For Better Customer Service, Businesses Are Texting. Are You Ready?

12.11.2023 - 03:33 / forbes.com

Sangam Sahai never imagined he'd be texting his travel insurance company. But after his father, Raghunath, fell and broke his pelvis while visiting him in Austin, Raghunath found himself sending messages to Hop Travel.

There were questions about his father's treatment, handled quickly through WhatsApp. And there were claim forms, all done via text, too.

"The experience was very pleasant," says Sahai, a software engineer. "The customer representatives were smart, willing to help and nice to talk to. Usually, this quality of customer service is hard to find."

Technology is making it a little easier, according to Hop Travel.

"Picture a world where travelers no longer need to wade through a sea of paperwork, wait in long queues, or navigate complex insurance claims processes," says PK Rao, CEO of Hop Travel. "This is the exciting landscape we are entering."

We're at the beginning of the texting revolution in customer service, according to the latest research. According to a study by CMP Research, only 19% of customer contact organizations use fully automated texting to help customers self-serve, while 69% of organizations plan to increase investment in automated self-service by the end of 2025.

"Texting is an underrepresented customer service channel across many organizations," says Mario Matulich, president of CMP.

Texting has applications far beyond travel insurance. Many businesses have embraced text messaging and are developing innovative new ways to help customers. Artificial intelligence is enabling some of these new applications, but so is human ingenuity.

It's not just happening in travel insurance. Companies are shifting their customer communication to text in ways that would have been hard to imagine just a few months ago.

Texting is far more efficient as a means of communication than phone calls or even email. Consider a company like Flying Angels, which needs to be able to communicate with clients around the world when it handles medical evacuation. Its preferred platform is also WhatsApp, since it's widely adopted around the world.

"We use text messages to provide updates, reminders, or time-sensitive information, ensuring that our customers receive important messages promptly," says Bob Bacheler, the company's managing director.

Texting was just another form of customer communication — until the AI revolution that began in earnest this year.

"AI-chatbot technology allows companies to capture data and respond to text messages instantaneously, without the need to employ specialized staff," explains communications specialist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj. "Customers are able to communicate with companies and get immediate and detailed responses without the delay that usually plagued both call centers