Customer engagement, especially omnichannel engagement, helps you personalize the customer experience, which is of utmost importance to your customers. 

As McKinsey's report notes, 71% of customers expect personalization, and 76% get frustrated when they don’t find it. 

Still, only 11% of organizations have a sophisticated omnichannel implementation of personalization, suggesting that a significant majority may still face difficulties in this area. Additionally, 63% of marketers consider data-driven personalization the most challenging digital strategy to execute.

Solution? Choosing the right customer engagement platforms. 

Customer engagement tools help you engage with your customers across multiple channels. We’ve compiled the top engagement software currently available to make your search easy. 

What is Customer Engagement Software?

Customer engagement software is a platform that tracks, manages, and enables interactions with customers and prospects via various channels, such as email, SMS, and WhatsApp. 

Basically, it acts as a single source of truth about your business's perception of your customers and prospects.

What's the Difference Between a CRM and a Customer Engagement Platform?

The key difference is that customer engagement platforms focus on creating real-time interactions and unified experiences for your customers, while CRMs record customer data to help sales and customer service teams manage their processes and pipelines.

Here's a table highlighting the key differences between a customer engagement platform and a customer relationship management (CRM) platform:

How Does a Customer Engagement Platform Work?

A customer engagement platform unifies customer interactions across multiple channels into one centralized hub. It helps you provide an omnichannel experience to your customers. 

Here's a quick breakdown of how it works:

1. A customer signs up on your website. 
2. The customer engagement platform captures this and automatically triggers actions like a welcome email sequence. 
3. If your customer does not engage, it can prompt a follow-up SMS nudge based on user behavior insights that say mobile users are more active.
4. It also tracks user activities in your storefront or website, such as purchases, feedback, etc. 
5. If your customers leave negative feedback, it can initiate an automated response flow like this:

• Apologetic message
• A discount to compensate
• Flag for personalized outreach from support

The true power of a customer engagement platform lies in interconnecting data from the web, mobile, email, SMS, support systems, and more. With this data, you can optimize engagement by:

• Adapting messaging and content
• Adjusting channel and cadence
• Tailoring outreach using customer segmentation

Therefore, it acts as a command center where you build omnichannel campaigns to deliver hyper-relevant messages at every touchpoint.

Best customer engagement software solutions

1. Plivo CX 

Plivo CX (Engage module) is one of the top-rated customer engagement platforms that combines marketing with customer service to drive maximum engagement from your present and prospective customers. It offers the perfect tool stack to personalize your customer engagement and resolve their problems instantly. 

Plivo CX Features

• Create customer segments with as many rules as you like. Then, capture actions and events in the storefront and use them as triggers for ‘journeys.’ This helps you send the right message to the right customer at the right time. (link)

• Tired of repetitive tasks? AI assistants in Plivo CX let you automate content creation and management. So, you reduce personnel costs and save hours of manually writing hyper-personalized messages based on your objective. (link) 

• The SMS channel in Plivo CX offers low prices as it works directly with carriers. You can also incorporate emojis and media in your SMS to capture your customers’ attention. (link)

• Enjoy omnichannel customer engagement as Plivo CX offers communication through SMS, MMS, email, and Whatsapp. (link)

• Manage all engagement campaigns from one place. No matter what channel you prefer, select an audience, choose a channel, and schedule your message. For maximum customization, use AI assistance and ready-to-use templates. (link)

• Embed chat in your app or use AI-powered chatbots to answer common customer questions automatically. You can send and receive images and documents through live chat to resolve a customer query faster. (link)

• Keep interacting with possible buyers with cart abandonment automation, back-in-stock alerts, and flash sales messages.

• Track your campaign performance with live dashboards and historical reports that share insights into average wait time, average handle time, average abandonment rate, active agents, and much more. (link)

Plivo CX Pros

• Omnichannel campaign management from one platform
• AI assistance to automate content creation
• Low prices for SMS delivery
• Triggers to send personalized messages
• No-code chatbot to solve customer queries (link)

Plivo CX Cons 

• The engagement capability currently works only for Shopify ecommerce stores.
• Plivo CX Engage comes with advanced features and a small learning curve. But after that, it’s smooth sailing ahead. 

Plivo CX Pricing

• Free: for up to 1,000 contacts and 3,000 engagement credits
• Starter: $19 for up to 5,000 contacts and 15,000 engagement credits
• Growth: $75 for up to 25,000 contacts and 90,000 engagement credits
• Pro: $199 for unlimited contacts and 270,000 engagement credits
• Enterprise: Contact sales for customized pricing.

Plivo CX Rating and Reviews 

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. Sendlane

Sendlane is also an omnichannel customer engagement platform that lets you interact with your customers via SMS, email, reviews, and forms. 

Features

• Create automatic email and SMS funnels that run themselves. Sendlane lets you combine SMS with email marketing so you can engage with customers where they’re most active. (link)

• Blend a mix of various customer behaviors and data to build perfect customer segments. With Sendlane, you get access to 100+ data points like interests, buying behavior, browsing activity, etc. (link)

• A/B test your messaging, fonts, and colors to find winning options. Sendlane automatically tracks variables in your messages and sends the best-performing one to your audience. (link)

• Send messages based on triggers from your website. Sendlane Beacon collects data to send abandoned carts, page views, and orders placed to send automated messages. (link)

Pros

• Automatic A/B testing 
• Top-notch customer service (link)
• Easy user interface (link)

Cons

• Lack of integrations (link)
• Recent price updates can be expensive for small businesses (link)

Pricing

• Sendlane has customizable pricing based on several emails and SMS. 

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Review

• G2 reviews: 4.7/5 (65 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3 / 5 (34 reviews)

3. Omnisend

Omnisend is a customer engagement platform for ecommerce brands that lets you interact with your customers through integrated emails and SMS campaigns. 

Features (link)

• Whip up eye-catching emails with your branding, product images, and customized discount codes in just minutes.

• The drag-and-drop email builder is a real timesaver. Just pull in pre-made content blocks designed specifically for eCommerce, and your campaigns practically build themselves.

• Get up close and personal with your customer data and shopping histories. Segment them any way you want - by average spend, how recently they bought, and more.

• Ominsend's sales dashboards give you the full scoop on your campaigns' performance and total revenue, which email designs are working based on click data, and more. 

• Ominsend provides omnichannel engagement. You can also run SMS, web notifications, Facebook ads, MMS, and Google ad campaigns—everything in one slick package.

Pros

• Excellent customer service (link)
• Clearly defined analytics (link)
• Easy user interface (link)

Cons

• Limited design templates for emails (link)
• Email preview can be different from the actual email (link)
• The tool becomes costly once you upgrade from the base price (link)

Pricing

• Basic plan: Free
• Standard: $16
• Pro: $59

Review

• G2 review: 4.6/5 (879 reviews)
• Capterra review: 4.7/5 (714 reviews)

4. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a popular customer engagement tool famous for its email marketing capabilities. 

Features

• With Klaviyo, you capture customer data from various sources (websites, POS systems, etc.) and build detailed customer profiles. (link)

• Klaviyo uses machine learning to help segment your audiences based on ​​specific purchases, discount code usage, and predicted customer lifetime value. You can sync your email list segments with Facebook and Instagram to create laser-focused ad campaigns. (link)

• Build email flows with a drag-and-drop flow builder based on various triggers such as checkout, price drop, SMS signup, and more. Use flow templates for abandoned carts, post-purchase follow-ups, and price drop reminders to kickstart a flow without much effort. (link)

• Use forms to gather more information about your website visitors without disturbing their experience. Add pop-ups, fly-outs, or teaser forms to any page or section of your website. Also, you can A/B test colors and fonts and copy them on the form to find the best options. (link)

• Like Plivo CX Engage and Omnisend, Klaviyo offers omnichannel engagement through SMS, email, and push notifications. (link)

Pros

• Omnichannel engagement 
• Vast customer segmentation options (link)
• Detailed analytics dashboard (link)

Cons

• Subpar customer service (link)
• Plans can be expensive with some unnecessary features (link)
• Steep learning curve (link)

Pricing

• Starter: Free
• Email: $45/month
• Email and SMS: $60/month

Review

• G2 review: 4.6/5 (1028 reviews)
• Capterra review: 4.7/5 (416 reviews)

5. Postscript 

Postscript allows you to engage with your customers through SMS. Although it caters to SMS marketing only, it comes with several features to nail it for your business. 

Features (link)

• Postscript has pop-ups to grab new phone numbers and emails. These pop-ups match your brand's look and give people incentives to sign up.
• You can make unlimited "text-to-join" keywords with Postscript and share them anywhere to track where opt-ins come from.
• Bridge online and in-person with unique QR codes from Postscript. Put them on product packaging, signs, or anywhere physical to easily turn in-person interactions into new SMS subscribers.
• With tons of trigger events and filters, Postscript's intuitive Flow Builder lets you build automated SMS campaigns that react to customer behaviors.
• Postscript opt-in forms collect SMS signups right on checkout pages for platforms like Shopify, Recharge, and Carthook - catching subscribers at the perfect moment.

Pros

• Offline lead generation with QR codes 
• Text-to-join keywords 
• Easy user interface

Cons

• SMS is the only channel available
• Only integrates with Shopify

Pricing

• Starter: Free ($0.015/SMS, $0.045/MMS + Carrier fees)
• Growth: $100/month ($0.01/SMS, $0.03/MMS + Carrier fees)
• Professional: $500/month ($0.007/SMS, $0.024/MMS + Carrier fees)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing 

Review

• G2 review: 4.9/5 (159 reviews)
• Capterra review: No reviews 

What to Look for in a Customer Engagement Platform?

1. Omnichannel experience

Omnichannel engagement can increase store visits by 80%. That’s why your business needs a tool to help it engage with customers across multiple channels and send the right message at the right time. 

2. Integrations with existing software

The best customer engagement platforms integrate with your current systems, such as CRM and e-commerce platforms.

For example, by integrating your customer engagement tool with Shopify, you provide access to order history and interactions to personalize your engagement campaigns.

3. Easy set up

Look for customer engagement platforms with user-friendly setup flows and configurations so you can kickstart your engagement ASAP.

4. Advanced analytics

Sophisticated analytics reveal your most valuable audience segments. That’s why you need a tool with an advanced analytics dashboard to optimize your campaigns. Look for customer journey analytics, website page views, click-through rates, add-to-cart rates, etc. 

4. Personalized experience

77% of customers say they’re frustrated when they see a push notification they’re not interested in. That’s why you need a customer engagement tool that lets you segment users and customize their messages to provide a personalized experience.

5. AI functionality

AI assistance drives smarter engagement strategies, such as copywriting, customizations, and predictive segmentation. It saves you hours of manual labor so you can focus on growing your customer base. 

Pick the Best Customer Engagement Platform 

With the information in this guide, you can choose the best customer engagement platform for your business. But if you want to start using a customer engagement tool immediately, try Plivo CX.

Plivo CX boasts of an intuitive UI, AI-assisted customizations, in-app customer service, and fully customizable IVR with personalized automation. You can engage customers through multiple channels, such as live chat, voice chat, SMS, WhatsApp, and email. 

Plivo CX helps you reach the right customers at the perfect moment with targeted segmentation. Be the top choice when they're ready to buy.

Sign up to Plivo CX today and start engaging with your customers. 

If you’re not sending text messages to your customers, you’re leaving money on the table.

• 52% of customers purchased a product and 28% purchased a service after being influenced by brand messaging received via SMS or other messaging platforms. 

• 57% of customers admit that they’ve intentionally waited for brand text messages, hoping for incentives—only to go a long time without hearing from a brand. As a result, 32% of these customers ended up purchasing from a competitor. 

In this blog post, we’ll explore SMS marketing, discuss its benefits, and explain how to get the most ROI from it. 

What is SMS marketing?

