LiveChat has launched a new feature that enables businesses to use text messaging to communicate with customers.
LiveChat are specialists in online customer service software. The company recently partnered with Twilio and launched the integration of the LiveChat application with the Twilio platform. The text messaging feature is available for businesses using the LiveChat application in Business and Enterprise plans.
LiveChat Customer Text Messaging
The LiveChat app is designed to make it easier for businesses to communicate with customers from multiple platforms. With the app, users can message from different channels. These channels include Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, and, now, Twilio SMS.
Keeping Pace with Consumer Demand for Text Messaging
Research shows that 69% of consumers across all age groups would like to be able to contact a business via text. Furthermore, 89% of small business owners who communicate with customers by text, report higher engagement rates.
Studies also show that customers are 134% likelier to respond to a text message compared to an email. According to LiveChat, SMS messages have a 98% open rate.
Removing Communication Barriers
By adding text messaging to its customer service platform, LiveChat enables businesses to capitalize on demand for text communication.
Karolina Popow, CPO at LiveChat, commented on how the text messaging feature can remove communication barriers for small businesses.
“At LiveChat, we aspire to remove communication barriers between customers and businesses. We keep extending the functionalities of our products by adding more communication channels so that companies can meet their customers’ expectations. By having more possible ways to reach a business, people have more control over their communication.”
No New Interface to Learn
Users on LiveChat’s Business and Enterprise plan can receive and reply to text messaging in the LiveChat agent app. Without any new interface to learn, the feature is easy to use. Customers can chat to businesses through the channel they choose, thereby streamlining the communication process.
To get started, businesses need a Twilio account and an eligible phone number. They can then start receiving and replying to text messages.
Route SMS Messages
Businesses can also route SMS messages from each number to the LiveChat group of their choice. For example, you can route text to a business’s sales LiveChat group, enhancing the efficiency of business communication.
In summary, the new LiveChat feature capitalizes on the demand for text messages – One of the simplest yet effective ways to communicate with customers.
Image: LiveChat
This article, "LiveChat Adds Text Messaging to Customer Service Platform" was first published on Small Business Trends
July 28, 2020 at 06:31AM
via https//www.brucedayne.com/
Gabrielle Pickard-Whitehead, Khareem Sudlow
