Gegham Azatyan, cofounded Dexatel in 2015, innovating in CPaaS and omnichannel solutions for secure business growth.
As we venture into 2025, the landscape of digital communication is poised to continue its rapid trajectory of evolving alongside the modern consumer. Armed with unprecedented access to information and a plethora of communication platforms, customers now demand seamless, personalized interactions that extend beyond mere transactions. They seek brands that understand their preferences, engage them in meaningful conversations and respect their privacy.
Consumers are increasingly discerning about their experiences. They’re prioritizing convenience and speed while expecting highly attentive customer service and options—lots of options. Perhaps the most unique thing about today’s customers is that they span generations with vastly different technology acumen. So brands are tasked with providing a myriad of digital engagement mechanisms for our youngest groups while maintaining simple, user-friendly channels for the Boomers.
Let’s look at five trends that will shape digital communication in the new year.
1. Voice Commerce
A 2022 study by NPR and Edison found that 62% of American adults used a voice assistant, and more than a third had a smart speaker like Amazon’s Alexa in their homes. This creates unlimited opportunities for businesses to leverage voice interactions to engage with customers more intimately.
Moving forward, we’ll start to see brands allowing customers to make purchases and engage customer support through voice commands on their everyday digital devices. Communications-platform-as-a-service (CPaaS) partners will provide enhanced voice communication capabilities and leading-edge features to help companies beat out the competition. Some tools they may leverage include voice recognition, voice-activated interactions and integration with voice commerce solutions.
2. Omnichannel Communication
Businesses will likely double down on the pursuit to create seamless customer relationships. This means integrating the growing list of touchpoints with their audiences, including voice, chat, email, SMS, social media and even brick-and-mortar locations.
Businesses that are reachable in a multitude of ways realize several benefits with their target audiences. They can lower the time it takes to resolve an issue and close sales instantly while the customer is attentive and ready to buy. When brands have a broader reach based on demographics and customer device/technology preferences, they gain a positive reputation for being accessible.
In addition to being present on various channels, today’s consumer expects a seamless, continuous experience across platforms. If they engage via chat, they expect the agent (or bot) to know they shopped in-store last week and submitted feedback in a survey sent through email yesterday.
3. Real-Time Customer Feedback
We can expect to see technology introduce new ways to collect feedback from customers almost immediately. According to a 2024 Gallup survey, American employees found that, since the Covid-19 pandemic, 43% of customers “are more demanding and expect higher levels of service.” Nearly 30% also have “greater expectations for virtual/remote service.” We’ve seen businesses address the demand for better service in recent years, and they’ll continue to seek ways to show up for customers in real time.
This endeavor will likely mean relying on communications platforms to integrate the latest feature sets and help them stand out with customization, enhanced analytics and automation. Customers will be able to share feedback on products, purchase processes and brand interactions through surveys, polls and interactive content. These instant, continuous feedback loops can help businesses pivot quickly and build loyalty among consumers who expect immediate responses.
4. Personalization Through AI, AR And Analytics
We’ve reached a point in digital commerce where customers are beginning to appreciate tailored ads and offers, rather than being creeped out by them. The key to winning favor is ensuring the offering is relevant to the audience.
AI and natural language processing are getting more intuitive by the minute. So businesses will increasingly use these technologies to respond more effectively, tailor communications and create hyper-targeted offers for hyper-specific audiences or individuals. Delivering a customer just what they were looking for (or didn’t realize they needed) is the goal.
With better AI comes better data and analytics. Companies will be able to leverage predictive analytics so they can create personalized experiences and customer interactions through various channels. We can anticipate augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) being used to create immersive interactions like virtual product demos, try-ons and showrooms.
5. Security
Perhaps the only thing that advances as quickly as technology is the opportunity to exploit it. Data privacy is as important to businesses for protecting their operations and reputation as it is to customers. Consumers are savvier than ever about baseline security measures for any reputable business. If gaps are evident, a potential buyer will quickly scroll away. This could look like a prior data breach, lack of compliance with regulations (like GDPR, CCPA, etc.) or failure to acknowledge that customer privacy is a priority.
Companies will continue expanding their proactive security measures and frequently incorporate security into customer-facing messaging. They’ll place more stringent guardrails on their vendors and partners, with some exploring blockchain technology to enhance transparency in transactions and communications. This added layer has the potential to build trust with customers by providing verifiable information about product origins, supply chains and data privacy.
Today’s customer is dynamic and specific and sets clear expectations for businesses where they choose to spend their money. They have made it clear that they expect genuine connection, helpful and expedient customer service and an understanding of their preferences. Smart communication will be at the core of every business-to-consumer relationship, and the pursuit of finding the perfect mix of channels, frequency, personalization and immersive experience will be an ongoing one. Embracing emerging technologies like AI voice and chat capabilities, offering immersive experiences through AR and VR and leveraging data analytics for hyper-personalization will be essential for brands aiming to win and maintain a loyal and profitable customer base.
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