Phone-based communication used by many businesses is traditional but outdated. More often than not, voicemail can be a waste of time: calling someone back and leaving messages if they are not available can turn into a game of phone tag that leads nowhere fast. IVR does work up to a point; however, it is frustrating to not find an option that corresponds with your specific issue.
Plus, no one enjoys being put on hold indefinitely if they wish to talk to an actual person.
Why stay with these outmoded and rather painful ways of doing business when we live in the time of AI?
The case for text-based communication
When offered an intelligent, warm, prompt, and precise platform to interact with, people welcome it with open arms. TrueLark’s text responses to customer queries accomplish just that.
It has been observed that people will naturally gravitate towards or adapt to texting businesses for their routine requirements. After all, texting is super easy and a part of their regular smartphone habits. No logging in or downloading an app is required. There are no additional hoops to jump through.
According to a recent survey by Open Market, young people have a marked preference for texts because of their convenience, along with a remarkably low affinity towards voicemails and calls. 63% find them less disruptive than a phone call. 90% of people open a text within three minutes of receiving it. Neither email nor voicemail carries such impressive stats. The response rate for texts is 45%, while that of emails is 6%.
What’s more, people respond to a text message within 90 seconds of receiving it versus 90 minutes for email! When it comes to instant communication and connection, texting is unmatched.
Millennials, in particular, gravitate towards companies that send them reminders, offers, product info, notifications, or surveys via text.
The TrueLark Solution
TrueLark offers AI to businesses as a primary, intelligent, and automated means of communicating with their clientele. TrueLark’s platform for text-based responses can handle the everyday stuff consumers are looking for, such as general information regarding products and services, appointment schedules, and holidays. It addresses the nitty-gritty stuff via texts, saving the big and complex questions for humans.
Moreover, TrueLark’s AI-based platform catches all the calls your staff cannot attend to when busy. The platform helps cut down on voicemail backlogs big time. Any issues the AI system cannot resolve, such as, for instance, finding out whether a customer forgot her sunglasses at your venue, can be shifted to a human staffer.
For more complex issues or voicemails, the gist is conveyed to the business owner and business units for a staff member to address in person. The system learns by itself all the time to become more intuitive and better at engaging leads “in the moment.”
Capture rescue revenue
In addition, TrueLark’s instant texting feature helps you capture that elusive “rescue revenue” that is subject to the vagaries of cancellations and rebookings. When you embrace AI for business and texting as a medium for instant communication with your customers, your special attention can be reserved for the aspects that require the indispensable human touch.
AI-led communication is a winner not just by catching missed calls but taking the heat off human staffers, more efficient distribution of work. Schedule a demo to learn more.
