By now the mobile app industry has agreed that native messaging is the future of on-demand service. The benefits are too immense to pass up: higher customer engagement, more efficient issue resolution, helping customers at a moment’s notice, and more. Savvy on-demand companies are researching top mobile-first solutions to bring them that competitive edge.

What those on-demand companies haven’t realized is that without a tested workflow engine, the gains of in-app messaging won’t mean much. Onboarding in-app messaging without a workflow engine is like building 20 checkout lanes with two employees. When lots of customers show up to buy your product, they will still have to wait in a long line. What’s the point of that?

How does a workflow engine complement in-app messaging?

A workflow engine is software that helps businesses better manage their internal processes, and helps coordinate actions between people. When paired with in-app messaging, it enables an on-demand service to handle their influx of new customers without adding employees or additional SaaS software.

Forrester explains that “today’s customer-centric business world is characterized by new points of contact with customers, like mobile and the cloud. Business process management (BPM) tools of yesteryear simply can’t keep up with the pace of technological change that is needed to compete and win.” Companies need to adapt their business workflow processes to handle the new omni-channel and customer-focused economy. Otherwise, creating newer or additional methods of contact will be bottlenecked by employees’ inability to manage it all efficiently.

The best results come from an in-app messaging solution married with tools that ensure Agent efficiency. Below are some examples of how on-demand companies used a workflow engine to get the most out of their app.

Case Studies:

1. Bridj
When Bridj began using in-app messaging, their support team actually saw an increase in tickets. It was just what Bridj wanted–making it easier for customers to contact them resulted in more people willing to reach out for help instead of give up. Normally that greater ticket volume negatively affects response time, but Bridj leveraged Helpshift’s workflow tools to handle the feedback with their existing staff. They received the gains of in-app messaging without the problems of higher ticket volume. What would have been an additional cost instead became revenue.

“With Helpshift, one agent can easily chat back and forth with multiple people at the same time. The thing I love about Helpshift is that it’s so customizable to the way we want to use it.”

• Saw an increase in support tickets with in-app messaging
• Used a knowledge base and intuitive dashboard to aid workflow
• Created scalable process with easy transition for customers and agents

2. DoubleDutch
DoubleDutch’s in-app messaging brought tons of benefits, but also created an influx of customers asking repeated questions. Aaron Lapierre (Director of Customer Success) feared that he would need to spend $125,000 in full-time employment costs to provide timely answers for his clients. Fortunately, Helpshift’s canned responses and customizable FAQ allowed his current team to keep up the pace–meaning the solution essentially paid for itself.

“Now I don’t have to hire 2 additional support staff to better our efficiency. Your knowledge base contributed to 60% ticket reduction and spared us about $125k in salaries.”

• In-app messaging’s ease of use caused a support ticket increase
• Support team utilised automations & canned responses from dashboard to answer them
• Company saved $125,000 in employment costs by using existing team + workflow tools

On-demand companies require a complete solution

B2B companies often speak of native messaging for a better experience in the on-demand marketplace, but those potential gains won’t happen without a scalable workflow engine to match. When a business empowers their brand with in-app messaging, they must also be prepared to absorb the increased retention, acquisition, and engagement.

Helpshift provides all the benefits of in-app messaging with the increased company-side efficiency of a battle-tested dashboard and analytics. Make things amazing not just for customers, but employees and the business altogether.