INDUSTRY TREND: Enterprise Messaging Applications (#EMApps) a new face of customer communication
Messaging applications are used 4.7 times more frequently
Millennials are setting a new trend using messaging applications such as WeChat, WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger to communicate, pay and exchange information not only with their peers but also with enterprises according to research from Yahoo's Flurry Insights.
Like Gmail or Outlook, these applications provide an environment in which people interact in real time, but adding a social dimension. Looking at this trend from an enterprise perspective, it seems that customers trade off simplicity and convenience over brand loyalty, security and confidentiality.
Messaging applications are used 4.7 times more frequently each day than the combined average of all other mobile applications, and users also reportedly keep messaging applications on their devices for longer periods of time. As this trend grows, this is a threat for enterprises that are spending millions acquiring customers every year but remain a click away from losing customers to other service providers existing in the same mobile environment.
What do customers really want?
What customers want are simple and efficient ways to interact with enterprises. They want to be notified in real-time, share data, provide instant feedback and be able to take actions as required. They enjoy registering and logging on with services like Facebook. They want to access data in a single place and be able to take actions in an instant. It seems trivial but most enterprises today are failing to deliver such basic features. The reason: their mobile assets (mobile website and mobile applications) look like their desktop website. Unlike messaging applications that have mastered mobile enablement for a while now; mobile core capabilities such as geo-tagging, instant notifications, address book or payment are not well integrated into enterprise mobile services.
Enterprise Messaging Applications a new tailored solution:
However, enterprises can turn this threat into massive new business opportunities as they are well positioned to deliver unique content (statements, offers, notifications, new product announcements, etc.) to customers. Inheriting what messaging applications do best, Enterprise Messaging Applications (EMApps) is a brand new category of mobile applications. EMApps are specifically built to communicate with customers. They are simple, personalised, social and cost effective. They provide a hybrid solution between messaging applications and existing enterprise mobile assets. These EMApps are enterprise branded. They are most useful for supporting enterprise customer communications during key business processes like mortgage applications, claims management, client onboarding or life insurance onboarding. In a single package, Enterprise Messaging Applications deliver the best communications channel to maximise customer satisfaction and increase conversion rate by 50%.
These Enterprise Messaging Applications are made unique for each enterprise and line of business. They come with:
- a branded customer experience
- seamless registration/log-in enablement
- enterprise unique content and history
- a mobile optimised customer experience (e.g. responsive content -HTML5- unlike PDF)
- embed call-to-actions such as digital signature, one-click-payment or call-my-agent
- geo-location based services
- content sharing capabilities, photo capture and tons more features.
Picture This: A pipe bursts and damages ceilings and walls in my house. As a customer, I call my insurance claims department to raise a claim. After the claims agent has taken my details for sending me a FNOL letter, she suggests I download their Claims Direct Mobile Application (a branded EMApps) from the AppStore or Google Play. Once the mobile application is set up on my smartphone, all communications related to my claim case are pushed in the Claims Direct application. I receive instant notifications – e.g. such as confirmation of meeting times by the loss adjustor. I easily communicate back and forth with the claim agent - for example sending them additional pictures of the damage at their request. I digitally sign a settlement offer saving $20 and weeks of printed paper processing. The claims case closes faster and I get reimbursed sooner too. Once the claims case is completed, I remove the application from my enterprise messaging application and I am a satisfied customer.
How to?
GMC Software delivers Enterprise Messaging Applications (EMApps) as a complete solution. They are powerful because they are supported by tools and solutions aimed at IT and Business users: GMC Inspire Designer™ enables IT users to design communications customer experiences, GMC Inspire Dynamic Communications™ and GMC Inspire Interactive™ empower marketing and business stakeholders to write and deliver content directly to customers.