Short message service (SMS) marketing refers to the process of marketing a product or service through short messages sent directly to the prospect’s mobile device or smartphone. These messages can be: 

• promotional offers
• discount coupons
• shipping notifications
• cart abandonment messages.

Like email marketing, SMS marketing is an opt-in service. This means you must seek your customers’ permission before sending them messages. 

SMS marketing increases access to customers at the right time and the likelihood of being seen since they receive messages directly in their mobile inbox—no logging in, connecting to the internet, or signing in. 

Importance and benefits of SMS marketing

Here are some more benefits of SMS marketing for businesses:

1. Reach customers faster

Text messages are perfect for delivering time-sensitive information that can’t be communicated by email. In the US alone, people check their smartphones 144 times a day. Since text messages don’t need internet connectivity and are mostly displayed on the mobile banner, the likelihood of checking SMS increases. 

You can send a text message about a flash sale or a new product launch to reach a large number of customers immediately and drive them to your website or store.

2. Better open rates

Text messages are delivered directly to a recipient's mobile device and usually appear as notifications, unlike emails. This makes them easier to open and read. 

Moreover, 45% of consumers demonstrate a preference for sales and promotional messages from brands, which makes it a better channel to engage customers. 

3. Complement other marketing channels

SMS marketing complements other marketing strategies like blog or social media marketing. You can use text messages to drive traffic to your website or social media page or promote email campaigns to increase engagement. 

For example, after sending an email newsletter about a new product line, send a follow-up text with a discount code and a link to the product page on your website.

4. Build customer loyalty

You can establish a personal and direct connection with your customers. Sending personalized text messages with your customers’ names and purchase information fosters a sense of exclusivity and strengthens brand loyalty.

For example, send birthday or anniversary messages with special offers, offer loyalty program updates and rewards, or provide personalized recommendations based on past purchases.

Types of SMS marketing campaigns

There are various types of SMS marketing campaigns to achieve different goals and objectives:

1. Promotional SMS marketing campaigns

Promotional SMS campaigns are designed to generate buzz, drive sales, and increase brand visibility. These messages typically highlight special offers, discounts, promotions, or upcoming events. 

You can announce a flash sale, offer exclusive discounts to loyal customers, or showcase a new product launch. The goal is to entice recipients to take immediate action, such as making a purchase or visiting a website.

2. Transactional SMS marketing campaigns

Transactional SMS campaigns are focused on delivering essential and time-sensitive information to customers regarding their transactions or interactions with a business. 

Specific actions, such as order confirmations, shipping updates, appointment reminders, or account notifications, trigger these messages. Transactional SMS campaigns maintain transparency and trust throughout the customer journey.

3. Conversational SMS marketing campaigns

Conversational SMS campaigns prioritize building relationships and fostering two-way communication with customers. Unlike traditional one-way messaging, they encourage interaction and engagement by inviting recipients to respond and participate in a dialog with the brand. 

For example, Plivo CX Engage tracks customer behavior to create triggers and automatically sends personalized messages with discounts, surveys, etc, so customers feel tempted to engage. 

Whether it's asking for feedback, conducting surveys, offering customer support, or initiating personalized conversations, conversational SMS campaigns humanize the brand and create meaningful connections with customers, ultimately strengthening loyalty and retention.

Best practices to drive higher ROI from SMS marketing

1. Get consent with opt-in and opt-out messages.

You need to obtain consent from your customers to send marketing text messages. There are a couple of ways you can do this:

• Ask for consent through opt-in forms to use their phone numbers for marketing. 
• Run keyword campaigns to allow your customers to text a specific word or code to your number to opt-in for text messages.
• Offer an SMS opt-in checkbox for customers to receive SMS updates or exclusive offers during the online checkout process.

Remember to leave them the option to unsubscribe via a link in each text message. An opt-out or unsubscribe link puts your customers in control of the text messages, as they can unsubscribe whenever they want.

Here’s an example of an SMS with an opt-out option:

2. Include your brand name upfront.

Your customers (most likely) won’t have your numbers saved in their contact lists. You must add your brand name at the beginning of the message. It infuses a sense of familiarity in the text and makes your customers more receptive to your messages.

Add your brand name at the beginning of your SMS so your customers know who it’s from. 

Here’s an example 

3. Add a CTA

The end goal of SMS marketing is to engage with customers and nudge them to take the desired action. That’s why you need to add a CTA to each message, such as “Shop now” or “Buy now,” so customers can make a purchase directly from a text message. 

Here’s an example of a message from an ecommerce brand. 

4. Keep messages concise, relevant, and engaging

Avoid jargon or filler content to keep your messages relevant to recipients. Long links and unnecessary information can eat up your 160-character limits. Use link shorteners to keep your messages concise.

Personalize messages with your customers’ names and orders whenever possible and focus on sharing value like product, cart, or shipping updates in your messages so they resonate more with your audience.

5. Adhere to privacy laws and regulations

Ensure compliance with privacy laws and regulations, such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. 

The TCPA outlines rules for obtaining customer consent before sending promotional messages via SMS.

To ensure SMS marketing compliance, businesses should:

• Obtain opt-in consent 
• Avoid misleading or deceptive content
• Identify yourself and the purpose of your message
• Respect do-not-call lists and time restrictions for sending messages
• Provide opt-out options.

After checking all these pointers, you’re ready to get started with SMS marketing.  

Choosing the right SMS marketing platform

Features to consider when selecting an SMS marketing platform:

1. Campaign Management

You should be able to launch, manage, and monitor specific marketing campaigns within one platform. This gives you precise control over messaging and targeting. 

With Plivo CX Engage, you can deploy a campaign in 4 steps:

• Select audience : Choose the right customers from the lists or segments and add them to your campaign. 
• Choose the timings of sending SMS : Send your messages instantly or schedule them for the right time to maximize ROI.
• Create messages (AI assist, templates): Craft hyper personalized messages with AI-generated suggestions or message templates. ‍
• Analytics : Track key metrics to measure the ROI and effectiveness of your campaigns.

2. Audience Management 

An effective SMS marketing platform should let you manage and segment your customers based on their buying habits. Once you create segments, you can create triggers to send the right messages to the right customer at the right time. 

3. Campaign Effectiveness Measurement

The SMS marketing platform should have robust analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of each campaign. Look for metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to optimize your strategies.

4. Journeys 

The SMS marketing tool should be able to identify key events to trigger messaging that meets the customer where they are in their journey. It helps you send time sensitive messages to the right customer at the right time.

5. Scheduling Flexibility

You’ll need to create and schedule messages in bulk, so look for a tool that provides scheduling capability. This tool separates the preparation phase from the actual sending time for better efficiency.

6. AI assistance 

You need AI to help you write and personalize your message copy. An AI copywriter can determine the goal, parameters, timing, and urgency of your message to craft a fitting message. For example, Plivo CX's Copywriter AI enables you to identify the objective of your copy and create several copy options for you to choose from. 

With Plivo, you can do more with less resources. You don’t need a team of copywriters as the AI assistant generates relevant messages through a few clicks. 

7. Compliance Assurance

Look for an SMS marketing platform that is compliant with various regulations, including GDPR, SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS. This ensures that data security and privacy standards are met to safeguard customer information and maintain trust.

Pricing:

• There is a free plan that allows 300 SMS a month.
• Paid plans start from $19/month and allow brands to send 1500 texts a month.

All the product features are available in all plans.

The difference between each plan is the number of text messages brands can send.

SMS marketing strategies with examples

1. Send welcome messages to new subscribers

Craft short and sweet welcome messages and avoid adding salesy sentences to them. 

You can also add opt-out links in the welcome messages to allow them to leave whenever they want. Here’s an example of a welcome message:

2. Follow up on abandoned shopping carts.

According to the Baymard Institute, the average cart abandonment rate is 70.19%. 

You can use abandoned cart messages to remind your customers that they can still buy the products they’ve left in the cart. Also, you can throw in some offers to nudge your customers to buy. 

You can get creative with these messages. Here are a few examples: 

The “Journeys” feature in Plivo CX Engage enables you to track your customers’ activity on the storefront and trigger a customer journey based on that. For example, if your customer added items to a cart and did not place the order for a day, you can send a coupon code to follow up on them and nudge them to buy.

3. Inform customers when products are back in stock

Your customers shouldn’t have to keep checking if their favorite products are back in stock. Through SMS marketing, you can send messages whenever you add a product back in stock. 

Add a link to the same product so the customer can buy immediately. 

4. Collect customer feedback

Ask customers to provide feedback on their experience via a link, form, or star rating. You can also offer discounts or special offers for customers who provide feedback. 

Monitor customer feedback and use it to improve customer experience. For example, if you receive a one-star rating, connect with your customers to dig deeper into the cause, and if you receive a 5-star rating, send a thank you text or email with a discount code.

5. Announce product releases

Don’t wait for your customers to check out your online or offline store. Send them information on new product releases directly through SMS. 

These can be new season launches or the new festive collection. Either way, share an SMS with a link so they can purchase it. 

Drive Greater Revenue with Plivo CX Engage

Plivo CX Engage is an SMS marketing platform that lets you send personalized messages to your target audience. It provides an end-to-end experience where you:

• Integrate your Shopify store into the platform 
• Optionally, Import your existing contacts via CSV or API
• Analyze their behavior and group them into segments 
• Identify key events to trigger personalized messages at the right time through Journeys
• Start creating and sharing messages 
• Analyze metrics and KPIs 

Not only this, Plivo CX Engage comes with AI assistance that helps you compose SMS for your prospects and customers. It also shows a preview of how it will look on your recipient’s screen. 

Also, you don’t have to worry about data security, as Plivo CX Engage is GDPR, SOC2, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS compliant. 

It’s time to invest in high-ROI marketing strategies like SMS marketing with Plivo CX Engage. 
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Book a demo today!

A whopping 98% of texts are opened, and most are read within minutes. So, if you're running a Shopify store and you're not yet using SMS marketing, you might be missing out on a goldmine of opportunities. 

However, by now, you've probably stumbled upon many SMS marketing apps. Choosing the right one can be a headache. Because you're not just looking for any tool; you need one that seamlessly integrates with Shopify, boosts customer interaction, suits your budget, and ultimately drives sales. 

In this detailed guide, we'll break down the best SMS marketing apps for Shopify in 2024, focusing on features, pricing, and user-friendliness. 

Plus, we'll explore how Plivo CX, with its top-tier omnichannel capabilities, can be your gateway to mastering customer engagement across all platforms. 

Let's dive in.

SMS Marketing for Shopify: An Overview 

What is SMS Marketing for Shopify? 

In the US alone, people check their mobiles 144 times a day. Leveraging such a high-impact channel, SMS marketing for Shopify is a popular sales tactic. Brands send messages directly to their customers' mobiles to drive better engagement. 

As per Validity Research data, 45% of consumers already prefer sales and promotional messages from brands, which makes it a better channel to engage customers. Also, 

SMS integrates seamlessly with Shopify, allowing you to share messages like abandoned cart reminders effortlessly, restock alerts, shipping updates, flash sales, and more.

For example, imagine one of your customers was about to buy a shirt but abandoned it at the checkout. After 30 minutes, they will see an engaging message from your brand, with an image of that shirt and discount codes. They might be tempted to visit your website and check out the offer—maybe they even buy.

That’s how SMS marketing for Shopify works. It nudges your customers to check out products and offers to propel the purchase intent. 

Benefits of SMS Marketing for E-commerce 

Here’s how SMS marketing for Shopify benefits your business:

1. Rekindle old customer relationships

Recurring customers can make or break e-commerce brands, and SMS marketing is the best way to bring old customers back to your website. 

56% of customers have been reminded about a brand they’d forgotten due to a text message they received from that brand.

2. Build customer loyalty

Financial incentives and discounts are the number one reason customers sign up for SMS. You can send personalized messages with discount codes for their birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions to keep customers loyal to your brand. 

