With the age of digital media alive and growing, many landscaping companies are looking at different messaging platform possibilities they can utilize in their daily work.
It’s true that the methods companies use to communicate with customers have continually evolved since the invention of the telephone, but today, companies are using methods such as emails, texting, and social media to talk with clients.
According to Quiq, research shows that consumer services have begun using text messages more to communicate with their customers. The company states that since utilizing the messaging platform Quiq Messaging, it has seen the landscaping company Green Drop Ltd. receive upwards of 2K in inbound messages a month from their customers.
This, Quiq says, makes sense because information gathered from Quiq has shown that 66 percent of consumers prefer messaging over making a phone call.
To find out more about Quiq Messaging, take a look at what the platform’s CEO and founder has to say about its beginnings and potential.
What is it?
The idea for Quiq was formed one day when owner and CEO Mike Myer needed to communicate with a company but didn’t necessarily want to email or call them. He wanted the ability to chat with them on his cellphone, but he realized that wasn’t an option. Thus, the idea for Quiq was born.
“We all live connected lifestyles and we are on our phone and mobile devices constantly,” said Danielle Wanderer, CMO with Quiq. “Consumers are also connected and want to engage with companies at their moment of need. That typically means with their mobile phone. We are all incredibly busy, so we don’t have time to stop and make a call, but we want to interact with a company. Why not start a conversation that is always active, where the consumer can stop or start it based on their schedule? That is what we offer and that is what consumers love.”
Quiq says by shifting from higher cost phone calls to lower cost messaging, companies will be able to save significantly.
“At Quiq, our focus is on improving the way customers communicate with companies,” Quiq’s website states. “We believe mobile message-driven communications will replace a significant portion of the traditional phone and email interactions.”
The platform says it supports messaging options such as SMS/text messaging, Facebook Messenger, Kik and web chat. It can also be purchased as a stand-alone customer channel or companies can use a pre-built CRM integration, including Oracle, Salesforce or Zendesk.
“Our solution makes it easy for customers to contact a business via messaging, the preferred channel already in use with their friends and family,” Quiq’s website states. “Because messaging is so convenient and easy for consumers, the customer satisfaction scores are higher than for any other channel.”
Will it benefit my company?
Josh Noddin, general manager of Green Drop Ltd., says he uses Quiq to communicate with customers through all of the aforementioned messaging channels, which he says provides customers with simple communication methods that can be utilized at their convenience.
“We want it to be easy for our customers to communicate and contact us using their preferred method of communication,” said Noddin. “Quiq helps us to manage these options by putting them all in one easy-to-use platform, helping us to manage and ensure these communications are seamless.”
The biggest benefit Noddin says Quiq provides is that the variety of communication options available allows less “channel switching” to manage all of the platforms. Quiq allows users to respond to and view all platforms from one centralized location.
In regards to the 66 percent of consumers preferring to text instead of call, Noddin agrees that this seems to be the case for his company.
“It is easy to text,” he said. “Even the most un-tech savvy people can send a text because everyone’s phone is capable of texting. It’s relatively cheap, it doesn’t need a data provision and is often included in packages.”
How do you use it?
When it comes to either changing over to a new method of messaging or creating a system from the ground up, many companies are hesitant to deal with the possible learning curve associated with new technology.
This, Noddin says, isn’t the case with Quiq.
“It is super easy to use,” he said. “The platform is interactive. If a customer can text, uses Facebook or other apps already, they don’t even know that are using Quiq.”
Like with any messaging system, Noddin says there are costs involved with setting up and using Quiq, but based on your company’s usage and integration, the cost can vary. As a larger company, Noddin says his company was spending more on multiple platforms than they do now with Quiq, but the major change is that everything is located on one single platform.
For smaller or start-up businesses, Noddin recommends jumping in head first and investing in Quiq “right out of the gate.”
With technology being as prevalent and necessary as it is to the upcoming generation, Noddin agrees that a landscaping company utilizing Quiq could be a draw for younger people, both as consumers and workers.
“In this day and age, there are multiple (communication) avenues and customers expect to be able to reach out to businesses whenever the thought or need arises,” he said. “Quiq allows all these communication channels to flow through one platform so you can concentrate on communicating with your customers.”
To find out more about Quiq Messaging, take a look at the video below.