All About Digital Customer Communication and Why It Matters

What Are The Common Methods Of Digital Communication?

The term ‘communication’ here can seem ambiguous since there isn’t a digital medium that’s explicitly referred to. There are a handful of mediums, though, that are typically used to communicate with customers.

Let’s dive into some of the most noteworthy ways that brands interact with their customers in a digital-first model.

1. Text Messages

Most brands take advantage of the opportunity to utilize texting as a form of digital communication with their customers. This is often presented to them as a way to stay updated on the latest offers and promotions form your company.

Although it seems simple in concept, it can be notably difficult to optimize the texts you send to your customers.

There’s a large handful of information that comes into play when deciding the contents of the message, its call to action, and the time at which you send it.

For example, if your target demographic includes a broad range of ages, you shouldn’t expect to get the same result from a 60-year-old as you would someone who just turned 21.

Factors to take into consideration include:

• Age
• Hobbies/interests
• Daily schedule (including what time they wake up/go to sleep)

In order to send a text that’s likely to make a conversion, you’ll need to send one that isn’t during the middle of their daily obligations, but also isn’t too late at night. In general, somewhere between 8 AM and 9 PM should suffice.

It’s also important to note that texting as digital customer communication works best when the CTA induces a sense of urgency. So, it’s much better to say something along the lines of ‘Our 50% off sale ends tomorrow night!’ as opposed to informing your audience that it ends in two weeks.

2. Email

Email marketing is a solid digital customer communication method. It has so much potential for businesses that there are entire courses and guides on how to write the perfect email for your audience. In general, though, a solid email can be broken down into having a few key attributes:

• A strong headline
• Some form of personalization
• Brevity
• Appropriate timing

The headline is arguably the most important, as many of your recipients won’t get to see the rest of your message if the headline doesn’t capture their attention.

Part of establishing strong communication though email is the aforementioned attribute of personalization. This means including something about your customer (name, purchase history, etc.) in a way that implies the email was created just for them.

A solid headline for an email sent by an athletic apparel company could be ‘Hey Rachel, We Picked out Some Jackets You May Like.’ This accomplishes two tasks:

• It refers to the recipient by name in a friendly, familiar way
• It acknowledges their past behavior (such as purchase history or items left in an online cart)

So, the email immediately gives off the impression that it’s meant specifically for them and isn’t one of thousands.

3. Chat Messages

Although there will always be a fear of automation, incorporating chatbots on your company’s website is a reliable digital communication method to help customers find what they’re looking for. It can also answer their questions before they need to ask them.

A key point to remember, though, is that these messages should not be overly intrusive. It’s all too common that someone visits a business website and is bombarded by multiple automated messages (often accompanied by a notification tone).

This can easily be overwhelming to visitors and deter people from visiting your site in the future.

Instead, you should incorporate chat messages that are triggered when a visitor takes a specific action. Common scenarios include:

• When someone spends a certain amount of time on a single page
• When they navigate toward the ‘back’ button
• When they scroll far enough down
• When they first arrive to the site

Messages that appear when someone first accesses your website should be kept brief, though. A simple welcome message that introduces the brand is often enough, accompanied by a reminder that visitors can use the chat feature to learn more information.