BUSINESS AND TRAINING
51
Customer service
Poor customer service is costing companies billions.
By BrandChat
Pete Matthaei, BrandChat director and co-founder, says
the best way of improving customer service is by being
immediately accessible via instant messaging platforms.
“Companies should realise the true impact of bad
customer service and its effect on customer loyalty and
satisfaction,” he says.
BrandChat is a platform designed to allow businesses
and their customers to interact with each other on
a personal level. It integrates multiple messaging
platforms, including WeChat, Facebook, Telegram, and
Kik, allowing the end user to interact with a number of
businesses via a preferred platform.
“Imagine being able to open your favourite chat app like
Facebook Messenger or WeChat and starting a customer
support conversation with the business right there. No
hold times, no transfers, and it uses little or no airtime,”
he explains.
A number of prominent businesses are already active on
the platform, with rapidly growing communities. These
include Standard Bank, Zando, News 24, eNCA, and
OrderIn, among many others.
Matthaei says it is crucial that businesses effectively
respond to customers when they do complain.
“Customers can be very demanding but, with an
effective response, it is still possible to obtain a more
loyal customer afterwards than you had before they
experienced the problem.”
BrandChat has built a unified dashboard that allows
businesses to create and manage a bot as well as do
their customer support across all supported chat apps
in one place. It has also developed tools that enable
businesses to create engaging additional content inside
chat apps. This could include broadcasting special offers
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
Bad customer service can be detrimental to one’s
business. Modern consumers are reluctant to do
business with companies that offer poor customer
service. This could include automated self-service,
long wait times, poor attention, and inexperienced
agents. In contrast, successful innovative
businesses are competing to deliver superior
customer service experiences.
or the latest news, or even getting feedback via polls
and surveys.
Poor customer service
can be bad for business.
“Consumers can enquire about products and even chat
about any brand-related topic instantly and seamlessly, just
like chatting to a friend on a chat platform,” says Matthaei.
Since its inception in 2015, BrandChat has managed
to attract 1.9 million users and it will continue to grow
as it expands its capabilities. The platform will soon
integrate with WhatsApp. “We want to make it as simple
and natural to get in touch with a business as it is to
get in touch with friends. Starting a chat is quicker than
downloading an app, more immediate and cheaper than
making a phone call, and simpler than figuring out a
complex website,” he says.
“The service includes an ability to create and manage
chatbots on the integrated platforms. More messaging
platforms will be added as they open up API access to
commercial accounts,” he concludes. PA
The best way
of improving
customer service
is by being
immediately
accessible via
instant messaging
platforms.
January 2018 Volume 23 I Number 11