Global Study:
Consumer
Engagement Best
Practices for 2020
Methodology
In partnership with Lawless Research, Twilio surveyed 2,500
consumers in the US, UK, Germany, and Australia about their
communications preferences and experiences.
Respondents all owned a smartphone or mobile phone and had been the
recipient of communication from a business via a variety of channels including
email text message, messaging app, social media, phone, or a company’s
mobile app.
Executive Summary
Over the past decade, the number of ways consumers communicate
with one another has dramatically increased. With a slew of new
channels rising in popularity, businesses are presented with the
challenge of figuring out how to interact with their customers on all
these new mediums. According to Twilio’s research, while most
consumers are annoyed by communications from businesses, they will
also reward businesses who listen to their preferences and
communicate with them in the right way.
Despite an explosion of new channels, email and text are still the
preferred channels for consumers when talking to businesses.
Email is king, but text if urgent
of consumers prefer
to receive
communications from
businesses over email
more preferred than
email for urgent
communications
83%
2.5x
Text is
Email is still the preferred way to receive messages
from businesses
In general, what digital
communication
methods or channels do
you prefer when
receiving
communications from
businesses? Select all
that apply.
Email
83%
Text/SMS/
MMS
39%
Phone
Call
31%
Messaging
App
23%
Social App
20%
Companies’
Mobile Apps
12%
Video Call
8%
However, texts are over
twice as popular as
email when receiving
urgent communications
from businesses
Text/SMS is 2.5X more
preferred than email for
urgent communications
(41% vs. 16%)
What method is best for receiving communications
that are urgent or require an immediate response?
Choose one.
Text
/SMS
/MMS
41%
Phone
Call
25%
Email
16%
Messaging
App
9%
Companies’
Mobile Apps
4%
Social
Media
3%
Video
Call
1%
Messages about change of plans are
considered most urgent
What types of
communications do
you want to receive
immediately? Select
all that apply.
63%
Change of plans
56%
Delivery or arrival notifications
53%
Appointment reminders or confirmations
32%
Work or school safety notices
45%
Weather warnings
25%
Flash sales or promotions
31%
Receipts
44%
Bill due notifications
48%
Order notifications
3%
None of the above
Majority of consumers want to receive the following
communications immediately:
Majority of consumers want to receive the following communications immediately:
63%
Change of
plans
56%
Delivery
notifications
54%
Appointment
reminders/confirmations
Only 12% of consumers prefer a company’s mobile app for
receiving communications.
7 out of 10 consumers curate their home screens
Less than half of consumers say they put corporate mobile apps
on their home screen.
Email, browser and messaging apps are the most popular
home screen apps.
Communicate correctly and reap the rewards
75%
of consumers have rewarded
businesses that communicate
in the way they prefer
Businesses that communicate using the right frequency
and channels enjoy higher consumer goodwill, including:
42%
visited their website
34%
made a purchase
31%
had a higher opinion of the company
17%
recommended the business
15%
posted a positive review
7 in 10 consumers have penalized a business for using
the wrong frequency and channel
Most common method
is unsubscribing
(41%)
Least common method is
posting a negative review
(8%)
When a business did not communicate with you in the way
you prefer - did you do any of these in the past year?
Unsubscribed/disabled notifications from the business
Had a lower opinion of the company
Stopped doing business with the company
Purchased less
Recommended against using the business
Posted a negative review online
None of the above
41%
30%
19%
19%
11%
8%
29%
Give consumers contact control
What is most important to you when a business
communicates with you?
Easy to opt out of
receiving
messages
54%
Can choose the ways
I receive
communications
52%
Only receive
messages when I’ve
opted in
49%
Can specify the types
of communications I
receive
44%
Can easily reply to
the message
32%
Can specify the
frequency I want to
receive messages
29%
Communications are
personalized
21%
of consumers want
businesses to make it
easy to opt out
of consumers want the
option to choose the
channel where they
receive messages from
businesses
54%
52%
Personalization is key, especially for younger generations
If you want to reach younger generations, you
need to meet your customers where they are.
Younger generations want to be able to receive communications on more
channels than older generations (3 vs 2).
Gen Z and Millennials want communications to be personalized and want a
choice of the time of day of when messages are received.
Millennials prefer to receive promotions/sales messages more frequently
than Baby Boomers.
While they are open to more frequent communications, younger generations
are more likely than older generations to penalize companies for poor
communication experiences.
