According to a SuperOffice customer service study, the average time it takes companies to respond to a customer email is 12 hours and 10 minutes, with slower responses taking longer than eight days. Sixty-two percent (62%) of companies don’t even respond to all customer emails, according to the study. Meanwhile, one-third of customers are expecting an email response from a brand within one hour.

The need for speed

It’s no wonder more and more people are choosing, checking, and responding to messages before email. Why wait for hours when you can get a response in minutes or seconds? I see no good reason for that. And I’m not alone.

In a Yotpo Shoppers Tell All Consumer survey, 55% of consumers said they prefer text messaging over other communication channels because it’s immediate, convenient, and allows them to quickly get updates. And 43% are willing to opt-in to receive messages because they want the ability to quickly communicate with a brand one-on-one through two-way text conversations.

At 8x8, we predict that by 2025, more than 50% of all brands will be using SMS not only as a reactive communication vehicle, but as a proactive customer support and engagement channel, amplifying the competitive focus around both speed and brand trust as companies battle for opt-ins and the ensuing engagement possibilities.

Time to get hypercommunication right

Many brands are already delighting customers with the speed of response via messaging over email. In 8x8’s 2022 Business Communications Trends, industry analyst Sheila McGee-Smith highlights her recent experience with Lands’ End and heralds hypercommunication as an expectation you’ll see more of in 2022 and beyond.

Read more about Sheila’s experience, her advice to brands, and this accelerating trend in 8x8’s 2022 Business Communications Trends.