A Marriage of Convenience in Omnichannel Communications

A marriage of convenience is defined as “a marriage that is arranged for practical, financial, or political reasons”  –  we will leave the politics aside, but we would like to make a marriage proposal to our readers that we believe is both practical and financially sound. In fact, to borrow another wedding metaphor we want to present something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

Something Old: Embracing Print and Post

While the future of customer communication is very much digitally-led, the present reality cannot ignore the role of print and post completely. The tactile impact of print and post retains a timeless appeal and effectiveness and for some customers, it continues to be their first preference for communication so cannot be ignored. This is true personalisation at play – broadening capabilities to exceed the expectations of the customer from their initial customer onboarding and throughout their journey as a customer.

With the latest version of our Which50 platform, we are reinvigorating this classic channel, combining the personal touch of physical mail with the precision of modern targeting. From personalised letters to impactful PDF documents, our platform ensures that your message not only reaches your audience but ultimately resonates with them on a personal level regardless of the medium used.

Something New: The Power of Notifications

The digital revolution has ushered in the age of instant notifications – a new frontier in customer engagement tailored to the needs of each individual. Which50 seamlessly integrates this channel into our platform allowing businesses to deliver timely, relevant, and personalised messages directly to their customers’ devices. Whether it’s an alert, a reminder, or a promotional message, our platform ensures your communication is always a tap away from engaging your audience.

More importantly, this simple tap can deliver a new digital engagement capability as all Which50 webforms can now be opened up within the mobile app itself – allowing service providers to roll out fully interactive, self-serve journeys without requiring a new release of the app.

Something Borrowed: Leveraging APIs from WhatsApp and Messenger

Borrowing technology is synonymous with smart integration and is a must for modern, nimble organisations looking to optimise their service delivery. Which50 leverages the power of popular messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Messenger through APIs, allowing businesses to tap into these vast networks and engage with customers on their terms. This integration enables you to meet your customers where they already are, fostering seamless, low-friction and familiar interactions that enhance customer experience and engagement.

Something Blue: Our Signature Touch

Blue, the hallmark of our brand, represents trust, reliability, and communication. It’s woven into every aspect of our customer communication platform, symbolising our commitment to providing a trustworthy and effective communication solution. From the user interface to the branding of your messages, the essence of Which50 is always present, ensuring a consistent and professional experience for both your business and your customers.

Version 10 – Channels United in Matrimony

The rollout of V10 of the Which50 Platform sees us retrospectively embracing the age of postal communication – uniting print in matrimony with our modern omni-channel communication platform into a comprehensive, automated delivery funnel which we have labelled the digital-to-print waterfall.

This integrated digital-to-print capability is driven by practicality and recognises the multilayered challenge that service providers currently have in implementing digital transformation. All customer communications preferences can now be catered for via a single platform and this latest enhancement represents an unrivalled omni-channel communication process as all of the key online and offline channels are synchronised seamlessly.

The reason ‘print and post’ is still so important for most service organisations is that they operate across different demographics and as a consequence of that, must cater for vastly different customer evolutions and a range of different communication preferences. Some cohorts are slower to embrace digital communication and maintain a preference for receiving physical letters in the post – this poses a challenge for organisations who have pivoted to digital-first solutions as a fresh communication silo emerges, demanding that they run concurrent processes for print and digital communications. This invariably leads to a level of de-duplication and cross-checking of mailing lists which can be a time consuming and recurring operational task which unnecessarily drains resources.

The latest innovation from CustomerMinds, in union with print partner RW Pierce, alleviates this workload by automating the flow of omni-channel communications – leading with a digital-first communication across email and SMS before a final sweep of customers through physical post where digital communication channels or consent are not in place. This latest digital-to-print capability allows organisations to take a fully-inclusive approach to communications from one platform – leveraging Email, Messaging and traditional Post, acting as a simple yet practical intermediary to facilitate a gradual shift to 100% digital communications over the longer term.

Summary

We believe that marrying the traditional postal communication channel with the automation capabilities of new technology is a match made in heaven, particularly for organisations operating in industries where communication is under the watchful eye of a regulator. For financial services organisations, utilities and telecommunications providers, this capability is a game-changing accelerator for digital transformation.

For organisations facing the challenge of migrating their communications to fully digital customer journey management, the transition is not without its obstacles. Making the move while minimising disruption to customers, honouring their communications preferences and continuing to maintain the high standards of customer satisfaction while operating within the guardrails of regulations can be a tricky process. In many cases, you cannot just flick a switch but ironically we now see print as an accelerator for full-scale digital transformation – allowing organisations to evolve to digital over time and not leave any customers behind as they travel on that journey.

To learn more about the digital-to-print waterfall or any of the other capabilities of the Which50 platform please get in touch to arrange a conversation.