Long wait times on the phone with customer service may be a thing of the past (FB)

People have found a new way to communicate with businesses, so you might be able to kiss that wonderful "on hold music" goodbye.

A new report by MEF reveals that approximately 65% of smartphone users worldwide have used a messaging app to talk to a company. The study analyzed the responses of almost 6,000 people from nine different nations and found that over-the-top (OTT) apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, along with SMS, have become the preferred communication platforms for most users who talk to companies.

As these apps become more popular, companies are starting to leverage them to reach customers, particularly because businesses know their customers are spending more time within these apps. WhatsApp and Messenger, for example, have eclipsed SMS in terms of person-to-person messaging.

But application-to-person (A2P) messaging, or SMS texting from businesses to consumers, is still the most trusted channel for communication. In fact, 75% of respondents said they talked to businesses through SMS.

This method will likely stay relevant as a B2C channel in the short- and mid-term. This is mostly driven by the ubiquity of SMS technology, which is not tethered to data strength and reaches users worldwide no matter what type of mobile device they had.

For more, see the detailed report on messaging apps from BI Intelligence. Click here to learn more about how you can gain risk-free access today.