3. High open rates

53.5 % of business owners and marketing managers in the US said they started using text marketing because it offered higher open and click-through rates than other marketing channels. 

4. Increased conversions

As per Statista data, 73% of the US population has made online purchases from their mobile. Since people are already shopping from mobile, SMS nudges them further through offers, updates, and reminders, which increases their likelihood of buying. 

Who Should Use SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing works well for most ecommerce businesses, but here are our favorite picks:

1. Retail and apparel

Use SMS marketing for promotional offers, product launches, flash sales, and order updates to drive more sales and keep customers engaged.

2. Food and beverage

Restaurants, food delivery services, and grocery stores can use SMS to send order updates, delivery notifications, and special offers, enhancing the customer experience.

3. Travel and hospitality

Hotels, airlines, and travel agencies can use SMS for booking confirmations, check-in reminders, and special deals, improving customer communication and loyalty.

4. Beauty and wellness

Salons, spas, and beauty product retailers can use SMS for appointment reminders, product recommendations, and promotional offers to increase customer retention and sales.

5. Home and lifestyle

Furniture retailers and home decor stores can use SMS for order updates, personalized product recommendations, and exclusive discounts.

6. Automotive and spare parts

Auto parts retailers, car dealerships, and service centers can use SMS for appointment reminders, service updates, and special offers, improving customer service and loyalty.

7. Subscription-based services

Businesses offering subscription boxes, online streaming services, or software subscriptions can use SMS to send payment reminders, new content notifications, and exclusive deals to subscribers.

8. Online marketplaces

E-commerce platforms and online marketplaces can use SMS for order updates, seller notifications, and promotional campaigns.

Top SMS Marketing Apps for Shopify 

Selection Criteria

With so many SMS marketing apps for Shopify, finding the right one can be overwhelming. Let's narrow it down – let’s review what to look for in the best options. 

It should have the following:

• Low learning curve and intuitive user experience
• Affordable prices but a high-quality delivery network
• AI to automate creative tasks and create hyper-personalized campaigns
• Segmentation options to categorize the audience based on their behavior and characteristics
• Triggers to send messages that customers want based on their actions and events
• A free trial

5 SMS Marketing Apps for Your Business

1. Plivo CX

Plivo CX is a cloud-based  SMS marketing platform that helps you with audience segmentation, messaging capabilities based on trigger events, and campaign management. Businesses can effortlessly acquire, engage, and deliver exceptional service across all customer touchpoints.

Plivo CX Features

• AI-Powered Message Writing & Timing: Create campaigns faster with AI-assisted messaging and send-time optimization.
• Built-in Channels: Engage customers via SMS.
• Global Reach & Reliable Delivery: Expand your messaging campaigns internationally with reliable delivery.

• Segmentation & Lists: Target the right audience with segmentation tools and managed opt-in/opt-out lists.
• Automatic URL Shortening: Keep messages concise and clear.

Plivo CX’s Limitations

• Relatively longer learning curve due to the nature of its advanced features and capabilities
• Businesses in highly regulated industries may need to still monitor and evaluate regulatory requirements for their sector.
  

Plivo CX: Going Beyond Basic SMS 

Let’s see how these capabilities ensure Plivo CX goes beyond traditional SMS, offering a sophisticated toolset for true omnichannel customer engagement.

• Marketing Automation: Automate and personalize SMS campaigns using triggers based on customer actions. Create dynamic workflows that adapt to customer behaviors, enhancing both engagement and efficiency.
• Omnichannel Engagement: Sync SMS seamlessly with email, web push, and social media for a cohesive communication strategy. Plivo CX’s integrations with platforms like Shopify, Salesforce, and Zendesk enable a plug-and-play solution that unifies customer experiences across channels.
• Advanced Analytics: Access detailed analytics to monitor and refine campaign performance. Evaluate engagement and conversion metrics to tailor future strategies and maximize impact.
• Seamless Shopify Integration: Easily integrate with Shopify to synchronize data and automate communications directly within the Shopify environment, including order updates and promotional alerts.

Free Trial

Jumpstart your SMS marketing today with Plivo CX's free trial–no credit card is needed to get started. 

Book a demo to start a free trial right away. 

2. Omnisend

Omnisend is an e-commerce marketing automation platform that facilitates the creation and distribution of emails, SMS messages, and push notifications.

Key Features

• Create branded, shoppable emails with images and customizable discount codes.
• Build campaigns with a drag-and-drop campaign builder that comes with dynamic content blocks specifically designed for e-commerce stores.
• Leverage customer data like purchase history to create segments based on metrics like average order value and recency.
• Access sales dashboards to track campaign reports, store revenue, click maps, and more to identify top-performing email templates for reuse.
• Access omnichannel marketing capabilities to run email, SMS, web notification, Facebook ads, MMS, and Google ad campaigns from one platform.

Pros:

• Friendly customer support (link)
• Easy, drag-and-drop campaign builder 

Cons:

• You don’t get segment-based reports.  (Link)
• Having the Omnisend plugin activated on your live site and copying it to a staging environment risks overwriting the live site's URL with the staging URL, potentially breaking existing automation and email campaigns tied to the live URL. (link)
• AI writing is only available to create the email subject line.

Pricing 

• Basic plan: Free
• Standard: $16
• Pro: $59

3. Klaviyo

SMS marketing platform Klaviyo is designed to conduct personalized and timely communication with customers across multiple channels.

Key Features

• Enjoy omnichannel marketing capabilities, including SMS, emails, push notifications, and review management.
• Segment customers based on specific purchases, discount code usage, and predicted customer lifetime value, leveraging historical data, APIs, and native integrations.
• Customize pre-built flow templates with branding options and trigger-based automation for timely customer engagement.
• Monitor campaign performance with marketing dashboards containing performance metrics across channels and segments.
• Forecasting the next order date, lifetime value, average time between orders, and churn risk with predictive analytics.
• Personalize page content, pricing, and promotions based on visitor history, behavior, and preferences.

Pros

• Predictive analytics 
• AI customer segmentation

Cons

• Steep learning curve; not beginner-friendly (link)
• Subpar customer service (link)
• Unnecessary features in some plans (link)

Pricing 

• Starter: Free
• Email: $45/month
• Email and SMS: $60/month

4. Postscript

Postscript is designed to help businesses promote their products and engage with customers through text messaging.

Key Features

• Collect new phone numbers and emails with customizable pop-ups that align with brand aesthetics and offer incentives.
• Create unlimited text-to-join keywords for tracking opt-ins across various marketing channels.
• Integrate online and offline interactions through unique QR codes for product packaging, signage, and physical locations. It helps you convert in-person engagements into valuable SMS subscribers.
• Access to over 65 trigger events and more than 45 segmentation filters to create SMS campaigns and automation through an intuitive Flow Builder.
• Use opt-in forms to collect SMS subscribers at crucial touchpoints, including checkout pages on popular platforms like Shopify, Recharge, and Carthook.

Pros:

• Intuitive platform (link)
• Offline lead generation with QR codes 
• Text-to-join keywords 

Cons:

• Requires a learning curve (link)
• Only Spotify integration 
• On-site pop-ups can be glitchy (link)

Pricing 

• Starter: Free ($0.015/SMS, $0.045/MMS + Carrier fees)
• Growth: $100/month ($0.01/SMS, $0.03/MMS + Carrier fees)
• Professional: $500/month ($0.007/SMS, $0.024/MMS + Carrier fees)
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

 5. Attentive

Attentive is an AI-powered marketing platform that leverages SMS to facilitate connections with target audiences.

Key Features

• Optimize message delivery time with ‘smart sending’ and ‘quiet hours’ functionality to avoid sending messages during busy or nighttime hours.
• Enable real-time, personalized customer engagement with the LiveSMS feature directly on the website.
• Build a comprehensive profile for each customer with an ‘attentive customer passport’ that contains contact information, activities, and attributes.
• Access insights into list growth, message revenue, customer engagement, and campaign performance with intelligent dashboards.
• Customize your own kick-off plan to streamline the launch of SMS marketing campaigns.

Pros:

• A revenue calculator to forecast revenue based on existing traffic, average order value, monthly traffic, and conversion rates. 
• AI-assisted live agents to reply to customers 
• Launching email campaigns takes minutes (link)

Cons:

• The email design is glitchy. (link)
• Analytics need more refinement (link)

Pricing 

• Pricing isn’t available on the website.
  

Choose The Best SMS Marketing App for Your Shopify Brand

SMS marketing is a potent tool for customer engagement and business growth. But to harness its full potential, you need a powerful SMS marketing platform as well. 

Plivo CX delivers a complete SMS marketing solution for your Shopify brand. Drive higher ROI through streamlined campaign setup, content creation, and targeted customer engagement.

Sign up for Plivo CX to achieve maximum ROI from your next email campaign. 

Book a demo right away!

Customer service, once deemed a cost center, is emerging as a key differentiator. By investing in comprehensive strategies and empowering employees, organizations are transforming customer service into a powerful asset that enhances the brand experience and drives customer loyalty. 

As price and product competition intensify, a customer-centric focus becomes crucial for acquiring and retaining customers.

If you are a brand owner or customer support head, you’ll have to focus on better availability, quality, and knowledge organization across channels to lower cost, empower your agents and customers, and increase customer satisfaction across every touchpoint. 

According to Microsoft's Global State of Multichannel Customer Service Report, the average consumer uses at least four distinct channels for interaction and expects exceptional service across each. 

On the flip side, Accenture reports that 91% of participants in a survey expressed frustration at having to contact a company repeatedly for the same issue.

So, how do you avoid all this? The answer is: by streamlining customer service across different voice, SMS, email, or live chat channels. In this article, we will explore seven strategies and best practices to help you get started.

How to improve and streamline customer service

Here’s how you can start streamlining customer service across diverse channels. We will also find out how Plivo CX’s cloud-based omnichannel contact center solution can help you at each step.

1. Map the customer journey

Before streamlining customer service, map the customer journey. Understand and analyze every step customers take when interacting with your support system, identifying roadblocks or frustrations they may encounter.

For instance, imagine a customer trying to reach out for assistance via email but facing a lengthy response time due to manual routing processes. The delay frustrates the customer and unnecessarily prolongs issue resolution. 

The customer journey map helps you identify this problem. The solution would be an omnichannel approach or software that ensures the transition from the support agent happens smoothly, quickly, and without losing context. 

Plivo CX’s drag-and-drop workflow builder provides visual insight into and automates your customer journey. Trigger workflows remotely, filter queues for skill-based routing, and quickly escalate complex issues.

2. Use self-service chatbots

Self-service chatbots powered by AI allow customers to resolve basic issues independently, improving ticket resolution speed. They also free up live chat agents for more complex issues and improve the agent experience at your company.

A good example of self-service chatbots is order status inquiry. They can be programmed to access order management systems and provide real-time updates on fulfillment, shipping, and delivery, saving customers time and effort.

For example, an e-commerce customer wanting to know their order status would typically wait for an agent or search the website. A self-service chatbot streamlines this by allowing customers to input their order number and receive detailed status and delivery information instantly.

Many customer inquiries involve basic questions already addressed in your website's FAQs. Instead of burdening human agents, utilize chatbots to understand these questions and provide instant answers by retrieving relevant information from your knowledge base.

Plivo CX offers a no-code AI-powered chatbot built on OpenAI’s latest GenAI model. Train the bot on your own content for accuracy and relevance and empower it with a custom knowledge base. 

3. Focus on self-service customer support channels

Chatbots offer text-based customer self-service. An interactive voice response (IVR) system extends this functionality to voice. IVR systems empower callers to navigate menus and resolve inquiries without speaking to live agents, enabling quicker routing, shorter wait times, and faster issue resolution.

For instance, a customer who is facing long wait times due to limited agent availability while reporting a software issue can instead use an IVR system to be guided through troubleshooting steps, resolving their issue quickly and independently.

