More and more enterprises are integrating video calling functionality into their applications, according to Sinch research. As a result, companies could benefit from reduced costs, improved customer service, and new customers.
Sinch's Video Calling Survey interviewed 1,250 enterprises and 5,000 consumers across the UK, France, Germany, Australia and North America. The purpose of the research was to decipher how businesses and consumers perceive video calling.
Businesses begin to leverage the power of video calling
24% of businesses used video calling to engage with customers, while 21% plan to integrate it within the next two years. As a consequence, 72% said that they had improved their customer service capabilities.
In addition, 70% reported that video calling had helped their business appear more approachable. 51% said that it had reduced costs, while 34% cited that it had also improved in-app integration.
The vast majority of video calls currently occur through third-party social media and messaging applications. Skype, Messenger and Whatsapp have grown dramatically as a result of this person-to-person communication.
In order to capitalise on this, 38% of businesses have already integrated video calling within their own mobile applications. An additional 48% are currently considering doing so.
In terms of the consumer, 39% said that they are ready to have video calls with enterprises. In the banking sector, 24% of consumers stated they would even consider switching banks to a provider with video calling.
Enterprise spend on CPaaS set to grow
Daniel Forsman, Chief Operating Officer at Sinch, highlighted the importance of video calling in the current market. “Enterprise spend on Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) is set to quadruple to $6.7bn by 2022 (Juniper Research 2018)," he said.
Video calling is a great way for enterprises to "reduce fragmentation, and provide seamless and more innovative ways to engage with their customers.” Despite this, only 24% of respondents were able to name a business currently offering video calling through their existing customer service channels.
There is therefore a huge opportunity for enterprises that choose to adopt video calling early. “Consumers now expect to be able to engage with the brands and businesses in their lives whenever, and however they like, with video calling becoming an increasingly important channel across multiple sectors from retail to financial,” Forsman concluded.
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