Chapter 02

Make every touchpoint engaging

Engaged customers are loyal customers. When someone regularly opens and interacts with marketing messages, it shows your digital communications are hitting the mark.

Engaging messages build connections one interaction at a time. They are memorable touchpoints with your brand that increase the likelihood your business will be top of mind when decision time arrives. Marketing messages delivered on the right channel at the right time support a lasting relationship that enhances the customer experience.

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Engaging customer experiences across communication channels

Digital customer communications are essential to an engaging experience. But attention isn’t given – it’s earned. Experts from Sinch weigh in on how to maximize your marketing efforts with promotional campaigns that can’t be ignored.

The state of customer communications - Pillar 1: Engaged

What channels do consumers prefer for promotions?

Our global survey of consumers asked people to select up to three channels on which they’d like to receive promotions from brands.

The tried-and-true channel of email came out on top at nearly 77%. However, email marketing has some company.

More than 30% of consumers want promotional text messages. Other messaging channels such as WhatsApp and Messenger as well as in-app messages are becoming more common for promotional communication. Your company needs to find the right multichannel mix for your customer base.

Engaging with consumers globally

Where your customers live and work may influence the ways in which they want to engage with brands. A good example of this includes countries where over-the-top (OTT) messaging channels like WhatsApp are popular.

We filtered results from the previous question to include only survey respondents from countries considered “core regions” for WhatsApp users:

• India
• Brazil
• U.K.
• Germany
• Mexico
• Singapore
• Spain

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Nearly 30% of these respondents selected “Other messaging apps” as a preferred option for promotions. That compares to just over 3% of U.S. consumers in our survey. But keep in mind – WhatsApp usage in the United States is growing.

Get more insights on how to connect globally and communicate locally in our free guide.

41%

of Generation Z consumers want promotional text messages.

28%

of millennials and Gen Z want promotions on messaging apps like WhatsApp.

5.5%

of baby boomers want phone calls – the lowest of all generations.

80%

of baby boomers want promotional emails – the highest of all generations.

Different channels for different generations

The age of your target audience could also be crucial to an effective marketing communication strategy.

Generation Z, the digital natives, were most likely to choose text messaging (41%). But Gen Z and millennials were equally as likely to select other messaging channels like WhatsApp or Messenger (28%).

Just don’t make assumptions. Baby boomers (29%) were a bit more likely than Generation X (26%) to choose text messaging, and both groups of older adults were the least likely to want promotional phone calls. 

Promotional messaging pain points

It’s clear that, at 41%, frequent or excessive marketing messages are what frustrate consumers the most. But that’s not the only way you could be aggravating your customers with promotional messaging.

Around one-third or more also cited unwanted and irrelevant messages as promotional pain points. More than a quarter have problems with deceptive and repetitive offers. The message to brands is clear…

If you want consumers to engage, don’t be annoying. Be respectful, helpful, and add value with your marketing.

58%

Free shipping offers

51%

Price drop promotions

43%

Loyalty/rewards points

41%

Coupon codes

41%

Buy one get one free

40%

Percentage off discount

What kinds of promotions get consumers engaged?

Our survey asked consumers to rate how interesting they viewed a variety of typical promotional offers. Is receiving a coupon code more engaging than a buy one get one free (BOGO) offer? Turns out – they tied.

We’ve highlighted the six types of promotions Sinch’s consumer research revealed to be viewed as “very interesting.”

Free gifts with purchases and exclusive access to new products and features were seen as significantly less interesting than free shipping and price drops.

What makes mobile messaging promotions engaging?

While mobile messaging has traditionally been used for conversations with family and friends, it’s proved very useful for informational messages from businesses. Now, more brands are turning to texting to deliver personalized, relevant, and timely promotions to consumers.

Our survey found consumers chose these four factors as the top ways to provide value with promotional texts:

36% say they want real-time updates on price and availability.

27% want to receive relevant product recommendations via text.

24% want the ability to ask questions about promotions they receive in a texting or messaging app.

18% say they want to shop or customize product options from within the texting or messaging app.

Expectations for personalization

Perhaps the most effective way to make a promotion more relevant and engaging is through personalization. Separate research from McKinsey & Co. found more than 70% of consumers expect personalization from brands.

But consumers also expect more than just their name in a text message or email subject line. They want a truly personalized promotional experience.

That’s why more than 42% expect promotions to be personalized based on their preferences. Another 29% expect brands to use purchase history for more relevant promotions.

Keep in mind, nearly 25% of consumers claim they’d prefer not to receive personalized marketing messages.

“Ultimately, what you want to do is make sure you deliver a very personalized experience to your customers, and you’re able to convert that demand on whatever digital communication channels you’re using. Retailers, for example, should consider developing personalized experiences with RCS. I think what’s most impactful is we’re seeing that increases in conversion rates with RCS for business are huge.”
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Jonathan Bean CMO, Sinch

Adding value with personalization

Understanding how consumers benefit from personalized communications reveals ways to deliver more engaging campaigns.

