In the 1830s, the invention of the telegraph transformed communications. In 1858, when the transatlantic telegraph cable was completed, it became possible to send messages across the Atlantic in just 16 hours. What sounds insanely long now was unheard of before. Postal service with ocean liners took ten days, after all. In 1876 Alexander Bell made the first telephone call in history: “Mr. Watson, come here—I want to see you.” Sending a message and receiving a reply in real-time had never been possible before. We can only imagine the impact this must have had on people’s lives. Almost a hundred years later, in 1971, the first email arrived in an inbox. In the last years of the 20st century, instant messaging and SMS (T9, anyone?) took off, culminating in social messaging services like WhatsApp and Messenger in the 2010s. Each of these technological milestones impacted how we interact with each other and with companies. Companies have always sought out new ways to engage with customers and ultimately sell more, starting with a telegraph from your solicitor across the big pond and ending with a LINE chatbot on your smartphone. 

In 2023 there is no way around social messaging platforms. WhatsApp alone has over 2000 million active users in a month, followed by 1300 million on Facebook’s Messenger. Customers are used to having rich and meaningful conversations on these apps and expect the same kind of engagement with companies. Tech giants like Meta, Alphabet Inc., and Apple are racing to develop solutions for the growing business-to-consumer messaging market. Businesses need ways to provide a seamless customer experience, connect customer data, and integrate messaging platforms to deliver unified messages across all channels they use. Customers want to experience a conversational relationship rather than one defined by sporadic support tickets and answer templates.  

Conversational business lets brands and customers engage in ways not possible before. It greatly improves convenience and flexibility for both parties. The conversations feel more natural, and the customer can respond at their leisure. In other words, the company can seamlessly integrate its message into the customer’s day-to-day life. By introducing automation and chatbots, companies can reduce operational overhead and drive customers to self-service their problems. Something that most customers prefer to do anyways.  

This is where Sunshine Conversations comes into play. It is the world’s most advanced open messaging platform for conversational business. With a single API, you can unify all channels under a single customer profile and conversation. Being open and flexible, Sunshine systems lets you enhance your conversations with automations, chatbots, or by bringing in any business person or system into the conversation. Collect customer data and harness insight from it to turn your support tickets into continuous and meaningful conversations with your customer. And what do you get in return? A significantly improved customer experience and a boost in customer loyalty.  

Hand on your heart, does your business suffer from conversations stuck in silos? Too often, companies struggle to connect departments and different channels. Sunshine Conversations brings together every interaction with a customer under a single profile and a single view. Every time a new conversation starts, an agent can review the entire history and interact with the customer in a more meaningful way. It includes the newest messaging trends to enrich the content, like GIFs, quick replies, read receipts, and many more. Sunshine Conversations doesn’t only make a conversation with an agent seem like talking to an acquaintance or friend. It offers different message types (carousels, picklists, forms, etc.) and developer tools that let you embed reservation or payment options within the messaging window, just to name two examples.  

Scale up by integrating a chatbot. We have come a long way since ELIZA. Use your knowledge base to train your chatbot and provide 24/7 support. You can deflect routine and repetitive inquiries and only let the complicated question filter through to the right support agent. Both your customer and your employee will thank you for the hassle-free experience.  

Conversational Business opens up a new world of communication between company and consumer. Sunshine Conversations lets you automatically route outbound messages to a customer’s preferred channel. Use them to proactively inform them of service delays or deliver personalized promotions and offers. Sometimes an inquiry needs more than one department to get involved. You can easily share the view within the organization and bring in additional support to help the customer get to a solution. And, of course, all of the above is possible in multiple languages. 

Written by Anna

Anna

FREE CONSULTATION

We believe that a solid conversational business strategy is the key to a good customer experience and that in itself is the key to business success. Talk to our consultants to find out how it can transform your business and unlock new opportunities. 

FREE CONSULTATION
Zendesk
blog
Close Button

"*" indicates required fields

Please enter your details below and we will send you a copy of our free report

Hidden
Hidden
Materials Listing
Title
Download
 

Get our
free report

BLOG
2 mins

4 ways to improve your customer perception and boost your business

report icon