Big data is making it a lot easier for green businesses to thrive and meet their carbon footprint reduction targets. Green businesses face the same challenges that other companies face, including customer communication. However, the optics of handling these challenges are quite different. They need to make sure that they develop a big data strategy and client communication system that demonstrates their commitment to green living. Thankfully, big data and client communication can intersect for a powerful combination.
This is where big data and SaaS tools can be so important. While technology still leaves a carbon footprint, it is not nearly as bad as traditional forms of communication. Traveling long distances to a business meeting is terrible for the environment. Smithsonian Magazine points out that it is especially bad if you have to travel by plane. A passenger plane consumes around five gallons of fuel for every mile travelled. Since nearly half of all plane travel is for business, this causes a significant amount of pollution that could be easily avoided.
This is why using big data to deploy SaaS client communication strategies is far better. You don’t need to burn fossil fuels to talk over VoIP or another online tool. The IEEE explains that new technology will be far greener, especially the 5G networks that will soon be released. The implications will be huge and big data will help companies communicate quicker and with a smaller carbon footprint.
Using Big Data Technology for Green Communications with Clients
If you think increasing client demands are one of your biggest problems when it comes to client relationships, think again, if you want to accomplish the level of success you’ve set out to achieve, that is. It’s businesses that need to change, modifying the ways they communicate with their clients – otherwise, those clients are going to say goodbye as they find organizations willing to adapt to the changing world of technology. While it is true that clients are expecting more these days, advancing technology can allow your company to improve communication, resulting in better client relationships.
1. Video
Video has proven to be one of the greenest ways of communicating. You don’t even need to leave your house, so you can avoid burning fossil fuels to travel.
The use of video has been a game-changer in many ways. In an interview with LEADERS magazine, former CEO Andy Miller of Polycom stated that it’s important for a company not only to distinguish itself on the technology side and the services side but in delivering and implementing the technology. In other words, it isn’t just green – it is incredibly effective.
Video has been around for decades now, but there are many different, effective ways to use it. Research has found that the human brain processes visuals at nearly 60,000 times the speed of the written word. They can be used to explain the services or product your business offers, as well as to improve the client experience all around. Vlogs, or video blogs, often hosted on platforms like YouTube, can help clients understand concept better, and can be organized into eLearning modules. You can also use Skype and similar technology that helps to build rapport faster, simply by speaking in a way that’s closer to face-to-face interaction.
2. Provide Mobile Access To Simplify Tasks
Most clients are busy, like you and just about everyone else, which is why they want to be able to obtain information and connect with a business as easily as possible. A mobile app helps to achieve this, making it simple to provide information and allow the client to interact based on what they need all in one location.
3. Private Portals
Private portals for clients are becoming increasingly popular as a private, Facebook kind of platform that allows a client to send messages and exchange information whenever it’s convenient. They may also be able to review appointments on a calendar 24/7 which prevents the need for a phone call.
4. Social Media
Every business should be taking advantage of social media, not only to convey services and products, but to address problems and communicate solutions. One of the major benefits is the additional opportunity to build stronger, and even more personal relationships. While it’s important to say you’re sorry when a mistake is made, a deadline is missed, etc., clients want to see you do something more. For example, most people won’t soon forget the Galaxy Note smartphones that caught fire – but Samsung did the right thing by explaining the problem on all social media platforms, apologizing and replacing the phones. The bottom line is that most clients will understand that mistakes can be made, they just want to know they can trust a brand to make things right.
Big Data Strategies and New SaaS Tools Make Communication Much Greener
If you want to communicate with clients and protect your reputation as a green business, then you need to act the part. Using communication technology that leaves a smaller carbon footprint will be essential.
