Instant messaging or IM refers to direct online chat between customers and businesses to provide real-time communication message communication over the internet. Instant messaging is critical in business communication and it does wonder as opposed to other communication mediums. But instant messaging in business communication has evolved greatly.
Instant messaging is just like a marketing tactic that helps in automating most of the communication within an organization – and marketing automation can improve your business. Thus, it has become more advanced due to the cutting-edge technology in the last few years.
Is It Worth Investing in Instant Messaging?
As instant messaging is progressing at a quick pace, it’s being used for various different purposes in business communication. But what does instant messaging involve? Instant messaging involves the use of chatbots so that their customers can get more responsive replies to their never-ending queries. Many business owners and entrepreneurs running online businesses are considering using chatbots or tools for instant messaging in business activities. At the workplace, it can increase productivity and customer service in general.
The Radicati Group reported that:
The number of instant messaging accounts is more than 7 billion. However, this figure is expected to increase with a margin of 6% in the upcoming 4 years. By the end of the year 2023, there would be about 8.9 billion instant messaging accounts.
It is estimated that by the year 2020, the number of smartphone users will reach 6.1 billion and having a smartphone means you can use instant messaging apps for business communication too.
5 Reasons Instant Messaging is Critical for Business
Here are the 5 relevant reasons why instant messaging is critical in business communication and why it has been an integral part of business communication for more than 30 years.
- Cost Savings
Without any doubt, instant messaging for work is by far the most cost-efficient way of communicating with your customers, consumers as well as your employees. Instant messaging work for business communication cuts down the cost in half. Recently, it was revealed that the cost of bad communication reached $37 billion by frequent disconnections.
Fortune companies that have international chains and partners situated in far off places can use instant messaging efficiently and help the company to save their business fortune or business treasure. With an efficient solution for business communication for work, the business partners can schedule meetings, share and conduct presentations, receive or send messages through the communication apps without having to leave the workplace or the premises.
- Improved Communication
Another good reason to use instant messaging for business communication is that it readily improves real-time text communication between employers, employees, co-workers and even the customers.
Through instant messaging, colleagues, business partners and even the consumers can keep in touch with each other and discuss their issues and risen problems with their providers, employers, and colleagues in real-time. Instant messaging for business communication is integral during business operations. For instance, a manager can work remotely and use instant messaging tools to guide his employees.
- Enhanced Customer Service
A good customer service is another reason why a business should consider instant messaging in business communication. It is important to note that customer service can either make your business or break it. Bad customer service can be a vital reason for the downfall of your company.
Moreover, the customers can also get the attention and feedback from the manager in a short time. Hence, customer experience is improved which ultimately improves the customer service of a business entity. Instant messaging for business communication means quick replies to the queries and quick replies mean excellent customer service.
- Fewer Interruptions
Many businesses use instant messaging tools and chatbots to replace human-to-human communication, phone calls, emails, and meetings. These factors can sometimes increase the communication gaps and can also cause disruptions and interruptions in business communication. Instant messaging for work allows efficient multi-tasking and gives us the leverage to conduct real-time text communication with customers, employers, employees, and colleagues.
Thanks to instant messaging work, internal business affairs can be carried out without interruptions and disruptions as the workers won’t have to halt their current activities or tasks.
- Helpful in Case of Emergencies
Instant messaging applications for business communication can be used for quick information sharing. Through instant messaging for work, you can send the entire chunk of information to the entire company in case of any urgency or emergency. There are many events where networks and mail networks’ servers can be down, but instant messaging work works normally in all emergencies.
Bottom Line
Instant messaging, in general, does not only improve real-time internal business communication but also improves the customer service of a business. A lot of business’s systems entail of instant messaging tools and in the coming future, instant messaging work will encompass human communication completely