Since the pandemic, customer communication has changed significantly. And in the segment of medium-sized companies, 80% of their interactions are already digital, said the start-up born in Silicon Valley and headquartered in Lima, FlexiChat.
The CEO and founder of FlexiChat, the Peruvian Franklin Marcelo, pointed out that the trend is transversal in Peru and the other five countries where they operate. In detail, the most used medium is WhatsApp, with more than 60%.
“WhatsApp, with more than 2 billion users worldwide, has boosted the use of digital channels in companies. Later, but not so close, comes Facebook, and people also start using Telegram”, he commented to Gestión.
Although telephone communication now only accounts for the remaining 20% of interactions, the executive considered it important not to abandon this route.
“The challenge is not to forget about the telephone, but to integrate it. Many customers say that the telephone allows them to do business more quickly and serve customers more efficiently,” he said.
Today, FlexiChat serves more than 200 medium-sized companies in the region with a platform that integrates service from social networks, telephone, and other channels.
Expansion
Asked about FlexiChat’s expansion plans, Franklin Marcelo indicated that they have begun to study the Brazilian market for its potential entry at the end of this year. However, he acknowledges that the language and culture barrier is a challenge.
“Brazil is a very interesting case. Like all start-ups, we seek to grow quickly to have a market value in the next three to five years,” he said, after announcing that in four to six months they would participate in an investment round to boost expansion.
Each month, the technology company hopes to grow 10% in order to double its sales each year. By the end of 2022 they aim to have 400 to 500 clients (companies).
“We basically aim at the service sector, where customer communication is intensive, with three, five, 10 or more agents. There are universities, institutes, e-commerce companies, tourism and others”, he added.
Other yes I say
Context. Although communication between companies and clients until a few years ago was focused on the telephone and mail, now there are multiple channels and an increasingly rapid response is sought. “Now we expect times of less than five minutes,” said FlexiChat CEO and founder Franklin Marcelo. He said that 80% of managers in Peru and the region consider that they provide excellent customer service, but only 8% of those confirm it.
