Why Should I Use Multiple Communication Channels ? (Thoughts from a Marketing Specialist and Consumer)

I recently began a seminar series over at the local community college talking about online marketing.  I’ve been working on websites and in the online marketing industry since 2003 and I’ve been working at GCS since July 2009.
There has been a monumental shift in marketing with the rise of both social media sites and mobile technologies.  The ways in which people communicate with each other have increased at a drastic rate. Remember when the only option was a telephone call or snail mail letter?  Now you can tweet your messages, post on someone’s wall, chat online or send an email.

In my seminar series (from a marketing perspective), one of my main arguments is that you can’t ignore the proliferation of tools people use to find information and communicate in this brave new technology world. So I advocate that people think very carefully about which online tools to utilize (and believe me, you need to utilize more than a website).

It makes sense to utilize numerous communication and information channels to spread information about your company, services and products when there are a million different ways in which people are consuming information. From your website to email, to facebook, twitter, linkedin and mobile apps…Putting information in more than one place (!) increases your reach.[/typography]

 

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All of that being said (and now as a consumer), there are still times I want to pick up the phone and talk to a real human being.  In this respect….make it easy for me to get in touch with you!  There is nothing more irritating that having to SEARCH for a way to get in touch with someone at a company. You should always strive to provide more than one communication channel to suit the needs of your customers.  Since there are so many technologies available, providing an email address, phone number and social media outlet will give your customers multiple opportunities to contact you with questions and concerns.

Thanks! Now that I’ve been able to get in touch with someone at your company in less than 2 minutes to resolve my question… I am a happy customer.

And here’s one example of how a contact center might utilize multiple communication channels with their customers.

Tweet me @_GCS_!

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