Sinch’s research found nearly 54% of consumers view personalized rewards/loyalty messages as the most valuable. These communications are personal by nature as they relate directly to what a customer stands to gain.

Many consumers also chose helpful content personalized to their needs (28%), purchase recommendations based on preferences (24%), and personalized product guidance (23%).

Bottom line? Engaging messages are about much more than inserting a customer’s name. Personalization provides value when it has a purpose.

Engaged

Mobile message showdown

When a marketing message arrives in a customer’s native mobile inbox, what type of communication are they likely to find most engaging? We asked survey participants to choose between three different abandoned cart texts:

1. A basic SMS text
2. An MMS message with a product image
3. An RCS message with branding, imagery, and interactivity

The RCS abandoned cart message with call-to-action buttons and branding was the winner with 54% of consumers choosing it as the message they found to be most engaging. The ability to make (or complete) purchases within a customer’s native messaging application is just one of many ways that RCS is poised to transform digital customer communications. 

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Engaged retail

The power to choose the right channel

Sinch’s research shows consumers want the ability to select their preferred communication channel when they opt in to receive promotions from retailers.

In addition to the nearly 58% who want to pick the best channel for retail promotions, 1 in 10 consumers also want to be able to choose more than one channel.

The most successful brands know that delivering marketing messages to their customers’ preferred channels greatly increases the likelihood they’ll engage with what you’re sending.

Engaging with artificial intelligence in retail

While nearly 40% of consumers in this survey indicated they might be uncomfortable discussing their personal preferences with an AI-powered chatbot, they seemed open to the idea of personalized recommendations.

A combined 42% thought AI recommendations would be at least somewhat helpful. Another 29% believe it would be helpful as long as the recommendations made sense.

All together – that’s more than 70% who are willing to interact with an AI shopping assistant built for retail.

Engaging with artificial intelligence in healthcare

While 35% of people would feel comfortable engaging with an AI chatbot from a healthcare provider, 40% are not comfortable, and 25% are unsure.

Our study found these are the main reasons why people hesitate to engage with AI in healthcare:

1. Don’t trust accuracy (64%)
2. Feels too impersonal (43%)
3. Worried about privacy (40%)

Engaging with artificial intelligence in financial services

Consumers had a similar reaction to the concept of engaging with an AI chatbot from their financial institution or a personal finance brand.

While 36% would be comfortable receiving financial advice from an AI-powered chatbot, 43% would not and around 21% are unsure.

However, consumer opinions on AI are changing quickly as these interactions increasingly become a normal part of everyday life.

Engaged healthcare

Personalized guidance

Healthcare companies need to keep patients and customers engaged in between appointments with providers and specialists.

Nearly half of consumers expect those communications to be personalized to their own situations and healthcare needs.

Around one third said they only want personalized advice delivered via healthcare communications if it is specifically requested.

41%

Email newsletter content

32%

In-app messages

23%

Quick tips via text or messaging apps

18%

Webinars and/or interactive quizzes

Engaged financial services

Delivering advice

Just like in healthcare, nearly half of consumers want financial brands to deliver personalized communications based on their situations and needs. But what are the best ways to engage with customers and provide that guidance?

According to our survey, 41% of people want advice from content in email newsletters. However, around one-third want in-app messages, and 23% would choose quick tips delivered via text or other messaging application.

Nearly 18% are interested in webinars or interactive quizzes that help educate them on personal finances.

Learn how Courir achieved 137% ROI with RCS

Customer Story

Engaging shoe shoppers with RCS campaigns

European footwear retailer, Courir, has tested all sorts of mobile marketing campaigns. They’ve achieved some of their best results using RCS.

Watch the video to see how this brand’s digital communication strategy evolved from basic SMS to a much richer experience. That promotional text message transformation led to a 137% ROI thanks to a more engaging experience.

Ready to tackle communications challenges and seize opportunities?

Personalized messaging

Sinch Engage makes it easy to deliver multichannel messaging campaigns that can’t be ignored.

Boost your tech stack with native messaging integrations with software like Salesforce, HubSpot, and Shopify.

Sinch Engage empowers marketing, sales, support, and even internal communications.
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Email marketing

Need an email service provider (ESP) built to deliver engaging inbox experiences?

Sinch Mailjet helps senders deliver beautiful email campaigns. Plus, it also comes with powerful tools.

Take advantage of Mailjet’s Brand Kit, an AI assistant, easy personalization, and much more.
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DIY customer engagement

Want to build your own solution to engage customers and prospects?

Sinch’s Conversation API is easy to integrate, optimized for multiple messaging channels, and enables two-way communication with customers.
Build stronger relationships and a better mobile experience.
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What’s next for digital customer communications? Chapter 01 What’s next for digital customer communications? Master informational customer communications Chapter 03 Master informational customer communications