Plivo CX offers a fully customizable IVR solution to facilitate automated first-touch interactions. Callers can easily self-select options for quicker routing and shorter wait times. Plus, Plivo CX uses customer data to personalize greetings, and IVR voice prompts.

You also get callbacks and sticky routing. The callback functionality holds the customer's place in line and allows them to choose their preferred channel for receiving a callback, while sticky routing ensures that repeat callers are connected with the same agent to streamline customer service.

4. Maintain a knowledge base

Empowering your customer support team is an important step for streamlining customer support. A knowledge base is a central repository of information on your products, services, and customer support issues. Once your customer support team is well-versed on these topics, they consistently deliver accurate and efficient resolutions to customer inquiries.

A well-organized and updated knowledge base streamlines customer service by providing readily accessible solutions. 

For example, a frustrated customer seeking an exchange, unable to find the return policy online and experiencing long wait times, reaches an uninformed agent. A robust knowledge base allows the agent to quickly locate the latest return policy, resolving the issue efficiently and improving the customer's experience.

Consider the same scenario: Your agent quickly accesses your return policy through an internal knowledge base. The information is clear, concise, and up-to-date, including details on processing times and exceptions. In this case, they’ll be able to help the customer much faster.

Plivo CX provides a user-friendly interface for admins to create and manage a knowledge base for their organization. Locate the Knowledge Management Systems tab and click the ‘+ New’ icon to initiate the process. 

Plivo CX will prompt you to add a title, description, and language details. 

You will also get to choose the layout that best suits your content and customize your design before you save it. 

5. Analyze customer support metrics

You must analyze baseline metrics that help you identify areas for improvement in your customer service. Here's a breakdown of four important metrics you should track and what they signify:

1. First response time (FRT): This measures how quickly support agents respond to customer inquiries. Based on industry standards, customers anticipate receiving an email response within a day. It's best to respond within an hour or less for social media inquiries. The average first response time on phone calls is three minutes or less.

2. Resolution time: This metric tracks the average time it takes to resolve customer issues. A good average resolution time is five minutes. Anything lower indicates highly efficient problem-solving by your team.

3. Average handle time (AHT): This reflects an agent's average time handling a customer inquiry, including resolution time and post-interaction tasks. A good AHT is around six minutes. Anything higher suggests inefficient processes, complex issues requiring extensive troubleshooting, or lengthy customer explanations.

4. Customer satisfaction (CSAT) score: CSAT measures customer satisfaction based on feedback provided after interacting with support. CSAT scores vary by industry, but a good score is somewhere between 75% and 85%. A high CSAT score indicates satisfied customers, while a low score means you need to improve.

Plivo CX offers a robust reporting and analytics suite that empowers you to track these critical customer support metrics. You gain real-time visibility into key performance indicators (KPIs) like queue lengths, agent activity, and CSAT scores. 

You also find in-depth historical reports that allow you to analyze trends over time and see how your streamlining efforts work.

6. Set up a unified agent desktop

A unified agent desktop (UAD) consolidates all customer interaction channels into one platform, offering a complete picture of the customer journey and communication history. This provides agents with comprehensive context, enabling seamless channel switching and ultimately streamlining customer support while enhancing the agent experience.

To give an example, without a UAD, an agent assisting a frustrated online shopper about a missing item would need to switch between multiple applications to access order details, track the item, and potentially initiate a call. This fragmented approach hinders efficiency and can exacerbate the customer's frustration.

With a UAD, the agent can access a complete view of the customer's journey. They’ll quickly retrieve the order details, track the missing item, and seamlessly switch to a voice call if needed to clarify any information, all within a single interface.

With Plivo CX, your agents can switch between AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, email, and WhatsApp channels or use multiple channels simultaneously. Seamlessly integrate with existing systems, including popular platforms and your homegrown solutions, for a unified and efficient customer experience.

You can also integrate all your business systems, including CRM, knowledge bases, and reporting tools, into the Plivo CX UAD. 

7. Integrate with social media

The core concept behind social media customer service is a simple principle: be where your customers are. Social media remains a popular avenue for asking questions and raising concerns. 

Even if you attempt to funnel customer inquiries to designated channels, some customers still prefer to voice their opinions on social platforms. Failing to respond promptly or leaving such inquiries unanswered will harm your reputation more than admitting mistakes and actively addressing them.

For example, if a customer posts a negative Facebook review about a defective product, an alerted agent can directly message the customer, offering a solution, such as a replacement or refund, and instructions for returning the item. This proactive approach demonstrates care for customers and can turn a negative experience into a positive one.

Plivo CX integrates with social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You can manage all customer interactions across all social media platforms, including phone calls, emails, and chat, within the unified agent desktop.

Level up your customer service with Plivo CX

Customers today expect efficient interactions across all channels, be it voice calls, emails, texts, live chat, or social media. Negative experiences like long wait times or repeated explanations quickly erode customer loyalty and trust.

To help you deliver what customers prioritize, Plivo CX comes with a a comprehensive suite of features to help you streamline customer service across all channels. Its intuitive, unified agent desktop, AI-powered chatbots, and IVR system help you deliver timely, efficient, personalized support across every channel. 

Plus, with real-time analytics and reporting capabilities, you can continuously optimize your customer service operations and drive greater customer satisfaction.

Sounds intriguing? 

Book a demo at Plivo CX today!

Marketing channels are getting diversified. Opportunities catching every marketer's attention are:

• Email marketing
• SMS marketing
• WhatsApp marketing
• Push notifications 
• Social media marketing
• Influencer marketing
• Affiliate and referral marketing
• Content marketing (websites and blogs)
• Video marketing
• Podcast marketing

It's all about meeting customers where they are. Omnichannel marketing helps you do that.

In this post, we have listed the top omnichannel marketing tools with detailed features, pricing, reviews, pros, and cons.

What is Omnichannel Marketing Software?

Omnichannel marketing software are platforms that automate and manage your marketing efforts across multiple channels. They integrate email, social media, SMS, push notifications, chatbots, etc., into one platform. You don't need multiple tools to cater to each channel. Instead, you can sign up for a single software and provide a seamless experience to your customers. 

5 Benefits of Omnichannel Marketing Software

1. Consistent brand presence

Omnichannel marketing software brings all marketing channels to one platform making it easy to:

• Create a centralized style guide with logos, colors, and fonts
• Review all the campaigns in one place and ensure they follow the style guide.

Overall, you can provide a consistent brand experience to your customers irrespective of the channel.

2. Personalized marketing

Omnichannel marketing software collates all customer data into one single source, allowing you to draw valuable insights and create personalized marketing campaigns. Three-quarters of customers expected personalization from retailers.

3. Effective lead nurturing

You can diversify your lead nurturing process by having touchpoints via different channels. You still remain on top of customers' heads without being pushy with the same message again and again.

4. In-depth analytics and reporting

With centralized data, you can capture reports and pull up key metrics like impressions, clicks, conversions, ROI, and cost per acquisition. You can also segment customer data and understand your users better.

5. Scalable marketing efforts

Another key benefit of omnichannel marketing software is that you don't have to start from scratch for every new marketing channel you add. You already have a base system with a brand style guide, and you can simply add a new workflow.

‍

9 Best Omnichannel Marketing Software 

‍

‍

1. Plivo CX

Plivo CX is an omnichannel marketing solution enabling you to send marketing messages to your customers on their preferred communication channels: SMS, MMS, Email (upcoming), or WhatsApp (upcoming). Beyond marketing, Plivo CX is also extendable to customer support, bringing your entire customer data into one platform. 

Features:

• Supported channels: SMS, MMS, Email (upcoming), or WhatsApp (upcoming)
• Supported languages: English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Afrikaans   
• Supported currencies: Not mentioned on the website
• API support: Get API support to import contacts and manage opt-outs (upcoming). 
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates to create campaigns quickly.
• AI support: AI integration can help you optimize the content for your campaigns.
• Integrations: You can integrate Plivo CX with your existing tools. It can be easily integrated with Shopify, Zoho, Freshdesk, Salesforce, Zendesk, HelpScout, Hubspot, Zapier, etc.
• Reporting: You get dashboards to view campaign performance and customer insights. 
• Compliance: Plivo CX complies with data protection standards like GDPR and CCPA. 

Pricing:

Plivo CX Engage offers several plans:

• Free: for up to 1,000 contacts and 300 SMS
• Starter: $19 for up to 5,000 contacts and 1,500 SMS
• Growth: $75 for up to 25,000 contacts and 9,000 SMS
• Pro: $199 for unlimited contacts and 27,000 SMS
• Enterprise: Contact sales for customized pricing.

Pros:

• Easy to set up
• Supports both marketing and customer support functions
• Integrates all key channels: SMS, MMS, Email (upcoming), and WhatsApp  (upcoming) 
• Affordable pricing
• High deliverability rate with Plivo's industry-leading messaging network.

Cons:

• Currently works for Shopify eCommerce brands only

What do Plivo users say?

‍

2. Omnisend

Omnisend is an all-in-one marketing automation solution built for eCommerce businesses. It's mostly used for email marketing but can also be extended to SMS, push notifications, WhatsApp, pop-ups, and paid social media ads. 

Features:

• Supported channels: SMS, push notifications, WhatsApp, pop-ups, segmentation, and dynamic Facebook and Google ads.
• Supported languages: Not mentioned on the website 
• Supported currencies: USD 
• API support: Get API support to import customer data. 
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates to create campaigns quickly.
• AI support: Get AI support to write personalized emails, predict consumer behavior, and analyze campaign results.
• Integrations: 130+ integrations are possible with all top marketing, automation, customer relationship management (CRM), and eCommerce platforms.
• Reporting: Easily capture detailed revenue and engagement reports of campaigns. 
• Compliance: Omnisend complies with data protection standards like the GDPR, CCPA, and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Pricing:

Free trial available with limited features. The standard plan starts at $1,456 per month for 150,000 contacts.. 

Pros:

• Excellent customer support
• Works with all major eCommerce platforms

Cons:

• Limited pre-defined templates
• Slight learning curve

What do Omnisend users say?

‍

3. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a marketing automation platform for eCommerce businesses. It creates personalized experiences for customers across email, SMS, and push notifications. With over 300 pre-built integrations, Klaviyo can easily fit into your existing tech ecosystem. 

Features

• Supported channels:  Email, SMS, and push notification channels
• Supported languages: English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish 
• Supported currencies: All major currencies are supported.
• API support: Get API support to import customer data. 
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates to create SMS and email campaigns quickly.
• AI support: Get AI support to find the best time to send campaigns.
• Integrations: 300+ pre-built integrations with top marketing, shipping, sales, loyalty, and subscription programs.
• Reporting: Get dashboards with all your marketing campaign data in one view.
• Compliance: Klaviyo complies with data protection standards like GDPR and CCPA. 

Pricing:

Free trial available with limited features. Paid plans start at $945 per month supporting 100,000 email credits.

Pros:

• Extensive features and integrations 

Cons:

• Expensive for small and mid-size companies
• Advanced features require an agency to assist with adoption
• Users complain of slowness in the platform
• Poor customer support.

What do Klaviyo users say?

‍

4. ActiveCampaign

ActiveCampaign is cloud-based automation software that supports marketing and sales functions. Its top features include email marketing and customer relationship management.
ActiveCampaign also offers sales automation and CRM under the name ActiveCampaign Sales. This ActiveCampaign CRM is an excellent tool for growing sales teams.

Features

• Supported channels: Email, SMS, push notifications, Facebook and Google Ads
• Supported languages: Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Brazilian, Portuguese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Simplified Chinese, Turkish, Vietnamese
• Supported currencies: 155+ currencies supported 
• API support: Get API support to import customer data. 
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates to create email campaigns quickly.
• AI support: Get AI support to write personalized emails and predict the right time to send emails.
• Integrations: 940+ integrations covering all eCommerce, marketing, sales, socials, accounting, HR, project management, CRM platforms, etc.
• Reporting: Easily capture campaign reports. 
• Compliance: ActiveCampiagn complies with data protection standards like  GDPR, SOC 2, and HIPAA.

