American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) has added WhatsApp to to its chat service, giving travelers and travel managers more choice in the way they communicate with travel counselors. This will help speed up on-the-go service and provide better duty of care by letting travelers choose the most convenient way to reach out from their phone when they need assistance.
With 2 billion monthly active users across 180 countries, WhatsApp is the most popular messaging platform in the world. By expanding its existing live chat assistance to WhatsApp, GBT is continuing to build on its strategy to serve travelers on their favorite messaging platforms.
Felicia Schneiderhan, head of GBT’s chat adoption strategy, said in a press announcement, “The channel shift to chat is even more profound than when people switched from the telephone and fax machine to email in the 1990s. Messaging is becoming the dominant communication channel in people's private and professional lives. We want to meet our travelers where they are and where it is most convenient for them.”
More people rely on messaging to get services in all aspects of their lives, including business. Recent research shows that 85 percent of people across generations report they want to message with companies (according to the "Consumer Preferences for Conversational Commerce” commissioned by LivePerson, which surveyed 5,066 people across the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Japan and Australia in September 2020).
Schneiderhan added that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the trend. “Being able to get new digital channels to our customers quickly is an important part of getting ready for the return to travel. The pandemic was a catalyst for a rapid rollout of the WhatsApp solution."
WhatsApp is the latest addition to GBT’s chat channels. Travelers are already messaging with travel counselors through Apple Business Chat, on the Amex GBT Mobile app and on the GBT desktop platform. GBT’s chat capabilities have already proven successful, with a 90 percent customer satisfaction rating across all of its chat channels (according to its internal reporting for 2020).
WhatsApp is currently available to GBT’s SME clients in the U.S. and will be available to large and global clients around the world in the coming months.
Visit www.amexglobalbusinesstravel.com.
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