A one-stop shop is as valuable in communication as it is anywhere else. That’s where a unified inbox can make a substantial difference in creating an efficient solution that pares back redundancy and unnecessary work.
An article in Harvard Business Publishing has noted the effectiveness of this approach. Dialing back on switching between apps can save employees almost four hours a week. That’s a massive change that can lead to significant company-wide productivity improvements.
Benefits can also be seen in the simple act of how messages are routed. Vital communications are marked for speedier resolution, sent automatically to the proper parties for attention, flagged to make sure that they get seen. Developing templates is also useful and can ensure that the communication style remains consistent. Incorporating archival functions ensures that information is retained, kept safe, and remains viewable only to those who need to know about it.
Graphics courtesy of Chetu/Nitesh SoniFrom keeping track of the details of each interaction to creating a custom experience for recipients, a unified inbox has many benefits that are translatable to an array of different fields.
1Vacation rentals
One industry that is experimenting with this phenomenon is the vacation rental industry, which has to keep communication with its clients as a top priority. By bringing its CRM platform to bear, this fast-changing field can keep information ranging from bookings to preferences in one spot while routine messages, such as confirmations, are automated for greater efficiency. With just one inbox channeling all relevant information through a single point, questions from potential customers regarding availability and other issues are handled as they happen.
2Marketing
A unified inbox is a match made in heaven for marketing, where campaigns live or die based on the proper synthesis of information. What are customers doing? How are they interacting, and on what platforms? That means the targets of a message can be located and understood better than ever before. Better yet, personalization of ad spend on social media gives more bang for the buck. With one stream of information, you can more easily comprehend who will likely be most responsive to a message before you send it as well as track results after the fact.
3Healthcare
The messages that go out to patients are the lifeblood of healthcare institutions and healthcare communications tools make certain those messages act as effective reminders related to everything from appointment notices and invoices to the results of medical tests. Recipients feel more positive about the process, while staff aren’t as stressed with duplicative or confusing mandates.
4CRM systems
Customer Relationship Management has become a science and – with the rise of CRM systems to standardize it, a unified inbox can become a key component of that process.
Why is this important? In short, it creates a better and more complete environment for analysis by bringing all the relevant information under one roof. Interactions are monitored, consumer preferences are understood, sales departments get leads, and those in charge of support solve problems more quickly.
Regardless of how you look at it, this unified inbox dynamic has a positive effect as teams are able to get on the same page. Silos and confusion created by multiple platforms melt away, leaving a more coherent experience for everyone involved.
In fact, McKinsey reported that workers spend 28 percent of their time, or 13 hours a week, just on handling the blizzard of email that confronts virtually every modern business. Making that process easier is bound to save considerable amounts of wasted time. Making that process easier is bound to save considerable amounts of wasted time. The bottom line is that fewer hours are spent putting out fires, and happier customers see problems solved more quickly. At its heart, the unified inbox could revolutionize how companies organize themselves and communicate inside and outside those structures.
Conclusion
As always, getting the right people to handle the job is the primary consideration. You need software professionals who know how to make things happen. Handled correctly by the proper team, a unified inbox means that communication can stop being a drain on your organization and start being a streamlined and efficient process.
