Everybody’s shifting to multichannel comms as of late. Companies acknowledge that when help is simple and handy, it builds higher buyer relationships.

In our 2025 CX Tendencies Report, 69% of businesses acknowledged that they plan so as to add or combine extra communication channels into their buyer expertise. Most popular channels embrace social media, stay chat, and, surprisingly, bodily shops.

On this article, we clarify multichannel communications, the totally different channels your enterprise ought to deal with, and how you can construct a method that drives engagement and buyer loyalty.

What’s Multichannel Communication?

Multichannel communication is all about connecting with prospects throughout a number of channels to allow them to work together with your enterprise by means of their most well-liked channels. 

The concept is straightforward: Meet prospects the place they’re, when they need, and the way they need. That is particularly essential as a result of totally different audiences want totally different channels, and by being obtainable on a number of channels, you develop into simply accessible to your entire prospects.

Why You Want Multichannel Communications

The common buyer journey spans a number of channels. An individual may scroll by means of social media for evaluations, DM your group to test product availability, and name your help line after they want a refund. 

Multichannel communications allow you to join with prospects in a approach that addresses their “in-the-moment” wants and feelings. Listed below are some extra causes to double down on a multichannel strategy:

• Meet prospects on their most well-liked channels: As prospects use totally different customer support channels relying on their wants, a multichannel communications technique ensures you’re obtainable wherever they anticipate you.
• Improves effectivity and productiveness: Dealing with requests throughout a number of channels in a structured approach lets groups reply quicker and reduces duplicated work. Apart from, most multichannel communication software program provides you AI-enabled buyer journey mapping to additional personalize your interactions.
• Will increase buyer engagement: Offering a number of customer support channels ensures there are sufficient natural connection alternatives all through a buyer’s lifecycle. This implies increased participation and long-term model relationships.
• Boosts buyer satisfaction and loyalty: When prospects can select how they work together, they really feel revered and in management. This, in flip, can enhance your CSAT scores, to not point out repeat purchases. The truth is, 86% of customers say they’re keen to pay extra for higher help.
• Enhances model consistency: Most multichannel communication methods allow you to arrange fast replies and templated messages throughout totally different channels. This ensures that prospects obtain the identical info, reinforcing your model voice and stopping combined messages.

10 Key Channels Companies Use for CX

From telephone calls and emails to social media, AI bots, and self-service portals, there are a number of methods you possibly can join with prospects. Every channel meets a distinct want: some ship prompt solutions, others supply in-depth info, and a few present a human contact. 

Listed below are 10 of the core customer support channels and the way they will profit you:

1. Telephone: Whereas telephone help may appear old school in comparison with digital communication channels (particularly within the age of AI bots), it’s nonetheless the easiest way to handle pressing or delicate requests. That is additionally why you’d see most important companies and non-profits offering telephone help, most frequently by means of digital telephone numbers. 
2. Electronic mail: The unique digital channel, most prospects nonetheless want e-mail for buyer help and promotional messages. It’s not intrusive, simple for patrons to make use of, and lets them hold a file for future reference.
3. Dwell chat: Dwell chat works properly for patrons wanting prompt solutions, particularly whereas looking your web site or app. It additionally helps scale back friction throughout the buy and onboarding levels.
4. Textual content messaging or SMS: Good for brief, time-sensitive updates like order confirmations, appointment reminders, or promotional alerts. Whilst you’d typically see healthcare suppliers and supply companies utilizing them, most companies can profit from options like text-to-vote and drip campaigns.
5. Social media: In keeping with GWI’s 2024 Report, the common particular person spends 2 hours and 12 minutes on social media. So discovering out which social platforms your audience prefers and exhibiting up there may also help you help them higher, particularly in case you’re a B2C model.
6. Video: Digital calls and async video chats are nice for face-to-face communication, the place prospects profit from visible steering, like when addressing delicate or technical points. Particularly helpful for international buyer bases the place common telephone calls may not work
7. Prompt messaging: Apps like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Viber are one other solution to attain prospects shortly and supply real-time updates with out the formality of e-mail campaigns or the textual content restrictions of Quick Message Service (SMS).
8. Self-service portals: These let prospects discover solutions and handle their accounts on their very own. You’ll discover them at companies with giant volumes of routine inquiries, like utilities or software program suppliers.
9. Interactive Voice Response (IVR): Automated telephone methods can route calls and supply primary info with out a stay agent, making them a fantastic channel for phone-first corporations with excessive name volumes.
10. Chatbots: These are nice for dealing with routine requests akin to password resets, FAQs, or order monitoring. AI bots can take this one other step additional by resolving reasonably advanced points.  

