- 78% of people would like mobile or online health assessments, but only 14% get them
- 39% of people get reminders about items left in shopping carts by text, but 75% want them
- 94% want appointment confirmations by text but only 52% get them
- 88% want to make appointments by text, but only 36% can
- 16% currently get personalized videos, but 73% of respondents want them
Next Generation Conversations with Customers
Customer experience has long stood as one of the most valuable differentiators for every brand. Now that the economy is in a difficult position following COVID-19, it’s even more important for companies to give customers the experiences that they crave. Using next-generation video, voice, messaging, and chatbots, global companies can now have personalized conversations with customers at an incredible scale.
Not only do better messaging opportunities drive better customer experiences, but they also support real business value in terms of decreased costs, increased sales, and greater customer loyalty. According to the CMO of Sinch, Jonathan Bean, global brand leaders have heard the cry for mobile transformation for years now. However, the COVID-19 crisis, and the way it has transformed individual behaviour has accelerated this demand.
Most customers are now mobile first on a massive scale, and they want utility at the touch of a button. This includes the ability to confirm, reserve, purchase, inform, cancel, and entertain, all on their smartphone. Customers want connections that arrive in a personalised and intuitive way. We’re ready to embrace these kinds of AI-powered conversations across mobile devices, and brands are in a race to provide all of these interactions at scale.
If you’re interested in learning more about Sinch’s study, which explored the responses of 2,890 customers across 14 countries, then you can read the full report from Sinch on the website today.
