Omni-channel marketing isn't all about selling. In many cases the opportunities that arise from a tighter integration of mobile with the rest of the business simply relate to delivering a better experience, or indeed saving on the costs associated with the 'old' way of doing things.

After all, many businesses still rely on traditional (and expensive) ways to communicate, and they do so particularly when it’s important to really know that the message has been delivered. One example that springs to mind is informing bank customers of potentially fraudulent transactions, something that is today done by text message and usually requires confirmation either by the same method or (worse in cost terms) a phone call.

There’s two problems here: the first is the sheer expense, on both sides of the transaction. The second is the unpleasant experience and process that no self-respecting brand should wish to stand over. Fortunately, a smarter omni-channel approach can help both save money and also deliver a better experience - even if it will never be perfect.

Let’s look at how that might work:

• The user has the app of the relevant financial institution installed on their phone (this won’t always be the case, but increasingly it will be).
• The user is sent a message to an inbox contained within the app asking them to confirm is a transaction is legitimate. A notification indicator on the app icon will indicate to the user that a message is in the inbox
• The user can respond right there in the message (meaning no cost to them). If they confirm there’s a problem with the transaction, a phone number can be clicked that will automatically put them through to the relevant call center.
• Most importantly, thanks to a bi-directional API the financial organization itself can know if the message was read. If it wasn’t - then traditional methods can be used.

That’s a fantastic omni-channel ‘campaign’ that has the potential to both save large sums of money (text messages and phone calls being expensive things) and in addition delivering an experience considerably more controlled and pleasant that attempting to ring a call center from a foreign country. And of course - there are an almost infinite number of similar operational transactions that can be dealt with in the same way. Particularly with the launch of our new Conversations product, we're looking to help make that happen.