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Instant Messaging and Customer Service

December 7, 2010 by MSI

Instant messaging (IM) is defined by Wikipedia as, “a collection of technologies used for real-time, text-based communication between two or more participants over the Internet or other types of networks.” Ironically IM predated the Internet with its introduction in the mid-1960s in several multi-user operating systems. In reality the modern form of IM took off in the mid-1990s with the introduction of AOL Instant Messenger and later Skype (2003) and Google Talk (2005). According to a statistics released by Pingdom, there are over 1 billion IM users worldwide today and it’s predicted that users will nearly double to reach over 1.7 billion in 2013.

While IM was historically associated with the younger generation and social communication, more and more companies are leveraging IM and incorporating it into their overall communication mediums, both internally and externally. Internally we use IM to communicate with team members, which significantly improves efficiency and also assists in connecting with team members from our worldwide operational centers. Because IM is immediate, it’s an easy and effective way to convey a short message or ask a quick question.

From an internal perspective, IM is an excellent tool, but what about for external communications. Being in the service sector, we remain curious as to its application long term. Five years from now will we by Skyping the initial needs assessment calls with integrated video online? Will corporate clients and their relocating employees migrate to IM, or will telephone and email remain the primary forms of communication in the relocation industry?

Of course, IM comes with some associated risks including security threats, compliance risks, and potential employee abuse, but developers continue to drive improvements and new products that protect the data and improve the medium’s security.

Many large service companies including banks, utility providers an retailers offer a Live Chat, which is a great convenience and offers customers another alternative, but will IM or Chat replace an existing medium or just remain an alternative? Please share your thoughts?