Pricing:

No free trial. Professional plan starts at $809 per month for up to 50,000 contacts. 

Pros:

• Advanced automation marketing capabilities  
• CRM integration makes ActiveCampaign extendable to sales teams

Cons:

• Steep learning curve 
• Slow customer support

What do ActiveCampaign users say?

‍

5. Braze

Braze is a customer engagement platform that helps brands build strong relationships with consumers. It's an omnichannel platform for businesses to engage with their consumers across various channels, including email, push notifications, in-app messaging, SMS, and more.

Features:

• Supported channels:  SMS, MMS, Email, and WhatsApp
• Supported languages: 180+
• Supported currencies: Not mentioned on the website.
• API support: Use API to import/export data and connect Braze with other platforms. 
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates to create campaigns.
• AI support: Get AI support to write campaign content and generate images. 
• Integrations: 140+ integrations are available for top messaging, analytics, and top eCommerce platforms.
• Reporting: Get dashboards with campaign data to optimize future marketing strategies.
• Compliance: Braze complies with data protection standards like the GDPR, CCPA, and SOC2. 

Pricing:

• Not mentioned on the website.

Pros:

• User-friendly interface

Cons:

• Big learning curve
• Limited reporting features. 

What do Braze users say?

‍

6. Sendlane

Sendlane is a cloud-based marketing automation software that helps brands nurture customer relationships through email and SMS marketing. It targets mid-market and enterprise brands to boost marketing efforts through one unified marketing platform. 

Features

• Supported channels:  SMS, MMS and Email
• Supported languages: English
• Supported currencies: Not mentioned on the website.
• API support: Get API support to import customer data and track customer activity.
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates for campaigns such as win-back, abandoned carts, loyalty programs, etc.
• Integrations: You can integrate Sendlane with top eCommerce platforms.
• Reporting: Get dashboards with important metrics such as revenue, open rate, top products, and more.
• Compliance: Sendlane complies with data protection standards like GDPR and CCPA. 

Pricing:

For 500,000 email and SMS credits, the pricing would be $4,955 per month

Pros:

• Excellent customer support
• Good email deliverability

Cons:

• Expensive for small and mid-size companies

What do Sendlane users say?

‍

7. Avada

‍

Avada is a marketing automation platform for eCommerce businesses, especially Shopify, Magento, and WooCommerce brands. It supports various channels, including email marketing, SMS, push notifications, and WhatsApp, to enable omnichannel marketing. 

Features:

• Supported channels:  SMS, MMS, Email, WhatsApp, and push notifications
• Supported languages: English, Danish, French, German, Hindi, Icelandic, and Swedish
• Supported currencies: INR, GBP, CAD, USD, AUD, EUR, and JPY
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates to design email campaigns.
• Reporting: Get an app dashboard with all important KPIs: open rate, click-through rate, revenue, and conversion rate.
• Compliance: Avada complies with data protection standards like the GDPR, CPRA, SOC2, and PCI-DSS. 

Pricing:

• Free trial up to 14 days. Advanced plans start at $47 per month.

Pros:

• Excellent customer support

Cons:

• Slight learning curve
• Limited customization options

What do Avada users say?

‍

8. Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a popular marketing automation platform, especially preferred by brands for email marketing. It targets a wide variety of audiences, from solopreneurs and small businesses to large enterprises.

Features

• Supported channels: Email, SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications and in-app messaging
• Supported languages: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Deutsch, and Italian
• Supported currencies: USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, INR, NZD, BRL, DKK, SEK, SGD, ZAR, CHF, MXN, CAD, HKD and JPY
• API support: Use API to import data and automate marketing campaigns. 
• Pre-defined templates: Use 100+ free and paid templates to design email campaigns.
• AI support: Mailchimp AI assists in writing email content and finding the best time to email customers.
• Integrations: 250+ pre-built integrations with eCommerce platforms, design, payment platforms, etc.
• Reporting: You get campaign reports with important KPIs like open rate, click rate, click maps, revenue, etc. 
• Compliance: Mailchimp complies with data protection standards like GDPR and CCPA.

Pricing:

Free plan with only 1000 emails per month and the premium plan with 150,000 emails per month start at ₹11,500. 

Pros:

• Extensive email marketing capabilities  

Cons:

• Limited design features for email and landing pages
• Expensive for small and mid-size companies.

What do Mailchimp users say?

‍

9. Brevo

Brevo (formerly known as Sendinblue) is a marketing automation tool that helps businesses build customer relationships through email and SMS marketing. With Brevo, you get a unified view of the customer journey in one platform. 

Features

• Supported channels: SMS, MMS, Email, or WhatsApp
• Supported languages:  English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and German   
• Supported currencies: Not mentioned on the website
• API support: Use API to send out transactional emails. 
• Pre-defined templates: Use existing templates or create your own email templates.
• AI support: Get AI support to write email content and identify the right time to send messages.
• Integrations: 55+ integrations with payment platforms, eCommerce businesses, CRM, automation platforms, etc.
• Reporting: You get a dashboard with all important KPIs such as open rate, click rate, bounce rate, unsubscription rate, etc 

• Compliance: Brevo complies with data protection standards like GDPR and CCPA. 

Pricing:

The free plan with only 300 monthly emails and the premium plan with 20,000 monthly emails start at ₹4075. 

Pros:

• Responsive customer support
• Competitive pricing   

Cons:

• Poor mail deliverability
• Limited templates.

What do Brevo users say?

How to Choose the Best Omnichannel Marketing Software

Seven key factors to check in an omnichannel marketing software are:

1. Is the software easy to use and has detailed documentation for initial implementation?
2. Does the software support your required channels?
3. Does the software categorize customers into meaningful segments to run personalized campaigns? 
4. Does the software offer integrations with your current tech stack?
5. Is the pricing right for your budget?
6. Does the software company offer customer support?
7. Do the existing dashboards on the software track all the important KPIs?

Use Plivo CX to Boost Your Marketing

Plivo CX is a simple, easy-to-use, and affordable solution bringing SMS, MMS, email, or WhatsApp into one platform. Beyond marketing, it is also extendable to the customer success team. Overall, all the customer-facing actions and data combine into one single platform. 

Book a demo today!

Picture this: A customer tries to reach out through text, expecting a swift and helpful response, only to be met with silence or, worse, redirected to a completely different platform. This scenario is far from uncommon.
Customers don't just want responses; they crave consistency. A seamless experience, whether they're tweeting, calling, or walking into a store, is not just appreciated—it's expected. 

A whopping 50% of customers are unlikely to spend money with a business that takes longer to respond than expected. Customers desire this consistency across all engagement channels, expecting the comfort of knowing that no matter how they reach out, the quality and tone of service will remain unchanged.

This is where omnichannel customer support software comes into play. It improves the efficiency of your customer support team by enabling seamless communication across multiple platforms and ensuring consistent and efficient customer interactions, regardless of the chosen medium.

Businesses embracing omnichannel customer engagement achieve excellent results. They help retain a staggering 89% of customers. 

In this article, we'll discuss the top omnichannel customer support platforms, their key features, and limitations and help you decide which is best for your business needs.

What are Omnichannel Support Platforms?

Omnichannel support platforms are systems or software solutions that enable businesses to provide seamless customer support across multiple channels. These channels can include traditional ones, such as phone, email, and live chat, as well as more contemporary ones, such as social media, messaging apps, and self-service portals.

• According to statistics, omnichannel approaches driven by support platforms can enhance efficiency and a 9.5% annual revenue increase. 
• Omnichannel strategies also create happier customers. They provide a seamless, consistent experience across various platforms, meeting customer expectations for effortless interactions. 76% of customers want this consistency, and 73% expect companies to understand them without having to explain themselves repeatedly.

Omnichannel support platforms include features such as: 

• Ticketing systems: Streamline customer inquiries and support requests.
• Knowledge bases: Provide customers with easy access to self-service information.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) integration: Offers a centralized view of customer data and interactions.
• Analytics tools: Enable tracking and analysis of customer interactions across various channels.

They are essential for modern businesses looking to provide a unified and personalized customer support experience across various touchpoints.

5 Top Omnichannel Customer Service Platform

Here are five best omnichannel customer service platforms you must know about in 2024:

‍

1. Plivo CX Service

‍Plivo CX Service is your ultimate solution for omnichannel customer support. It provides a seamless, integrated platform that simplifies, modernizes, and helps your business grow. Built on Plivo's reliable premium carrier network, CX Service delivers seamless calling and messaging to customers across 190 countries worldwide.

This platform is designed with simplicity in mind. Its drag-and-drop customer journey builder helps you visually map customer interactions and processes, allowing easy integration into your existing systems. 

The tool’s user-friendly interface ensures that your team can start delivering exceptional customer support with minimal training.

With Plivo CX Service, you can manage voice, SMS, WhatsApp, in-app, and webchat communications from a single window. This omnichannel approach ensures customers can reach you on their preferred platform without hassle.

The live metrics and historical reporting feature optimize team performance, while personalized automation and an integrated knowledge base empower your agents and customers.

Plivo CX Service key features

• Switch between your favorite communication methods: voice, chat, text/SMS, and WhatsApp. You can even use multiple channels simultaneously to suit your needs
• Plivo CX Service's Workflow builder empowers you to design highly customized user journeys, adapting seamlessly to your business's unique communication channels.
• Use call recordings for coaching and compliance, ensuring every interaction is up to the mark. With complete customer context, you can make the most out of each coaching opportunity
• Train Plivo CX Service's AI using content you select, ensuring accuracy and relevance. This way, you have control over the AI's learning material, making it as efficient and relevant to your needs as possible
• Integrate with home-grown or any API-based systems. Some top integrations include Salesforce, Zoho, HubSpot, Service Cloud, Zendesk, and Shopify
• Enable callers to self-select options for quicker routing. This not only reduces wait times but also leads to faster issue resolution, improving overall customer satisfaction
• Make your automation feel more personal by incorporating customer data into greetings and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) voice prompts
• Optimize performance using Live Metrics & Historical Reporting. These tools help you track and improve your service consistently 
• Use the queue, operations, and agent dashboards to optimize your customer service team. These dashboards provide critical insights to help you manage your team's performance and improve customer service

Plivo CX Service limitations

• Lacks features specifically designed for quality assurance and workforce management
• Does not have a dedicated mobile app for support agents
• May not be ideal for primarily transactional ticket-based support

Plivo CX Service pricing

• ​​Chat Only: Starts from $19
• Growth: $29/user/month. For growing teams getting started with omnichannel customer service.
• Business: $69/user/month. For more established teams looking to boost agent productivity
• Enterprise: Custom pricing with advanced insights into customer behavior and growth opportunities

Plivo CX Service rating and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (724 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (83 reviews)  

2. Zendesk 

Zendesk is a dynamic, omnichannel customer service platform designed to streamline your support operations and improve customer experience. It integrates into your business, offering a unified workspace for agents and supporting multiple communication channels. With Zendesk, you ensure every customer interaction is informed, efficient, and personalized to their needs.

