Customer messaging still serves a narrow purpose for many enterprises. It delivers appointment reminders, shipping updates, payment confirmations and service alerts. These operational messages are essential, but they represent only a fraction of messaging’s potential.
As customer expectations continue to evolve, businesses have an opportunity to transform messaging from a transactional utility into a driver of engagement, retention, and ultimately, revenue. Rather than simply informing customers, messaging channels can support conversations and encourage timely actions throughout the customer journey.
The challenge is that many organizations have yet to build the technological foundations needed to make that shift.
MMDSmart’s State of Digital Customer Communications survey found that while 99 percent of brands use messaging for alerts, notifications and customer service, only 53 percent use it for growth activities like promotions and retention.
As Karen Krivaa, Chief Marketing Officer at MMDSmart, explained to CX Today:
“We’ve been talking about it for a long time, that messaging is used for authentication purposes like one-time passwords, for sending notifications, for example, that your flight is delayed, and not for that communication and conversational piece.”
The opportunity now is to move customer messaging from basic delivery into more relevant, contextual interaction
The Gap Between Operational Messaging and Customer Engagement
Why has messaging remained largely operational?
The gap is linked to the wider challenge facing customer communication teams. Many enterprises recognize the value of richer customer engagement but continue relying on disconnected systems that make contextual messaging difficult to deliver.
Alerts and notifications can still managed even when customer data, marketing systems, service systems, and communication platforms are not fully joined up. However, once those siloed foundations are connected, the opportunity changes considerably. As Krivaa said:
“Once businesses realize that implementing an omnichannel messaging platform is not as difficult as it seems, they can start leverahing messaging for business growth and they will see a difference.”
Rather than viewing every service message as a cost center or sales pitch, businesses can begin treating them as an extension of sales, marketing and customer experience, identifying moments where a customer need, business opportunity, and relevant channel overlap.
From Updates to Proactive Customer Engagement
The last mile of customer communication is becoming more important because it is where intent often appears. Moments when a customer shows a specific interest indicate where messages can be useful, if they are timely and contextual.
Retailers provide a glimpse of what this looks like through abandoned cart reminders and offers. Yet many still rely on email, even when a more immediate channel, such as WhatsApp, could produce stronger results. Email is not always seen immediately, and a message can easily be missed among a crowded inbox. The advantage of WhatsApp and similar messaging channels is their immediacy and rich media support. A customer who has just left a site is more likely to see a message quickly on the device already in their hand, while their interest in the product is still fresh.
Krivaa pointed to a more effective approach using a timely messaging channel, relevant content and a clear incentive.
“What happens if they come back to me right away on WhatsApp? ‘If you purchase in the next hour, we’ll give you an extra 10% discount.’ It’s relevant because I was just there, have clear intent, and it gives me an incentive.”
The distinction is not that email cannot support cart recovery. The potential advantage of messaging is that it can reach the customer more immediately, make the offer easier to act on, and support a more interactive experience while the customer’s purchase intent is still high.
This is where messaging can start to become more than an operational layer, by supporting conversion and retention. Rather than interrupting the customer journey, messaging becomes part of it, encouraging action when interest is highest.
The same principles extend well beyond retail. Hotels, for example, already know when guests have checked in and what services are available during their stay.
Messaging can turn that information into timely, useful offers, such as a WhatsApp message shortly after check-in highlighting dinner availability, spa appointments, local tours, or a guest-only discount. Later in the stay, the hotel could offer a late checkout, airport transfer or recommendations based on the guest’s preferences.
The value is in making relevant services easy to discover and act on when they are most useful, without requiring the guest to search an app, website or email inbox.
Financial services present similar opportunities. CRM systems already contain information about payment schedules, account activity and product ownership. Rather than waiting until a payment becomes overdue, businesses can provide proactive reminders, Krivaa noted.
Gaming companies can also use behavioral data to encourage engagement. “If a gamer is playing, you’re not going to send them a communication saying, ‘When’s the last time you got online?’ You want to send them, ‘You’re playing this game, we can give you 10 credits,’ or ‘If you play another game today, you can get an additional 20 credits,’” Krivaa said.
In each case, messaging supports business growth because it reflects what the customer is already doing rather than relying on generic promotions.
Better Messaging Creates Better Experiences
Viewing messaging as part of the customer journey changes the focus from sending communications to improving experiences.
As Krivaa put it simply:
“The customer is happier. It’s about experiences. People remember how you made them feel. It’s about providing the right communications that make your customers feel understood and to give them the best experience that they can get.”
That does not mean simply more frequent communication, as growth-focused messaging has to be grounded in relevance. In fact, restraint is equally important, Krivaa pointed out.
“Some people don’t want communications, so don’t send it to them. People sometimes just say, ‘Leave me alone. I don’t want to hear from you.’ Businesses need to respect that.”
For customers who do want engagement, however, personalization becomes essential, Krivaa added. “A lot of customers do want to engage with brands, but they want the right communications, with the right context on what they need and what will give them the best experience.”
Rich Messaging Depends on Connected Data
WhatsApp is increasingly emerging as a customer service channel for businesses, along with Rich Communication Services (RCS), supporting more immediate customer interactions that can include images, buttons, prompts and more conversational flows. They also appear on the customer’s device in a more direct way than email.
Rich media supported by the context that comes from integrating communications with database information can make messaging more personal and provide a better experience, Krivaa noted, citing an example of a real estate customer.
Rather than sending bulk emails announcing every new listing, the company uses customer preferences to determine which properties are relevant to each individual client.
“They know the projects that the customers are interested in. They’re not sending bulk emails,” Krivaa said. “They know I’m interested in this type of property in this place. So if a new property comes online, I’ll get a WhatsApp with a picture of the property, interactive buttons, what I want to do, any questions that I have.”
By matching the right message to the right customer on their preferred channel, the business has “increased its engagement by over 30 percent since they introduced WhatsApp.”
The example demonstrates how personalized, timely conversations can generate stronger customer engagement than broad, one-size-fits-all campaigns.
WhatsApp and RCS can make communication more engaging, but only if the customer data and operating model are ready. A rich channel does not solve a weak strategy or a lack of supporting infrastructure to deliver those conversations consistently, Krivaa warned.
“If you don’t have all of the back end in place to support that, you won’t be able to do it.”
Organizations first need access to reliable, real-time customer information, including activity, preferences, transactions, and customer history, to avoid sending irrelevant or contradictory messages that damage trust and limit commercial value.
Customer management systems hold the information needed to make messaging more relevant, emphasizing the importance of removing operational silos.
“The CRM owns all the relevant information about the customer,” Krivaa said. “It should also be able to see the most immediate activities. It should be updated in real time. That can trigger and give input into customer communication.”
When messaging platforms connect with CRM systems, customer databases, and AI tools, businesses gain the context needed to automate communications that feel timely and personal.
Building the Foundations for Growth
For enterprises looking to unlock the commercial value of customer messaging, the first priority is understanding how customer information flows across the business.
As Krivaa advised:
“Understand what integrations or what you need to change in order to get that single pane of glass, the real omnichannel effect.”
Once those capabilities are in place, organizations can begin measuring outcomes and refining their approach.
“After you’ve implemented, you need ways to analyze what you’ve done to understand how successful you are and where things need to be improved and changed.”
As enterprises strengthen their customer data, integrate their systems, and adopt richer experiences, messaging has the potential to become a valuable channel for conversations that improve customer satisfaction and generate measurable business growth.
The shift from notification to negotiation will not happen because a business adds WhatsApp, RCS or AI to an existing stack. It will happen when customer context, channel strategy and operational execution work together.
