What's the definition of contextual communication?

Let’s start at the beginning — a formal definition of contextual communication: Contextual communication is the bidirectional transfer of information between two parties where both parties are aware of the relational, environmental, and cultural context of the exchange.

Sound like a bunch of jargon? Let’s distill it down: Contextual communication is really about both sides actually knowing what a conversation is about.

For instance, if you receive a call from somebody, and the CLI (command-line interface) is blocked, the identity of the call is blocked, and it says “unknown,” there's no real context for that call. You’d likely say, “Hello, who’s talking?" or "What do you want?” — questions that aim to build a context around the conversation.

On the other hand, if you receive a phone call from somebody within your address book, you know more, but you still don’t have the full context: You know who, but you wouldn’t actually know what the caller wanted to discuss.

From here, extrapolate that further and think of customer interactions. If you or your business start making calls from within apps, and people on the other side who are supporting those calls know the calls are coming from an app, they have an idea of who’s calling and why they’re calling — in other words, the basic context of the call.

Why is contextual communication important?

Contectual communication is primarily important because of its impact on customer experience. To define CX, think of all the common customer touchpoints — phone, website, chat, in-app, in-person, etc. Think of what your customers see or feel across these channels. Is the call quality clear? Are the visual cues on the website easy to follow? Do the text and graphics within the app guide you to next steps? How’s the temperature inside your location?

Always think like the customer by stress-testing your channels. Go through a typical phone call, engage in a chat, use the app, visit your location. You may not be able to be everywhere all the time; however, AI and omnichannel engagement can help extend your reach and availability.

During the stress test, if you pause or comment negatively along the way — chances are, so will your customers. And you may not get a second chance.

What are some common use cases for contextual communication within customer engagement?

Let’s consider two ways to think about communications: as core and as a feature. Communications as core refers to companies like Viber, WhatsApp, or Skype, where you can call up a contact and have a conversation just like you would on a normal telephone network. There’s not much context around that. 

By contrast, when we start talking about companies that use communications as a feature, we’re talking about examples like the sharing economy or symmetrical marketplaces — this refers to companies like Airbnb or Uber, where communications is really a feature within the application itself.

If you’re an Uber driver and a passenger is trying to reach you via a call to find out where you are, there’s a great deal of context around that conversation already within the app. You know who the rider is and that they've booked a ride. You know their approximate location. Together, you’ll be able to have an immediate conversation around the context of what you’re trying to achieve, which is ride sharing. That’s how contextual communications is going to evolve from a one-way conversation to a communications-as-a-feature point of view.

How conversational commerce enables a better experience

Conversational commerce is a subset of contextual communication that touches on the way consumers purchase goods and services. If you've ever used a messaging app to find information, read reviews, ask questions, or get personalized recommendations, then you've used conversational commerce.

From a business perspective, conversational commerce is rooted in tried-and-true strategies — having a conversation and thinking customer first.

What technology is needed for contextual communications?

The original technology for contextual communications was a traditional phone network. People used to call each other on what’s commonly referred to as the PSTN, the public switched telephone network. But the whole app economy has brought quite a few new technologies that enable calls. One of those technologies is a technology called WebRTC, where RTC stands for real-time communication.

These technologies predominantly revolve around IP communications. Now it’s possible to have high-quality, high-definition video and high-quality audio — higher quality than the PSTN itself due to the technology involved. These are being rolled out for various platforms, available for various platforms mainly around iOS, Android, and on the web.

These newer technologies have brought down the barrier to entry to what traditionally, five to 10 years ago, would have been high-end broadcast quality and expensive communication products. With the adoption of new technologies like WebRTC, the market is now seeing a democratization of the kind of high-quality communications that are now enabling exciting customer engagement use cases.

What omnichannel communication adds to the mix

When applied properly, contextual and omnichannel communication can deliver exceptional customer experiences and a significant competitive edge.

Through omnichannel communication, businesses can develop seamless communication experiences regardless of how their customers connect with them. This is important because customers are increasingly opting to use a variety of channels to get timely service. Also, customers increasingly want a faster response in their business interactions.

An omnichannel customer experience is essential for success in competitive markets. Still, many companies are unable to deliver it because they're using separate APIs for each of their communications channels. Legacy programming interfaces aren't built to share information between channels.

Compare this to open APIs like the Vonage Video API, which is device-agnostic and enables companies to provide a uniform experience to their customers regardless of the devices they use.

How to make the most of contextual and omnichannel communications solutions and tools

Here are a few ways your business can effectively implement contextual and omnichannel communications:

• Focus on CX rather than individual channels, so customers can reach you from their favorite channels — in the channel — including text, voice, chat, and more.
  
• Use cognitive computing to scale.
  
• Use contextual communications APIs to power your omnichannel communication through conversations with customers.
  
• Nurture your customers through conversational commerce to help capture sales.
  

Capture the moment with Vonage Conversational Commerce solutions

Ready to create AI-powered omnichannel ecommerce experiences that help convert sales and drive revenue? Then check out the conversational commerce solutions from Vonage. And explore our suite of Communications APIs.