Bridging the Communication Gap during Critical Times

Six weeks into the year 2020, COVID-19 became a household name. One month after, the World Health Organization used the term 'pandemic' to characterize the situation. The rest is, as of today, history. More than 8 months it has been in which the modern world continues to face extraordinary circumstances. The face of humanity as we know it is challenged; not only by a healthcare crisis, but also basic survival tools like adaptability. It is indeed a defining moment in recent history and the times to come.

Be that as it may, we have surely witnessed firsthand some major and unprecedented changes in the wake of the pandemic – all pertaining to longstanding notions, like workplace policies, healthcare accessibility, educational reform, and much more. Such actions have proven the world’s capability to embrace our humanity in confronting global crises. One of the weapons we are using to face the current crisis is technology.

Weaponizing Technology to Stand our Ground

Social distancing measures were in full effect not long before we knew how grave the situation was. Responses to that fact evolved from social distancing to working from home to public lockdowns and self-quarantining measures. It was then that the world came to notice how equipped we were to start exploiting the technologies we own to help us.

Software became the new hero on the block. Virtual activities rose as the answer to almost every question. In-store purchases turned to app store purchases. As the world worked to flatten one curve, another was on the rise – the curve of technological advancement.

At CEQUENS, we were on top of our game in that regard, making sure that our journey towards enriching people’s lives did not falter. By enabling companies to go digital, we drove higher rates of technological adoption. Through these efforts we are pushing forward a whole culture of accessibility that played an important role in these difficult times. Technological change is at the heart and core of what we do and offer, and it is one of our fundamental values.

It is no secret that COVID-19 has had serious implications on businesses worldwide. If anything, it is also a chance for every trade, industry, and economy to reevaluate where they stand. A recent report demonstrates all the ways businesses worldwide have started implementing recent changes regarding efficient and up-to-date workforce policies. 'Use of technology' and 'approach to innovation' both rank high on the list. Resistance then becomes an act of intelligence rather than persistence.

A Commitment to Connect the World

Despite being under lockdown for a while, we at CEQUENS demonstrated enough grit to maintain our core values. We knew that us too, as a global cloud communications player, had a responsibility. Our mission has always been to facilitate communication in a communication-driven world.

The question then became: how to facilitate bonds and connections in a socially distant, pandemic-driven world? As we continue to face the challenges, we remain inspired by the many ways people use our products to further engage in and improve various sectors like education, banking, insurance, retail, and more.

Business Communication or Beacon of Hope?

Recent data proves that customers of all kinds look at businesses for support during times of crisis. While everybody would agree that marketing activities and customer support operations should not stop during hard times, there is a consensus that they should be flexible. The main difference between us humans and the powerful technologies we hold dearly is our ability to go off script, to be mindful, to offer empathy whenever needed.

Since the beginning of the pandemic we have embraced a more empathic approach into our strategies. Solid product offerings born as a response to digital transformation lent a helping hand when it came to communication, especially in the world of customer support.

One could argue that the current iteration of customer care has been forced into existence by COVID-19. It was always meant to be, however. When businesses saw the chance to embrace the situation, they started allocating more resources into rebuilding a more connected world while maintaining health and safety procedures. And such response is working. We have now reached a point where we can reflect on a post-pandemic reality where digital transformation and operational efficiency helped.

Embracing Modern Customer Care

The key to an improved customer experience is adaptation. In recent years, artificial intelligence and automation became major contributing factors to customer care. It is a way of further extending our humanity into machines of our own making. Experts predicted almost a decade ago that 85% of customers will be interacting with chatbots and other automated solutions instead of human agents during 2020. That time has now arrived. And with it came even more advanced solutions that are steadily eradicating long phone calls, in-store queues, interactive voice responses, and more. Customers nowadays can receive all the help they need at the touch of a button – a maxim proving itself to be true in the age of social distancing.

The term 'digital transformation' is becoming a commonly used expression. This fact comes with the implication that we live in a more connected world, made possible by digital solutions. It proves that we can adapt to the physical distance because we have moved to a digital space, where everything is closer and more accessible. Such space offers a multitude of options, from content to shopping to news. More importantly, it offers support and solace and strength in ways that were not before possible.

Consumers of the digital space may not always be looking to buy a product or try a service. Sometimes all they really need is to maintain a connection – with friends, with brands, with a cause. The brand voice matters more than ever in times of unprecedented change.

Our Responsibility towards Facilitating Communication

One of the most helpful and personal products we started using recently is WhatsApp Business Solution, which helps businesses adopt efficient technologies to enhance their communication. WhatsApp Business Solution offers a revamped communication experience for both businesses and customers. On one hand businesses can empower their customer support teams and increase the efficiency of their operational workflow – while customers get to engage with businesses through a familiar and secure platform.

This shows the tremendous effort CPaaS services can play in today’s world, which has garnered support and proven itself effective during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only text messaging platforms contributed to that but also SMS and voice APIs have driven new use cases for CPaaS solutions in various industries such as healthcare, banking, retail, hospitality, and more. COVID-19 has changed the need for CPaaS applications.

“CEQUENS has taken solid and concrete steps towards offering our services completely digital,” says our Founder and CEO Karim Khorshed. “It makes perfect sense for us as a business to digitize our end-to-end customer journey allowing them to tap into our Communication Platform with a results-oriented mindset.”

We remain more ready than ever to produce efficient solutions aiding our customers with their communications pursuits. To learn more about our Communication Platform and how we can help you become more digitally developed, you can talk to one of our experts to schedule a call, demo, or consultation.

About CEQUENS

We're a leading Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region that aims to bridge communication gaps in a communication-driven world.

Powered by innovation and guided by a Cloud-First and Mobile-First approach, we provide omnichannel communication services and APIs that enable enterprises and developers to communicate with their customer base worldwide.

As an Endeavor Entrepreneur and GSMA associate member, CEQUENS plays a pivotal role in transforming communication in the region.

CEQUENS proprietary, PCI/DSS compliant Communication Platform leverages the latest cloud technologies and features a comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions that are industry-focused, agile, scalable, and cost-effective.