Podcast Summary: The Digital Marketing Podcast

Episode Title: Message Me
Date: November 20, 2017
Hosts: Ciaran Rogers (A) and Daniel Rowles
Guest: Joshua March (B), CEO of Conversocial, Author of “Message Me”

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the evolution and future of customer service in the digital space. Host Ciaran Rogers interviews Joshua March, CEO of Conversocial, who discusses insights from his new book "Message Me." The conversation covers the shift from traditional customer service channels (like phone and email) towards private and asynchronous messaging, the importance of reducing customer effort, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, and real-world examples from leading brands.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

The Evolution of Customer Service Channels

• Early Days: Social as Escalation
  Joshua recalls how social media began as a channel for dissatisfied customers to escalate issues after poor experiences via traditional methods.
  Quote:
  "Social media kind of customer service on social media really started as a kind of escalation channel. ... They kind of turned to social public Social media as a way of escalating it up and getting more attention to their issue." (05:22, Joshua)

• Private Messaging Overtakes Public Social
  Brands and consumers shifted from public posts to private messages (Facebook Messenger, Twitter DMs), leading to more direct, convenient, and scalable support.
  Quote & Case Study:
  "[One UK retailer] put these [messenger] links on their Contact Us pages... within two weeks, their email volume had dropped by half and their messenger volume had doubled. ... 21% of all their inbound service volume was coming through social media." (07:32, Joshua)

Redefining Customer Experience: Minimal Effort over 'Delight'

• Old Wisdom: 'Delight' the Customer—Reconsidered
  Traditional wisdom urges exceeding customer expectations, but research (such as CEB/Gartner’s “Effortless Experience”) shows reducing obstacles and streamlining experiences is more impactful.
  Quote:
  "Almost every service interaction that someone has results in them decreasing [Net Promoter Score]. ... The things that cause that drop ... are often just the very, very simple things that increase effort and increase work by customers." (10:52, Joshua)

• "Hit the Easy Button"
  Making things easy for customers (clear help paths, fewer hoops) is now paramount.
  Quote:
  "If you just focused on trying to make it as easy and effortless for people to get their answer as quickly as possible... then [that] has a much more positive impact." (13:57, Joshua)

The Decline of Phone and Email

• Obsolescence for New Generations
  Usage stats reveal that phone and email are rapidly declining, especially among younger users (as low as 5% usage for 12- to 15-year-olds).
  Quote:
  "When you look to teenagers, phone and email were like less than 5% combined... almost the entire use... was mobile messaging, social media, photo apps." (18:19, Joshua)

• A Gradual but Profound Shift
  Traditional methods won’t disappear but will be dwarfed by messaging.
  Quote:
  "[In the future] contact centers... I wouldn't be surprised... [will be] 80, 90% messaging. But they're still going to get the occasional phone call...there’ll always be some holdouts." (20:12, Joshua)

The Challenge and Opportunity of Channel Proliferation

• A Unifying Interface Ahead
  Despite the proliferation of messaging apps, their similar nature means agents can handle multiple channels seamlessly.
  Quote:
  "When it comes to the private side, they're pretty much all identical… you can have the same agents handling issues coming in from all of these different messaging channels..." (21:10, Joshua)

Artificial Intelligence & Automation in Customer Service

• Reality vs. Hype: AI and Chatbots
  Most 'AI' in customer service is basic; true strides come from integrating machine learning with messaging for partial automation.
  Quote:
  "Today there isn't really much AI used in customer service at all... But in the messaging world... you don't have to have a fully standalone chatbot." (24:14, Joshua)

• Asynchronous Messaging Enables Smarter Automation
  Automate simple tasks and escalate complex or emotional cases to humans, maximizing efficiency without diminishing customer experience.
  Quote:
  "[Messaging] means you can start implementing automation and AI… that only has to automate a small percentage of the conversation to be able to have a really positive impact." (26:00, Joshua)

• Pareto Principle in Automation
  A significant volume of inquiries are simple and ripe for automation, though some cases will always require human intervention.
  Quote:
  "Certainly there is going to be that kind of power law curve... a lot of questions which are quite simple and which can be automated." (27:38, Joshua)

Inclusivity: Options for the Non-Smartphone Segment

• Don't Forget SMS
  SMS can support two-way customer service, useful for customers without smartphones or in low-data environments (like on trains).
  Quote:
  "[SMS] does work in exactly the same way from a workflow perspective... a single agent... can manage the workflow in an identical way." (30:15, Joshua)

Crisis Scalability: The Territorial Army Approach

• Training Staff Across the Organization
  Prepare more employees to jump in as 'surge agents' during customer service crises, ensuring scalable response capability.
  Quote:
  "It’s about training the agents and having those plans and processes in place..." (32:17, Joshua)

Brand Leaders in Messaging-Driven Service

• Innovators Mentioned:
  • Tesco (consistent investment in social care & messaging)
  • Hyatt Hotels (CRM integration, loyalty personalization)
  • Valeris (Mexican airline, experimenting with messaging for service and sales)
  • Alaska Airlines, Icelandair (heavy investment in messaging)
  • Various retailers and travel brands
    Quote:
    "Airlines in particular, we tend to see are really forward thinking in their approach to social, so definitely worth checking out, but lots of retailers and hotel companies doing exciting stuff as well." (34:09, Joshua)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On AI vs. Machine Learning:
  "People use artificial intelligence to describe things that haven't yet been implemented. But as soon as something is actually implemented and used, everyone calls it machine learning." (22:49, Joshua)

• On the generational shift:
  "To imagine a world where people used phone and email about as much as I use photo messaging… that was a real eye-opener." (19:18, Ciaran)

• On hitting the easy button:
  “There’s a really good phrase in your book which is just hit the easy button...” (14:32, Ciaran)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:58] Joshua’s intro & Conversocial’s company story
• [05:22] The rise of private messaging for customer service
• [09:10] Rethinking 'customer delight' and reducing effort
• [10:52] What is NPS and why simplicity matters more than delight
• [16:49] Phone and email’s inherent inefficiency for mass communications
• [18:19] Ofcom stats & generational shift away from phone/email
• [21:10] Consolidating multiple messaging channels for agents
• [22:40] The real state of AI/bots in customer service
• [24:14] How asynchronous messaging enables “fractional” automation
• [27:38] Pareto principle and automation potential
• [30:15] SMS as a viable channel
• [32:17] Training up a “territorial army” of agents for crisis
• [32:45] Brand innovators and examples

Conclusion

Tone: Conversational, insightful, and practical.

Summary:
Joshua March and Ciaran Rogers explore how customer service is evolving from traditional, costly, and clunky phone/email support towards intelligent, scalable, and frictionless messaging. The future belongs to asynchronous, mobile-first platforms—supported by thoughtful use of AI—focused not on dazzling customers with over-the-top experiences but on reducing friction and making help easy, fast, and accessible. Brands excelling in this transition are reaping rewards in customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

For more:
Joshua March’s book Message Me and additional info at joshuamarch.com and conversocial.com.