As changes in technology have been increasing and improving the modes of communication in business-to-business and business-to-consumer relationships, retailers are increasingly utilizing apps and real-time chat services to make their customers’ shopping experiences easier and more enjoyable. These days it seems as if every business, from big corporations to small mom-and-pops, has an app to make ordering from a mobile device easier.
Inc.com’s Kim Boatman gave her two cents as to whether or not Web-based chat platforms are helpful or harmful to overall sales conversion. She wrote that it all comes down to how you use this technology; chat platforms and ordering apps only work if there is a human at the receiving end of the technology. Boatman believes technology in customer service works best when it connects people, not computers.
Here are a few businesses that are finding great success in adding video chat and mobile apps to connect with customers, further their marketing strategies and drive sales:
Service With a Smile
Customers who go through the participating Starbucks’ drive-thrus in Toronto (and a few participating Starbucks in the U.S.) can now expect a smiling barista on a video screen to replace the crackling, faceless PA system that used to ask for your order. Starbucks is using this technology to add value to their customer’s overall purchasing experience and make a more sincere connection with customers – and bringing chat software to a whole new level, as well.
Coffee Runs, Simplified
If you’re the guy who’s been elected to make coffee runs for the office, you are going to love TimmyRun. Talk about customer service: This brilliant, new and free app enables customers to submit their coffee orders online and have them ready for pickup. You pay online and and the app remembers and saves your specialty orders to your account. According to TorontoSun.com, coffee drinkers in the same office can enter their own orders and submit payment individually. You’ll never have to jot down a list of coffee orders ever again.
So App-etizing
Not to be outdone by the franchise competition, Detroit Style Pizza Co. in Detroit, Mich., has released an app that makes ordering pizza an easy and fun process. Developed by Revention, this free app enables customers to place orders and make easy payments for pickup or delivery through their mobile devices. The app automatically matches your order with any current offers and coupons, which saves you money. The app can be accessed through the company website or on Google Play and iTunes.
Whether you’re an at-home professional blogger, small business owner or CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation, utilizing technology to improve your conversion rates and increase customer satisfaction can help your team to focus more on the quality of the product that they’re selling and less on trying to amass more customers.