Zendesk key features

• Unify voice, email, SMS, live chat, social media, and more for seamless customer interactions
• Use intuitive analytics and reporting tools for actionable customer service insights
• Deploy intelligent automation and AI for instant, 24/7 customer responses

Zendesk limitations

• Does not have live monitoring and coaching capabilities
• Some Users have reported occasional issues with uploading and exporting data on Zendesk (Capterra)
• Zendesk's base functionality might not meet the needs of businesses looking to highly customize their customer service tools, pushing them towards third-party apps or more expensive plans (G2)

Zendesk pricing

• Foundational support starts at $19 per month
• Suite Team: $55 per user per month
• Suite Growth: $89 per user per month
• Suite Professional: $115 per user per month
• Suite Enterprise: Customized pricing as per your business requirements

Zendesk rating and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (5821 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.4/5 (3859 reviews)

3. Gladly

Gladly prioritizes a customer-centric approach, allowing you to build stronger brand loyalty through efficient and personalized interactions across various channels, including messaging, chat, voice, SMS, email, and self-service tools. You can significantly improve the personalization and efficiency of customer conversations.

Gladly key features

• Offers a single, consolidated dashboard presenting all customer interactions across various channels, providing agents with a complete history of each customer's communication
• Includes automated workflows that intelligently route customer inquiries to the most suitable agent based on their needs and preferences
• Provides advanced reporting and analytics tools to measure the performance of your customer service operations, identify trends, and pinpoint areas for improvement

Gladly limitations

• Some users have reported experiencing glitches within the system that can impact its reliability (G2)
• Reporting is not intuitive, and it is time-consuming to pull and review basic stats (G2)

Gladly pricing

• Hero Package: $180.00 for 1 Support Hero Per Month
• Superhero Package: $210.00 for 1 Support Hero Per Month

Gladly ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.7/5 (895 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.8/5 (123 reviews)

4. Kustomer 

Kustomer offers you the power to transform customer service into an omnichannel experience. With Kustomer, you can craft AI Chatbots to engage with your customers without coding, seamlessly unify your customer support operations and automation, and assist your customers more swiftly.

 By integrating self-service options, AI productivity tools, and a robust CRM system, Kustomer is designed to elevate customer satisfaction to new heights.

Kustomer key features

• Offers unified customer interaction channels across multiple platforms
• Advanced AI capabilities are included for automating customer support and workflows
• AI chatbots can be created without any coding knowledge
• Self-service options are provided to allow customers to find solutions independently

Kustomer limitations

• Some users have reported constraints in the platform's data export capabilities. Specifically, the reports are limited in how they can incorporate multiple dimensions, making it challenging to generate detailed reports with nuanced data (G2)
• Kustomer's pricing structure requires a minimum purchase of 8 seats, making it less accessible for smaller businesses or startups with limited budgets (Capterra)

Kustomer pricing

• Enterprise: Starting at $89.00 for 1 User Per Month
• Ultimate: Starting at $139.00 for 1 User Per Month

Kustomer ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (411 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6/5 (56 reviews)

5. Freshdesk (H3)

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Freshdesk is a cloud-based omnichannel customer service software designed to improve your customer support efforts by managing inquiries across various channels from a single platform. It's tailored to help your team deliver personalized support and intuitive responses, ensuring every customer issue is resolved efficiently.

Freshdesk key features

• Ticketing system that automatically categorizes, prioritizes, and assigns to the right agent, ensuring faster response times and efficient resolution
• Integrates customer requests from email, voice, chat, and social media into one unified interface
• AI-powered chatbot to ensure timely acknowledgment of customer queries and an advanced thank you detector to prevent resolved tickets from reopening

Freshdesk limitations

• Some users find the absence of some basic functionalities, such as the ability to send emails to multiple recipients, save drafts, and a more efficient search function (Capterra)
• Some users find the process of attaching calls to tickets cumbersome, a complex process involving multiple dropdown menus, where selecting the wrong option initially can erase typed information (G2)

Freshdesk pricing

• Free: $0 for up to 10 agents.
• Growth: $15 per user per month (basic features)
• Pro: $49 per user per month (Growth+additional features)
• Enterprise: $69 per user per month (Pro+additional features)

Freshdesk rating and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (3104 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (3266 reviews)

Essential Features Of Omnichannel Support Software

Here are some essential features of omnichannel customer support software:

1. Unified dashboard

Look for a unified dashboard when choosing omnichannel support software. This dashboard acts as your customer service command center, consolidating interactions from all channels – social media, email, chat, and phone. With a unified dashboard, you'll gain a comprehensive view of customer communications, enabling you to deliver faster, personalized support and ultimately increase customer satisfaction.

2. Cross-channel integration

Your customers might start a query on chat, move to email, and then finalize the conversation over the phone. Cross-channel integration ensures these interactions are seamlessly linked and accessible across all platforms, allowing continuous conversation. This feature helps maintain consistency in customer experience, no matter how or where your customer chooses to engage with you.

3. Ticketing and case management

Seek robust ticketing and case management features in your omnichannel software. These allow you to organize, prioritize, and track customer issues for efficient resolution. Customize ticket categories, assign them to specialized agents, and maintain a clear record of interactions for better analysis and overall support.

4. Real-time communication

Real-time communication is integral to omnichannel support. Look for features like live chat, instant messaging, and co-browsing to assist customers immediately. The result is reduced wait times and dramatically improved customer experiences.

5. Mobile support

Mobile support is a must-have in today's world. Your omnichannel platform should offer mobile-optimized interfaces, in-app support, and SMS capabilities. It lets customers quickly get help, regardless of their device, enhancing the overall support experience.

6. Multilingual and multiregional support

For a global audience, ensure your support software offers multilingual and multiregional capabilities. This allows customers to interact in their preferred language and receive culturally relevant support, boosting engagement and satisfaction worldwide.

7. Knowledge base and self-service

A comprehensive knowledge base with intuitive self-service options is crucial in omnichannel support. Provide FAQs, how-to guides, tutorials, and forums for customers to find answers independently. It improves customer satisfaction by offering instant solutions and reducing your support agents' workload, allowing them to focus on more complex issues.

Why is Plivo CX Service the Best Omnichannel Customer Support Platform?

Plivo CX Service is a cloud-based omnichannel contact center solution that helps small and midsize businesses deliver a superior customer experience by providing a unified view of all customer interactions across multiple channels. 

This cloud-based solution integrates AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, email, and WhatsApp, ensuring a seamless experience across all channels. The platform boosts agent productivity with real-time coaching and a drag-and-drop customer journey builder, accommodating custom workflows. 

Plivo CX Service is tailored for businesses aiming for fast innovation and superior customer engagement.

Embrace Plivo CX Service to modernize your contact center and foster lasting customer relationships. 

Want to know more? Book a demo today.

Modern customers expect support across multiple channels—emails, live chat, social media, SMS, you name it. 

Omnichannel contact center software unifies multiple communication channels, empowers your customer service team with 360 context, automation and insights, and helps you build stronger customer relationships.

But with so many options available, choosing the right tool might feel like finding a needle in a haystack.

This post reviews the top five omnichannel contact center platforms to help you find the perfect fit for your unique needs and budget. 

What is Omnichannel Contact Center Software?

Omnichannel contact center software is a cloud-based communication hub for businesses. It helps you manage all your customer interactions across multiple channels, like phone calls, emails, texts, and social media messages, all in one place.

What makes an omnichannel contact center irreplaceable for modern and internet-first businesses is that conversational data and context from multiple channels synchronize automatically. A customer can start a chat, then decide to email about it or hop on a call if needed, all within the same conversation.

All the conversation history, regardless of the channel used, is logged and readily accessible to your agents without the need to search through multiple applications. 

Why Do You Need Omnichannel Contact Center Software?

You need an omnichannel contact center to provide better customer service, offer an improved agent experience, allow remote work, and get insights into how your customer support team is performing.

To provide better customer service

Imagine yourself in the shoes of a customer, frantically searching for an answer online, then waiting on hold for ages on the phone, only to be directed to email. It’s a huge turn-off. 

79% of customers today expect seamless, effortless support across channels, with the primary cause of their frustration being disjointed interactions.

Omnichannel software eliminates this problem by allowing your customer support team to be available on all in-demand communication channels. The holistic view of each customer's history and interactions allows support agents to diagnose and resolve issues swiftly, leading to satisfied customers. 

To offer a better agent experience

When contact center reps juggle through multiple calls, emails, and chats simultaneously, it's stressful, inefficient, and hurts both agent morale and customer service. 

30% of contact center staff believe inadequate or difficult-to-use systems are the biggest obstacle in assisting customers. It's hard to understand customer journeys from scattered information with missing context or from conversations across disjointed channels. 

Omnichannel software brings all customer interactions onto a single platform, giving customer support agents a holistic view of customer journeys and helping them resolve issues more efficiently.

Advanced tools also automate tasks like routing inquiries to the right agent, assigning priorities, and managing queues. Automation frees up valuable time for agents to focus on what matters most—providing exceptional service.

To allow your customer service team to work remotely

Most omnichannel software is cloud-based, meaning agents can work remotely using their own devices. Remote working not only improves agent experience but also reduces your operational costs. 

You also get a productivity boost—according to Forbes, 35% of remote employees report increased productivity. 

The cherry on top? A geographically dispersed team means that you can offer round-the-clock customer support. 

To get insights into the performance of your customer service team

Omnichannel software provides built-in reporting tools that track key performance indicators (KPIs) like first contact resolution rates, average handling times, and customer satisfaction scores. 

With quantifiable data, analyze trends, identify common issues, and understand how your customer support team performs across different channels. 

This helps you look for areas for improvement, make data-driven decisions, and implement targeted training programs and development opportunities to help each agent reach their full potential.

What are the Best Omnichannel Contact Center Tools?

Omnichannel contact center software has many benefits, but only if you choose the right tool. What are your options? Read ahead to find out.

1. Plivo CX

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Plivo CX is a cloud-based omnichannel contact center solution that empowers small and medium businesses to deliver exceptional customer service across various channels. It unifies AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, email, and WhatsApp to offer a seamless experience for both customers and agents.

Key Features

• Helps agents easily switch between channels or manage multiple customer interactions at once via a unified agent desktop
• Offers toll-free and local numbers in 50+ countries. Use them to call customers in over 190 countries and record calls for training and quality assurance 
• Integrates with your custom knowledge base to help agents come up with accurate and efficient responses
• Self-service chatbots are trained on your knowledge base to answer common questions automatically
• Set up call-backs on preferred channels and sticky routing to route repeat callers to the same agents 
• Integrates with popular business tools like Shopify, Zoho, Salesforce, Zendesk, and HubSpot and connects to even more via a custom API
• Integrates with even homegrown systems 
• Workflow builder helps build custom user journeys across any channels the business interacts with the customer.

Limitations

• Lacks features related to quality assurance and workforce management
• Not the best for transactional ticket-based customer support interactions

Pricing

• Growth: $29 per user per month with 2,000 calls and 2,000 chat sessions
• Business: $69 per user per month with 5,000 calls and 5,000 chat sessions 

Plivo CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. Help Scout

Help Scout is a trusted omnichannel contact center software that promises to bring “every client, partner, and vendor conversation onto one unified platform”.

The tool stands out for its clean, user-friendly interface and focus on streamlined, efficient customer support.

Key Features

• Supports chat, live chat, email, and social media 
• A single shared inbox allows agents to not only interact with customers but also collaborate with each other
• Facilitates team collaboration with message assignments, private notes for internal communication and collaboration, real-time collision detection to prevent duplicate responses, and AI summarizer to streamline lengthy email threads 
• Automates tasks with customizable workflows based on specific triggers, such as adding tags for specific subject lines 
• iOS and Android apps help you stay connected and respond to customers on the go

Limitations (G2)

• No voice or SMS support (Website)
• Limited customization options for the knowledge base 
• The Messenger integration is available only for Pro and Plus plans

Pricing

• Standard: $20/user/month with 2 shared inboxes and 1 knowledge base
• Plus: $40/user/month with 5 shared inboxes and 2 knowledge bases
• Pro: $65/user/month with 25 shared inboxes and 10 knowledge bases

3. Kustomer

Acquired by Facebook for $1 billion in 2020, Kustomer has established itself as a major player in omnichannel customer service. It caters to mid-market businesses, specifically in e-commerce and retail industries. 