Lastly, you’ve bought the normal channels like in-person customer support and print media. 

Retail companies, particularly, are investing in kiosks and pop-up shops to construct IRL relationships with prospects. The truth is, in Nextiva’s 2025 State of Buyer Expertise survey, 31% of respondents mentioned they plan to spend money on in-store experiences. 

To not point out classifieds in native newspapers and unsolicited mail, which proceed to carry excessive credibility with prospects.

The Challenges of a Siloed Communications Technique

Whereas multichannel communications can drive engagement and construct buyer loyalty, managing a number of channels isn’t at all times easy. Listed below are 4 widespread obstacles, together with tactical recommendations on how you can sort out them so you possibly can set your multichannel customer support technique for achievement.

Fragmented information 

When buyer conversations are unfold throughout a number of communication channels, akin to e-mail, social media, SMS, and telephone calls, it turns into tough to realize an entire view of their historical past and context. This will result in repeated questions and overlaps that disrupt inner communications between brokers and decelerate response instances.

Answer: Centralize buyer conversations

Deliver your conversations collectively utilizing a multichannel communications administration platform, like Nextiva. Options like unified inboxes, agent collaboration, and social listening may also help you monitor buyer interactions throughout all channels. Agent Copilots make this even simpler by summarizing a buyer’s earlier interactions.

Working example: Nepal’s largest ISP, WorldLink, managed 400,000 prospects throughout emails, social media, SMS, and a number of chat apps. By centralizing these channels in Nextiva’s all-in-one inbox and utilizing automated workflows:

• Brokers dealt with 20,000+ tickets per thirty days
• Reduce first response time to below quarter-hour
• Boosted CSAT to 78.9%

Inconsistent messaging

When companies talk throughout a number of channels, messaging can shortly develop into inconsistent. One agent may present one reply, whereas a social media supervisor provides one other, leaving prospects confused or worse, annoyed. 

Some causes for this inconsistency embrace outdated info, an absence of a centralized model information, and groups following totally different tones throughout channels.

Answer: Standardize messaging with templates and pointers

You may handle this problem in two methods. First, by utilizing instruments with options like message templates, shared information bases, and workflow automation to make sure constant responses throughout channels. 

For instance, IKEA used Nextiva’s survey templates to ship brand-compliant surveys by way of all channels and construct clever workflows that route queries to the fitting groups.

Second, by clearly defining a model voice and tone that every one groups observe, so messages sound the identical. You too can take this a step additional by feeding your multichannel communications software program your model pointers. It may possibly then flag agent replies that don’t match the model voice.

Problem evaluating efficiency 

Monitoring efficiency throughout a number of channels may be messy. It’s almost inconceivable to calculate key metrics like common decision time, first response time, or ticket quantity throughout the board. 

You may’t see the massive image both, like which brokers are performing properly, the place bottlenecks happen, or how buyer interactions impression satisfaction. With out readability on what’s occurring, you can’t optimize workflows or measure ROI.

Answer: Constructing a single pane of glass

The bottom line is adopting an all-in-one platform that centralizes all efficiency metrics in a single place. One possibility is integrating your instruments with your enterprise intelligence (BI) platform.Another choice is utilizing a unified CX platform like Nextiva to handle all of your channels. It’s simpler, plus you’ll profit from “information accessibility” with all of your buyer and efficiency information in a single place. You may pull the metrics you want, view real-time dashboards, and get automated stories with out digging by means of a number of instruments.

