TouchCommerce Announces TouchSMS to Offer Brands Personalized Engagement with Consumers On-the-Go
Agoura Hills, Calif. (PRWEB) February 23, 2016 -- TouchCommerce, the innovative leader in omni-channel customer engagement solutions for market leading brands, announced today its newest product, TouchSMS, which leverages native text messaging (SMS) capabilities on the mobile phone to engage consumers for timely and personalized interactions with brands. With TouchSMS, enterprises are now able to offer customers a way to hold time- and location-sensitive conversations with the brand using two-way text messaging. TouchSMS also adds personalized engagement options for consumers who may have a slow or limited Internet connection -- for example, at a busy airport or convention center, or while traveling abroad -- where using SMS may be more practical than mobile data to resolve an issue or obtain additional information.
According to Forrester Research,* 77 percent of U.S. online consumers who use a cell phone send or receive text messages at least monthly or more. Also, Moto Message reports that 50 percent of U.S. consumers make direct purchases after receiving an SMS from a brand. This confirms that offering SMS as a communication channel can be very lucrative for a business. Many enterprises provide one-way SMS notifications, but few offer a way to hold a two-way SMS conversation with a live representative. The purpose of TouchSMS is to enable enterprises to utilize the capacity of text messaging as a two-way conversation channel for customers, making communication more convenient and personalized.
"The simplicity and immediacy of text messaging are key for today's always-on consumers and the businesses that serve them," said Bernard Louvat, president and CEO of TouchCommerce. "TouchSMS allows enterprises to communicate with customers regardless of their location and Internet connection quality. The ubiquity of SMS makes it a critical channel for enterprises offering personalized, real-time engagement. Deepening this connection will ultimately increase conversion and customer satisfaction."
With TouchSMS, enterprises can invite consumers from an offline/offsite medium to a conversation "on-the-go." Engagements through TouchSMS take place in a secure, private environment so that customers can send and receive sensitive information. In addition, TouchSMS enables conversations between the brand and the consumer to continue within the same intuitive channel, keeping the history of the engagement right at the consumer's fingertips. TouchSMS may be used to improve sales conversions with promotional messages to which consumers can respond, as well as inquire about a product, refill orders, etc. In customer service scenarios, TouchSMS may be used for getting assistance with checking an order status, scheduling or changing appointments, finding a store location, checking balances and due dates, and resetting passwords.
"The pervasiveness and familiarity of text messaging makes it an ideal channel to win, serve, and retain customers who require assistance from a contact center agent," writes Art Schoeller, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research in a report titled, Weave Support For Text Chat Into Your Omnichannel Customer Service Strategy, published on September 1, 2015.* "Text messaging is native to all mobile devices today and consumers are already experienced in its use. It’s an effective channel to meet them 'where they already are.'"
TouchSMS is now commercially available. For more information, please visit http://www.touchcommerce/TouchSMS.
About TouchCommerce:
TouchCommerce provides market leading brands with award-winning omni-channel solutions to engage their customers on any device through online chat, guides, personalized content, and other automated tools, resulting in enhanced customer experience, increased revenue and reduced support costs. For more information, please visit http://www.touchcommerce.com. Connect with TouchCommerce on Twitter (@touchcommerce) and LinkedIn.
Natasha Grach, TouchCommerce, http://www.touchcommerce.com, +1 818-575-2104, [email protected]
Share this article