Despite the importance that digital communication plays within any organisation, many companies battle to implement and manage their workflows. Before the advent of automated tools, digital communication was typically managed by different departments. It was typically not a cohesive, streamlined process that incorporated all areas of communication. The problem with this lack of cohesion is that it becomes harder to manage communication as a whole within the organisation. Every year, technology evolves. Tools such as automated communications platforms have paved the way for new and improved ways to manage customer-facing interactions at every level.

With that said, many companies have not embraced the era of digital. For those companies, trying to put digital communication plans into place can be extremely challenging. In this guide, we share some of the biggest challenges that may arise and show you how a complete solution can navigate these challenges.

Digital communication takes three primary areas in the workplace. These include marketing, customer service, and IT. Each focus area needs to be managed effectively to provide the best experience for customers. When managed alone, it becomes far harder to ensure a positive customer experience. It also becomes harder to streamline processes. This results in higher costs and wasted time. Here are some of the challenges that may arise without a unified solution.

Marketing

Although marketing is generally seen as a client-facing focus area, it also affects your business on other levels. Without a cohesive marketing system in place, it becomes harder for your sales team to their job. It also becomes harder for other internal teams to deliver results. Challenges that often arise from poorly planned communications include:‍

No omnichannel approach

‍One of the biggest challenges is a lack of omnichannel marketing. Trying to plan and implement campaigns across separate channels, without any automation in place is a recipe for failure. The omnichannel model takes all areas of marketing into account. Instead of seeing each channel as a separate vehicle for conversion and engagement, omnichannel strategies look at the bigger picture. This approach provides a fully integrated, streamlined experience for the customer at every stage of their journey. Without an omnichannel strategy in place, you will battle to reach customers at every level.  

Lack of goals and planning

Another common challenge lies in a lack of planning. Poor planning leads to poor results. Goals include both macro and micro goals. They could be focused on sales or enquiries through lead forms. You could be aiming at bringing in new leads or converting leads that have not yet gotten to the end of the funnel. You could be looking at ways to bring back old customers. You may be aiming to develop a customer retention plan. If you are not planning around these goals, you will struggle. A digital communications partner such as Grapevine simplifies this process. By helping to navigate the complexity of digital communications, you will be able to plan, create and implement effective, impactful campaigns based on your specific goals and needs.  

‍Poor onboarding processes

‍Failure to onboard any new strategies and tools can be disastrous. Your marketing and sales teams need to be able to make use of your tools. Tools need to be adopted on a company-wide basis. When you have your marketing managers making use of your automation tools, while other employees are still using older tools or manual processes, you are going to have problems. Onboarding involves training as well as planning. Don't expect your teams to suddenly become experts in using your tools within a day or two. It is a process and one that requires patience and commitment. Failing to take the time and effort will lead to disjointed results that can drastically affect customer experience and not in a good way.

Customer Service

Common challenges in customer service include the following:

‍Lack of cohesion

‍Customers today have high expectations. In the competitive digital world, customers expect to get good service. Good service should be seen as the absolute minimum you can offer – not something that sets you apart from competitors. Without an automated system in place that manages all areas of customer service from a single platform, it will be very difficult to provide a cohesive experience to your customers.

One-size-fits-all approach

‍Likewise, you will struggle if you do not have a personalised approach in place. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach in customer service. What works for one business will not work for every other business. You need to be able to use the channels your customers want. You need to be able to provide help through personalised support options such as USSD, live chat, email, SMS, and various other channels.

‍Limited workflows

‍Poor or limited workflows are another challenge that many organisations face. Once again, this is where a digital communications platform helps. Grapevine provides tailored communication workflow solutions that improve the customer experience significantly. The more easily you can take customers through complaints or any other support issues, the more chance you have of keeping your customers. If you do not have a proper workflow in place, you have the risk of losing customers through disjointed support and lack of communication between support agents.

IT

IT plays a big role in your communications processes as well. Although it may not seem like a big part of how you communicate with your customers, it provides the tools needed for communication. A big challenge that you may face without an integrated IT approach is:

‍Poorly integrated systems

Once again, this is where an automated solution becomes invaluable. Poorly integrated systems form a major hurdle in all areas of business. It becomes difficult or even impossible to manage digital systems, whether these include automated billing tools, marketing tools, customer support tools, or any other tools you are using. Without integration, chaos reigns. You will also need to ensure that your systems are secure. API and other tools need to be included to get the most from your IT systems. Grapevine offers technical and strategical expertise that helps navigate these challenges, helping your IT team in the process.

As a trusted company with extensive experience in the digital space, Grapevine Interactive helps organisations get the best results. Contact us today to find out how our digital communication solutions help you meet the challenges of digital communications more effectively.