Personalization is more important to Gen Z and Millennials
Gen Z Millennial Gen X Baby Boomer Total
Easy to opt out of receiving messages 47% 50% 54% 60% 54%
Can choose the ways I receive communications (e.g.,
text/SMS/MMS, email, messaging app, etc.)
50% 51% 51% 53% 52%
Only receive messages when I've opted in 39% 47% 50% 53% 49%
Can specify the types of communications I receive (e.g.,
reminders, notifications, promotions, account updates)
42% 45% 43% 44% 44%
Can easily reply to the message. 32% 29% 32% 34% 32%
Can specify the frequency I want to receive messages 35% 29% 32% 26% 29%
Communications are personalized. 28% 25% 19% 15% 21%
Can choose what time of day I receive messages. 28% 24% 18% 15% 20%
Compared to older generations,
Gen Z and Millennials want
personalization and a choice of
the time of day of when messages
are received.
40% of Millennials have made a purchase as a result of
being communicated with in their preferred way
When a business
communicated with you in
the way you prefer (eg.,
using the right frequency
and channels), which of
the following did you do in
the past year? Select all
that apply.
23%
of Millennials
Would recommend a
business, whereas only
11%
of Baby Boomers
would do the same
22%
of Gen Z’s
Would post a positive
review online, whereas only
12%
of Gen Xers
would do the same
Younger generations more likely than older generations to
penalize companies for poor communication experiences
As a result of a poor communication experience, Gen Zs and Millennials are more likely than Gen Xers
and Baby Boomers to:
Post a negative
review
(12% vs. 5%)
Recommend
against business
(15% vs. 7%)
Purchase less
(23% vs. 16%)
Stop doing
business with
the company
(23% vs. 16%)
Have a lower
opinion of the
company
(33% vs. 27%)
1
2
3
4
5
Meet consumers on the right channel
with the right message
94%
of consumers are annoyed by
communications from businesses
Annoyances include:
56%
Content is
not relevant
41%
Don’t remember
opting in
33%
Being contacted in the wrong
communication channel
7 in 10 consumers prefer receiving messages about
promotions or sales once a week or more
How often do you prefer to receive messages about promotions,
sales or discounts from individual businesses?
About once
a day
Several times
a week
About once
a week
Several times
a month
Once a month
Less than
once a month
Never or rarely
Several times
a day
8%
17%
17%
29%
8%
10%
5%
8%
Millennials want to
receive promotion
communication
more often than
baby boomers
Afternoons are the preferred contact time by
consumers.
Time of day matters and
preferences vary by
individual, so it's best to ask
consumers when they want
to receive messages
Afternoons are preferred by
more consumers
(39% afternoons only, 70%
afternoons or any time)
Only 13% of consumers
prefer to be contacted in the
evening
In general, what time of day do you like to receive communications
from businesses? Select all that apply.
Any time
31%
Evening
13%
Afternoon
39%
Morning
32%
Best Practices
Don't treat every customer the same. While generations have specific preferences, we are in the time of uber
personalization, so getting communications right for the consumer should be the goal. Let customers identify what
communications they want and when they want them in order to build a lasting relationship.
Embrace different channels for different purposes. Consumers have different reasons for using different channels and
want businesses to be able to adapt. It’s no longer enough to know channel preferences of your customers, you now need
to map the power of each channel to the type of communication you are sending them.
Consider the urgency of the message when selecting the channel. Be clear about what communications are urgent and
don't abuse channels that customers prioritize for immediate needs.
Embrace an omnichannel approach and make it easy for customers to customize where they want to be reached.
Consumers prefer experiences where they can control the frequency and channel when they hear from you. If you reach
customers in the right channel, at the right time, they are more likely to reward you by purchasing more or leaving a positive
review.
Know the demographics of your audience and tailor your communication to match. Research shows that younger
generations are open to more channels and higher frequency of communication but want control and personalization.
About Twilio
Twilio powers the future of business communications.
Millions of developers around the world have used Twilio to unlock the magic of
communications to improve any human experience. Twilio has democratized
communications channels like voice, text, chat, video, and email by virtualizing the
world’s communications infrastructure through APIs that are simple enough for any
developer to use, yet robust enough to power the world’s most demanding
applications.
By making communications a part of every software developer’s toolkit, Twilio is
enabling innovators across every industry — from emerging leaders to the world’s
largest organizations — to reinvent how companies engage with their customers.
https://www.twilio.com/