Key Features

• An AI-powered help center is available in 76 languages, which reduces support volume by deflecting 40% of inquiries with accurate, automated responses
• KIQ Customer Assist responds to customer queries using AI and information from your knowledge base
• Tailor your IVR menus based on customer data and route them to the right agent instantly
• The Timeline view displays every customer interaction in chronological order to give agents complete context

Limitations (G2)

• The integrations in Kustomer are slow to load and update. 
• Some users find the knowledge center to be “bland” with no options to customize it

Pricing

• Enterprise: $89/user/month with proactive service, multichannel communication, voice provider integration, and more
• Ultimate: $139/user/month with everything in the Enterprise plan plus enhanced routing, real-time user supervision, real-time dashboards, and more

The add-on features include API Limit Increase and Data Warehousing.  

4. Gorgias

Gorgias is the go-to omnichannel contact center software for e-commerce brands. The platform is designed to work with Shopify, BigCommerce, Magneto, and WooCommerce, and offers AI-powered customer service.

Key Features

• Supports email, live chat, social media (Facebook and Instagram), and WhatsApp 
• Automates repetitive tasks such as ticket assignments and tagging based on keywords, saving time and improving efficiency
• Custom flows enable automatic handling of customer interactions and ensure consistent and timely responses
• Publish FAQs and helpful information in internal or external help centers and provide customers with self-service options

Limitations (G2)

• Automation add-ons are expensive 
• Learning how to use Gorgias takes some time
• Historical data reporting is limited to 90 days, and users can’t create custom reports

Pricing

• Starter: $10 per month, 50 billable tickets
• Basic: $60 per month, 300 billable tickets
• Pro: $300 per month, 2,000 billable tickets
• Advanced: $750 per month, 5,000 billable tickets 
• Enterprise: Custom-priced, custom number of billable tickets

5. Gladly

Gladly is an omnichannel contact center platform renowned for its unique "people-centric" approach to customer service. It’s a partner of the Shopify Plus Certified app.

Instead of focusing on tickets, Gladly prioritizes understanding customers as individuals and building lasting relationships through personalized interactions. This philosophy has attracted many midmarket and enterprise brands, making up most of its customer base. 

Key Features

• Supports voice, email, social media, SMS, and live chat
• A ticket-free customer service approach prevents ticket duplication
• AI assistants summarize conversations, suggest replies, and draft marketing copy, which frees up agent time for complex inquiries
• Gladly Sidekick helps customers find answers instantly with personalized self-service options
• Offers extensive integrations with 38 popular tools like Shopify, Messenger, and Klaviyo
• Connects the right agents with the right customers based on sentiment, situation, and customer history

Limitations (G2)

• The system becomes idle after 10 minutes of inactivity
• Has several restrictions on customization for the front page and visual aids
• Lacks colorblind and dark modes

Pricing

• Hero: $180/agent/month with a unified customer view, a centralized knowledge base, real-time and historical reporting, and a single conversation history across channels
• Superhero: $210/agent/month with 99.9% uptime, customer reporting, and premium support

Plivo CX—The Ultimate Omnichannel Contact Center

The goal of an omnichannel contact center is to make you available to your customers on multiple platforms simultaneously. The right tool is the one that integrates with your existing toolset, helps your team improve with reporting and analytics, and delights your customers with well-organized knowledge bases and quick multichannel responses. 

If you're looking for a powerful omnichannel contact center software solution designed to scale with your business, check out Plivo CX.

Plivo CX is easy to use for customer support agents, offers voice, SMS, WhatsApp, and live chat support, and natively integrates with popular tools like Shopify, Zendesk, and Zoho—all at an attractive price point. 

Start your free trial today.

According to Salesforce, 88% of customers expect brands to offer effective online support channels. This high level of customer expectation is a major driving force behind the adoption of automation.

An IBM study also notes that businesses leveraging AI and chatbots in their customer service processes have seen operational costs reduced by up to 30%​.

This is why businesses across industries are considering customer service automation to reduce costs and free up their representatives’ time for more value-added activities, such as improving the quality of customer service rather than answering repetitive queries. 

In this post, we’ll share detailed reviews of the five best customer service automation software in 2024 to help you stay ahead of the game. We’ll also discuss each tool's best features, pros, cons, and customer reviews. Let’s get started!

What is Automated Customer Service?

Automated customer service relies on technologies like chatbots, virtual assistants, and automated phone systems to assist customers with their queries. 

Automated customer service systems are usually programmed to handle common and repetitive tasks. They provide instant responses and can operate 24/7, which improves efficiency and reduces labor costs and response times.

Top 5 Customer Service Automation Tools in 2024

So, how do you start automating your customer service? Here are five tools to consider, each with a unique use case. 

1. Plivo CX—best for omnichannel automation

Plivo CX is an omnichannel customer support platform that allows you to reach out to customers on their preferred channels, whether it’s SMS/MMS messaging, live chat, voice calls, WhatsApp, or email. 

Plivo CX's intuitive drag-and-drop workflow builder empowers businesses to create custom customer journeys across all communication channels (SMS, chat, voice, email) for efficient issue resolution and tailored support.

This cloud-based tool integrates home-grown systems and multiple popular tools, including Zendesk, Zoho, HubSpot, Shopify, and Salesforce. It also excels in compatibility with home-grown systems, enabling personalized customer service without the need for major changes to your existing tech stack. 

Moreover, you can record calls for training your agents and analyze live metrics like customers in the queue, average wait time, average handle time, and average wrap-up time.

Plivo CX best features 

• Access global coverage in 190 countries
• Create drag-and-drop workflows that are triggered remotely, allow for skill-based call routing
• Helps quickly escalate more complex issues to human agents on all channels
• Answer common customer questions using OpenAI-powered chatbots that rely on your custom-made knowledge base
• Personalize customer journeys to your businesses needs on all service channels.
• Switch seamlessly between different communication channels via a unified agent desktop

Plivo CX pros

• Powered by Plivo’s enterprise-grade communications platform with a premium carrier network, it offers reliable calling and messaging capabilities
• Global courage in 190 countries 
• Highly responsive customer support 
• Plivo CX empowers agents with efficiency tools and real-time coaching, resulting in faster resolutions and a better overall customer experience

Plivo CX limitations

• Plivo CX doesn't currently offer a mobile version for support agents
• The tool lacks quality assurance and workforce management features
• Businesses with high-volume, transactional, ticket-based customer support interactions may need a dedicated ticketing system alongside Plivo CX 

Plivo CX pricing

• Chat-only: Starts at $228/year
• Growth: $348/user/year with 2000 monthly agent minutes, 100 bot sessions per agent, and 2000 chat sessions per agent
• Business: $828/user/year with 3000 monthly agent minutes, 500 bot sessions per agent, and 3000 chat sessions per agent

Plivo CX rating and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (724 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (85 reviews)

2. HelpDocs—best for knowledge bases

The knowledge-based software solution HelpDocs simplifies creating and managing knowledge-based articles and FAQs.It is the solution of choice if you want to create self-serving content that customers can use to solve their queries quickly. 

HelpDocs best features 

• Serve a diverse customer base with multilingual documentation
• Customize the appearance of your knowledge base to match your brand identity
• Get insights into user engagement and content effectiveness via the analytics dashboard

 HelpDocs pros (Capterra)

• HelpDocs enables quick setup—customers have set up a knowledge base within ten days
• Supports CHM, HTML, PDF, and Word documents
• Offers a responsive and helpful customer support team

HelpDocs limitations (Website)

• HelpDoc does not help with any custom code  

 HelpDocs pricing

• Start: $828 per year with five team accounts and 30-day analytics
• Build: $1668 per year with 15 team accounts and 90-day analytics
• Grow: $3348 per year with 50 team accounts and 180-day analytics

HelpDocs rating and reviews

• G2: Not enough reviews
• Capterra: Not enough reviews

3. Olark—best for live chat automation

Olark allows for the personalization of chatbots with a few clicks. Plus, based on visitor behavior, you can send custom messages and boost the speed of your workflows. Like Plivo CX, Olark offers intelligent routing to direct chat-based queries to the right department.

Moreover, Olark’s live chat analytics monitors customer satisfaction, chat volume, and agent performance. 

Olark best features 

• Personalize chat widgets to match branding
• Initiate real-time conversations with website visitors
• Organize and respond to multiple chat conversations effectively
• Integrate the tool with 30 popular apps, including WordPress, HubSpot, and Salesforce

Olark pros (GetApp)

• Uncluttered UI
• Low-code implementation
• Agents can set and customize their availability

Olark limitations (GetApp)

• It offers only per-seat pricing
• You can’t send files to web visitors

Olark pricing

• $348 per year per seat

Olark rating and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (223 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.6 (471 reviews)

4. Buffer—best for social media automation 

Buffer is a social media automation tool that automates social listening and communicating with customers on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.

If a large number of your customer queries are coming through social media, Buffer is your customer service solution of choice. 

From a customer service perspective, Buffer compiles and highlights the most important unanswered comments on your posts in one place, helping you respond to customers quickly. It uses machine learning to identify whether a comment has negative sentiment or comments about a purchase, helping you prioritize the right conversations.

Buffer best features

• Gain insights into post engagement and audience behavior
• Coordinate social media efforts with team members efficiently
• Set up automated schedules to streamline content distribution
• Integrate with other marketing and analytics tools for enhanced workflows

Buffer pros (GetApp) 

• User-friendly and reliable mobile application
• Share the same post on different platforms with appropriate variations

Buffer limitations (GetApp)

• Glitchy—Buffer sometimes fails to post content, and you wouldn’t know unless you checked
• The free version doesn’t allow conversations with users

Buffer pricing

• Essentials: $72 per year for one channel 
• Team: $144 per year for one channel
• Agency: $1440 per year for ten channels

Buffer rating and reviews

• G2: 4.3/5 (1004 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5 (1467 reviews)

5. Hiver—best for Gmail support automation

Hiver converts your Gmail account into an omnichannel customer service dashboard that integrates voice, live chat, and WhatsApp. 

Start by installing Hiver on a common Gmail account that your team uses to handle customer queries (such as support@yourcompany.com). The tool then lets you assign incoming emails to team members, categorize them based on the query type, resolution status, and priority, and collaborate on them to resolve customer issues.

Hiver best features

• Call customers and respond to live chats directly from Gmail
• Analyze performance metrics like first-response and average-resolution times
• Automatically assign similar queries to the same team member via rule-based assignments

Hiver pros 

• Shared inboxes, which allow the entire team to access an email account (such as info@, help@, or hr@)  (TrustRadius)
• Easy set up (TrustRadius)

Hiver limitations

• You have to manually enable and disable auto-responders (G2)
• Emails may filter into the wrong folders (G2)

Hiver pricing

• Lite: $180/user/year 
• Pro: $588/user/year 
• Elite: $948/user/year 

Hiver rating and reviews

• G2: 4.6/5 (1026 reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7 (117 reviews)

Why is Customer Service Automation Important?

Customer service automation is important because of the following reasons:

• Faster Problem Resolution: 72% of consumers claim they’ll stay loyal to the companies that provide the fastest customer service. Service automation provides instant responses to customer inquiries, preventing frustration and dissatisfaction due to long wait times for support
• Reliable and Consistent Support: Automation ensures consistency in customer service quality, as it is unaffected by the time of day or the agent handling the query. 
• 24/7 Availability Builds Customer Confidence: It enables businesses to offer round-the-clock, 1:1 support to customers, making customers feel prioritized and valued
• Improved Agent Productivity: 88% of customers expect brands to provide online channels that effectively and quickly resolve their queries and concerns. Automation frees customer service agents from repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on complex issues and faster resolutions.
• Data-Driven Insights: a suitable automation tool collects valuable data and analytics about customer interactions, leading to better decision-making and improved customer experience strategies.
• Multi-Language Support for Global Reach: 60% of consumers wish to receive support in their native language. With AI and NLP, customer service automation breaks down language barriers, allowing businesses to cater to a wider range of customers from different regions and backgrounds.