Excessive start-up prices 

One other problem in establishing a multichannel communications technique is the upfront price. Paying for separate instruments for e-mail, SMS, social media, chat, and extra shortly provides up, not simply in subscriptions, but in addition in setup, integrations, and premium help. 

This will really feel even steeper once you don’t but have a transparent solution to measure ROI. You begin with $50 for SMS and $100 for e-mail administration, and earlier than you understand it, you’re taking a look at $500–$1,000 for a full multichannel communications setup. 

With out clear information exhibiting how these investments enhance buyer expertise, it’s onerous to justify the spend.

Answer: Begin small, scale good

Begin with essentially the most impactful channels and add new channels step by step. Whenever you’re able to go all-in, select a single software program vendor as a substitute of juggling eight totally different instruments. This will scale back complexity, decrease prices, and make it simpler to trace ROI as your channel rely will increase.

That is precisely what Cedar Monetary, a debt collections company based in 1997, did. Over 25+ years, they added extra channels till they have been utilizing seven totally different distributors to deal with comms. When the bloat grew to become an excessive amount of, they switched to Nextiva,  consolidating all instruments into one and slicing prices by 30%.

Finest Practices for a Profitable Multichannel Communications Technique

Organising multichannel communications is extra than simply exhibiting up on each channel. This ‘checkbox’ strategy will solely end in scattered touchpoints and disconnected experiences that frustrate prospects and burn out brokers. 

It’s worthwhile to create a multichannel communications technique the place your channels ‘discuss’ to one another and your prospects. Listed below are some ideas that will help you get it proper:

• Know your viewers: Transcend surface-level viewers demographics and purchaser personas by digging into your prospects’ precise preferences and exercise patterns. Spend time on the channels they use so you understand how they use them and in the event that they need to listen to from you there. 
• Choose the fitting channels: Not each platform is appropriate for each enterprise. Choose three to 6 channels that align with each your business and goal prospects. And if one channel underperforms, don’t hesitate to pivot to a different that delivers higher outcomes. 
• Preserve constant multichannel messaging: Individuals bear in mind manufacturers like Duolingo as a result of their voice is true to model on all channels. The extent of ritual can shift; a social publish is likely to be extra casual than an e-mail, however the essence (values and vibe) of your model ought to keep the identical. 
• Section your buyer base: Not all prospects need the identical factor. Use CRM information and automatic workflows to tailor messaging, affords, and even channels to every group. For instance, you possibly can launch a VIP-customers-only Slack group to present them quicker help. 
• Create personalised experiences: Segmentation teams prospects with comparable traits, however personalization goes additional, making interactions really feel one-to-one. This may be product suggestions, retargeting adverts, and AI brokers that adapt in actual time to the client’s intent.
• Accumulate buyer suggestions: You in all probability already use CSAT. We recommend pairing it with post-purchase surveys, social listening, and channel-specific suggestions varieties to determine why prospects gave your enterprise that rating. That approach, you’re not left guessing.
• Analyze and optimize: Don’t simply monitor efficiency after the actual fact, enhance it because it occurs. One thought is establishing real-time dashboards to present managers “over-the-shoulder” visibility. That approach, they will step in with well timed options earlier than small points flip into massive ones. 
• Be customer-centric: Construct your multichannel communications technique round what your prospects want, not simply what every channel can technically do or what your group prefers. One other thought is setting limits on how typically you attain out throughout channels so prospects don’t really feel spammed. 

Streamline Your Buyer Communications with Nextiva

Organising profitable multichannel communications largely is determined by how properly your channels work collectively. The extra unified your CX stack is, the simpler it’s to get rid of information silos, measure ROI, and hold prices below management.

If you happen to’re trying to discover multichannel buyer communications or combine your many instruments, Nextiva’s all-in-one buyer communications platform provides you the entire core channels in a single unified system. This consists of VoIP, textual content messages, messaging apps, social media platforms, and video. 

It additionally comes with 99.999% uptime and army grade safety so your communication line is at all times open, and your information is strictly protected.