2022 DIGITAL COMMUNICATION TRENDS THAT WILL BOOST YOUR BUSINESS
Businesses looking to attract and retain customers have become uncompromising on an improved customer experience. As the world continues to move into the digital space, new communication channels and advanced data platforms have created opportunities for organizations to improve customer experiences and adapt to new ways of doing business.
2021 has been a year full of upheaval, but whether adding e-commerce to products or moving to an online customer data platform has catalyzed many businesses to finally start embracing digital. How will 2022 affect digital communications as more people and businesses move online? And what can businesses do to prepare for the future?
1. The future is mobile and it is already here
Businesses are starting to recognize how easy it is to connect with customers through mobile platforms and apps. While this trend has already existed in various industries and businesses, COVID-19 has accelerated the need for remote-friendly mobile communications between customers and businesses.
Sure, many people are online, but they spend a lot of mobile time using non-browser apps and messenger platforms. WhatsApp is currently the most preferred messenger platform worldwide.
As of March 2022, 1.2 billion monthly users were accessing WhatsApp, followed by Facebook Messenger (1 billion monthly users) and WeChat (1 billion monthly users).
So, businesses need to focus on understanding which mobile platforms their customers are using and finding ways to reach them on those platforms.
As fewer people visit brick-and-mortar stores, the use of online platforms for businesses will increase and so will the means of mobile communication. For businesses to reap the benefits of mobile communications, they need a fast and effective way to implement the systems they need to work. Businesses are looking for simple, plug-and-play solutions that allow customers to communicate, interact, and pay with as little hassle as possible. Cloud platforms that leverage communication channels and payment functions are leading the way in this regard.
2. Interactive messaging to build relationships
Messaging services are expected to become more popular in 2022. In the first half of 2021, 160 million messages were sent worldwide via the CM.com platform. 53% more than in the first half of 2019.
We found that the messages were richer and the interactions were enhanced. It’s a message, but it’s more like a conversation. Businesses love the quality of these personal interactive conversations with their customers.
Finding new customers has become more difficult as more people stay at home. In other words, floating populations are less effective at driving customer acquisition. This trend will certainly continue through 2022, making it even more important for businesses to recognize that they need to strengthen relationships and loyalty with existing customers. Interactive and personalized messaging is a great way to start.
3. Digitalization of business cards
With the popularity of paperless offices, the use of digital business cards by professionals has gradually become a trend.
The insights show that in the past three years, people in the workplace have extensively used “digital business cards” The number is still gradually expanding.
With the current situation, face-to-face meetings have declined. A large part of these meetings is now held through calls and videoconferences. This transformation has not only occurred for meetings. Even other events such as fairs are being done in digital format.
In this new environment, traditional paper cards are obsolete. You cannot give them to the client, since you are probably not even physically together. A digital business card is a solution, as it will allow you to easily share it using the QR code or by providing the link to the person of interest.
Apart from the name, surname, position, address, email, and telephone, a digital business card allows you to include many other types of content. Some examples of this are links to social networks, the curriculum, information about the work experience of the owner, etc.
In addition, if at any time any information changes (job title, address, telephone…) the update is immediate.
With the paper format, you would have to throw them all away and wait for them to print, or cross out and write the new data by hand, and ask for more updated ones.
You can easily create your digital business cards with a few clicks in just a few minutes through the Connectana app. Connectana is the most trusted platform for digital business cards and provides the best service with a highly secured and easy-to-use platform.
4. Artificial intelligence at the forefront
As businesses begin to communicate more with their customers to bolster loyalty, the benefits of automation will increase. This is another important digital communication trend to watch out for.
Artificial intelligence enables businesses to optimize operations quickly and effectively with the click of a simple button. Chatbots can be implemented to respond to queries, provide information, or preempt requests. AI-enabled communications foster innovative ways of doing business by using algorithms to spot patterns and respond in the best possible way.
As businesses seek more integrated systems to address their needs, they need to stay ahead of trends, optimize service delivery, and partner with technology providers who can deliver AI solutions in one convenient package.
5. Money has been digitized
When was the last time you exchanged real money with a business? Cash has almost completely disappeared from our lives and card payments have played a major role, but mobile payments are also gaining momentum. Stores have the option to pay by scanning QR codes, banks have started transferring money to mobile phone numbers, and online payments have become the new standard.
But, you also need to be vigilant about the risks associated with online trading. Cyberattacks are a real threat and their prevalence has increased with online payments. Educating customers and employees about data safety is key to the continued success of the system.
6. Voice Assist Technology
Home automation devices have significantly improved the quality and usefulness of speech recognition technology. This opens up opportunities for innovation in the space of traditional voice technology. You can now replace the old-fashioned duotone multi-frequency-based menu with a much more user-friendly voice-based chatbot. Can you imagine talking to a bot that automatically gives you the right answer or directs you to the right department without even realizing that you’re not talking to a person?
It has tremendous potential to increase customer satisfaction and reduce operating costs when implemented correctly.
6. Hybrid Approach
The pandemic has forced many people to work from home, transforming call centers into more like contact centers, and in some cases becoming the only point of contact for customers with stores. This development already took place before 2020, but it is now accelerating, making it a much more important touchpoint than ever before. To offload these ‘contact centers’, businesses must find other communication channels they can use to build relationships with their customers.
Businesses are starting to focus more and more on using hybrid models where people and machines work together more efficiently. This allows customers to benefit from both. People feel more empathy, while computers can get things done more effectively. Our ability to capitalize on the advantages of these two worlds will only get better next year.
GUARANTEED OPTIMAL EXPERIENCE
Organizations that take customer experience seriously will stand out from the noise and win loyal customers. There may be a lot of uncertainty surrounding early 2022, but one thing is certain. To deliver a positive experience, you need to know your customers better than ever. Customers today have more power and choice than ever before, so they are responsible for understanding and acknowledging their needs.
Once you know your customers well enough, you can use that knowledge to personalize every interaction and take advantage of these customer experiences and digital communication trends.