Benefits of Automated Customer Service Tools

Automated customer service tools offer a range of benefits for your business. These include:

1. Reduced cost of customer service 

Process automation helps save up to 46% of business costs. Customer service automation is a type of process automation that enables you to save (and make) money in two ways:

• Robotic process automation (RPA)—RPA automates manual, repetitive, and rule-based tasks, such as responding to frequently asked questions or routing queries to the appropriate department. The result is reduced human involvement and labor costs
• Intelligent automation (IA)—IA uses artificial intelligence to mimic human behavior and communicate with customers in natural language. It improves customer experiences and lead-generation activities that ultimately increase revenue

An example of this comes from The Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB). They successfully implemented a chatbot, which resolved 80% of customer queries without human intervention. This led to a 20% reduction in call center volume, translating into $2.7 million in annual cost savings.

2. Improved omnichannel performance

Automated customer service software integrates various communication channels, such as phone, email, chat, and social media, to ensure consistent support experiences regardless of customers' preferred channel.

For example, a customer may start an inquiry via email but later prefer to continue the conversation through a live chat on the company's website. An omnichannel customer service tool will make the interaction history and context available to the agent, enabling them to provide uninterrupted personalized support.

3. Data for personalization

Customer service automation tools (such as chatbots and email responders) collect customer data, such as:

• Customer preferences
• Purchase history
• Browsing behavior
• Demographics
• Frequently asked questions

Analyze this data to create detailed customer profiles and better understand their needs and preferences. This lets you tailor product recommendations, offer personalized promotions, conduct sentiment analysis, and provide targeted assistance based on individual preferences.

Which is the Best Customer Service Automation Tool?

The best customer service automation tool depends on your needs. For example, Buffer is an excellent choice for social media automation, while Hiver is great for Gmail automation.

However, we believe customer service automation is the most powerful across all channels—voice, live chat, WhatsApp, and SMS. That’s where Plivo CX comes in, an omnichannel automation solution with unique features such as:

• AI-powered automation: Plivo CX provides automation to answer queries, triage requests and resolve service tickets instantly.
• Omnichannel Customer Journeys: The no-code workflow builder provides the flexibility to customise customer journeys to the business needs. This is available on all channels that the platform supports.
• 360° Customer Context: It lets you access the entire customer data and interactions in one place, right from the initial contact through ongoing support to customer data in all business systems.‍
• Automated outbound messaging: Additionally, the platform automates outbound messaging for appointment reminders, order confirmations, and proactive customer support notifications with templates and scheduling features to deliver the right message at the right time automatically

Want to experience how businesses use Plivo’s customer service automation to boost their customer support team’s productivity?

Book a demo today!

Customer interactions today span multiple channels, making it a daunting challenge for support leaders to extract meaningful insights from the vast amounts of data generated. This lack of actionable insights directly contributes to issues like high churn and low satisfaction scores. Customer analytics tools offer a solution. 

According to the Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report 2023, around 67% of support leaders reported being frustrated by the haphazard collection and use of customer data.

Customer analytics tools offer invaluable insights into what your customers truly want. They can guide you in making smarter decisions about communication, product development, and personalized experiences, potentially transforming your business. 

In an online survey conducted by Gartner, over 80% of customer service and service support leaders described customer analytics as “very or extremely important” for achieving their organizational goals in the future. 

A study carried out by McKinsey revealed that companies that leverage customer analytics have a higher probability of achieving above-average revenue growth. The study also suggests that companies using extensive customer analytics are twice as likely to make profits and achieve success in their marketing efforts compared to those that don't.

Therefore, it's no surprise that many businesses are turning to customer analytics to drive growth. After all, understanding your customers is key to unlocking new opportunities and maximizing profits. So, if you're looking for a way to stay ahead of the competition, customer analytics could be just the ticket!

In this blog post, we’ll explore the five best customer analytics tools for improving ROI.

What Are Customer Analytics Tools?

Customer analytics tools are advanced software solutions that collect, analyze, and interpret customer data from various touchpoints, such as voice, live chat, email, SMS, and social media. 

They give customer service operations managers an end-to-end view of the customer journey, enabling them to identify trends, measure performance, and optimize their omnichannel strategies accordingly. 

To make accurate predictions about customer behavior,  customer support data teams need to have a deep understanding of their customers' buying habits and lifestyle preferences. This understanding helps optimize the customer journey. 

However, these insights may not be helpful or accurate without large amounts of precise data. Data analytics managers and teams have to overcome common challenges such as data silos that lead to incomplete or inconsistent data sets, unstructured data, untraceable data errors, never-ending maintenance of data pipelines, etc., and at the same time, ensure data security and privacy. 

Customer analytics tools employ metrics such as Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Effort Score (CES), Customer Health Score (CHC), resolution rate, retention rate, churn rate, and more. However, relying solely on surface-level metrics to gauge customer satisfaction might not be enough. 

It's time to go deeper! By conducting a thorough analysis of your customer data using top-notch analytics tools, you can uncover hidden trends and opportunities that can lead to significant improvements in your customer service.

Let's dive in and discover the top five customer analytics tools to take your business to the next level!

Comparing the Top Customer Analytics Tools: At a Glance 

When evaluating customer analytics tools, consider factors such as features, pricing, innovation, support, and industry fit. Here’s a comparison of the top solutions:

Top Customer Data Analytics Tools 

1. Plivo CX 

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Plivo CX is a customer analytics and cloud-based omnichannel contact center solution that empowers small and medium businesses to deliver exceptional customer service across various channels. It unifies AI-powered live chat, voice, SMS, email, and WhatsApp to offer a seamless experience for both customers and agents. 

Plivo CX’s unified agent desktop enables agents to view all client interactions through voice, live chat, email, and SMS in a single tab.

Plivo’s advanced features, including customer segmentation, targeting, metrics, and reporting, allow companies to provide support based on their preferred approach and behavior. 

This data equips the customer service teams to proactively identify customer sentiment trends, predict customer needs, and solve problems. 

Plivo CX features

• Build custom user journeys across any channel the business interacts with the customer with an intuitive drag-and-drop workflow builder
• Connect with a wide range of CRM, ERP, and helpdesk systems, both homegrown and popular, thanks to the versatile out-of-the-box integrations
• Create customizable dashboards and reports for easy data visualization
• Boost agent performance and productivity with coaching tools that offer real-time monitoring to increase customer satisfaction
• View contact center metrics and KPIs, listen to recorded conversations, or join an ongoing discussion. Gather relevant data and give targeted feedback to agents, resulting in increased CSAT scores

Plivo CX limitations

• Lacks features for quality assurance and workforce management
• Does not support a mobile version for on-the-go access for agents

Plivo CX pricing

• Chat-only: Starts at $228/year
• Growth: $348/user/year with 2000 monthly agent minutes, 100 bot sessions per agent, and 2000 chat sessions per agent
• Business: $828/user/year with 3000 monthly agent minutes, 500 bot sessions per agent, and 3000 chat sessions per agent

Plivo CX ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (700+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.3/5 (80+ reviews) 

2. Twilio Segment

Twilio Segment is a customer data platform suitable for businesses with complex data ecosystems. That’s why marketing, product managers, and data engineers prefer it. 

Twilio Segment integrates with existing marketing and customer support solutions, allowing businesses to learn about the customer journey and analyze customer data from multiple touchpoints and sources. 

Twilio Segment features

• Utilize simple text prompts to create targeted audiences and customize customer journeys
• Optimize marketing campaigns to lower costs, increase conversions, and optimize ROAS by predicting customer behavior
• Discover upsell and cross-sell opportunities by creating ML models by accessing all of Segment’s real-time profile data in your warehouse

Twilio Segment limitations

• Segment requires technical expertise for advanced implementations (Capterra)
• It has a steep learning curve for first-time users (Capterra)

Twilio Segment pricing

• Free
• Team: Starts at $1,400/year 
• Business: Custom pricing

Twilio Segment ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.5/5 (540+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (70+ reviews) 

3. Kissmetrics 

Kissmetrics is a customer analytics tool that helps SaaS businesses calculate customer lifetime value, track churn rates, and analyze feature usage to optimize power users, acquisition sources, and top customers. 

Kissmetrics features

• Track and analyze customer interactions across web and mobile devices 
• Uncover insights within specific customer segments with tailored support strategies built with cohort analysis 
• Explore raw data with SQL queries, analyze the DAU (daily active users) to MAU (monthly active users) ratio, and examine user behavior 

Kissmetrics limitations

• Configuration and customization are complex processes and require extensive time and effort (G2)
• Limited integration with third-party tools makes omnichannel data collection a hassle (G2)

Kissmetrics pricing 

• Silver: $2388/year 
• Gold: $5988/year 
• Platinum: Custom pricing
• Build Your Plan: Starts at $231.99/year
• Pay As You Go: $0.0025/event
• MTU (Monthly Tracked Users) Based Pricing: Custom pricing

Kissmetrics ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.1/5 (160+ reviews)
• Capterra: Not enough reviews 

4. Mixpanel 

Mixpanel is a customer analytics solution that delivers on-demand services for startups and SaaS companies. It offers retention reports to understand customer loyalty and reasons for customer churn. 

Mixpanel features

• Identify areas of friction and optimize user experience by analyzing user engagement and behavior within web and mobile apps 
• Optimize conversion rates with targeted interventions at drop-off points, highlighted within Mixpanel’s funnel analysis
• Test feature variations to gauge user response and implement the preferred version or modify based on user feedback

Mixpanel limitations

• There are occasional glitches in compatibility with third-party tools, requiring workarounds for uninterrupted workflows (G2)
• Mixpanel focuses on in-app interactions, lacking broader omnichannel insights without integrations (G2)

Mixpanel pricing

• Starter: Free plan
• Growth: Starts at $336/month
• Enterprise: Custom pricing

Mixpanel ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.6/5 (1000+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.5/5 (130+ reviews) 

5. Qualtrics

Customer support teams use Qualtrics for advanced experience analytics and AI models for every customer. Equipped with these insights, send automated actions to the right team within the systems you already use—to deliver personalized support. 

Qualtrics features

• Map and optimize the customer journey by integrating behavioral cues and experience data
• Uncover customer sentiment and themes from open-ended survey responses, social media comments, and other unstructured data sources by leveraging AI-powered text analytics 
• Identify which levers to pull that will keep your customers happy and employees engaged with the help of CrossXM, which brings together data from both employee and customer experience

Qualtrics limitations

• Errors occur when users try to download dashboard data manually (Capterra)

Qualtrics pricing 

• Custom pricing 

Qualtrics ratings and reviews

• G2: 4.4/5 (530+ reviews)
• Capterra: 4.7/5 (240+ reviews) 

Benefits of Customer Analytics Platforms

Investing in a customer analytics platform offers the following benefits for support teams:

• Uncover customer behavior trends and identifying improvement opportunities
• Identify pain points and proactively addressing customer issues
• Improve customer satisfaction by delivering personalized experiences
• Measure support team performance and optimizing agent workflows
• Boost the overall effectiveness of omnichannel support strategies

Optimize Your Customer Analytics With Plivo CX 

Are you staying on top of your customer’s evolving needs and expectations? If not, start by using customer analytics to understand their habits and preferences. Considering raw data, on its own, is insufficient, you need customer analytics tools to measure the effectiveness of your customer service. 

Plivo CX is a customer analytics tool designed for brands looking to provide proactive customer service. 

The key features of Plivo CX for your customer service and support teams are as follows:

• AI-powered self-service chatbots 
• Unified conversations via WhatsApp, live chat, SMS, voice, and WhatsApp 
• Live dashboards and historical reports for agent coaching 

To know more about how to use Plivo CX for customer analytics, book your demo.