No More Missed Calls: How Rakuten Viber Business Messages Make Customer Communication Easier and More Satisfying

In recent years, the way people communicate has gone through a significant transformation. Once dominated by phone calls, the landscape has shifted towards messaging apps, which have become the preferred method of interaction for an increasing number of people. 

This change in communication habits is not just limited to personal use; businesses also find that their customers favor texting. Studies have shown that:

• 86% of respondents stated that their experience with receiving texts positively affected their perception of a brand.
• 82% of survey participants reported purchasing something after engaging in messaging with a business. These people also showed a higher tendency to buy from such businesses and are even more likely to spend more money with them.
• 64% of respondents indicate that messaging is their preferred method of interacting with brands. The primary reasons for this are speed and convenience.

In this blog post, we will explore the reasons behind this growing preference for messaging apps and how brands can benefit from embracing Rakuten Viber Business Messages to enhance customer engagement.

What Are Rakuten Viber Business Messages

First, let’s look at what Rakuten Viber Business Messages are. There are three types of messages, each designed for different purposes and scenarios. 

• Transactional messages are sent in response to a specific action taken by the customer or as a result of a particular event. Examples include order confirmations, shipping notifications, password resets, appointment reminders, account updates, and more. These messages are typically triggered automatically and provide essential information.
• Conversational messages facilitate two-way communication between the business and its customers. They can include customer service interactions, support requests, or answers to general questions and feedback. This type of Rakuten Viber Business Messages allows businesses to engage with people, address their concerns, and build stronger relationships.
• Promotional messages are used for advertising or marketing products, services, or special offers. They can include information about discounts, sales, new product launches, or upcoming events. Rakuten Viber Business Messages of this type encourage customers to take action, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or attending an event.

Some other capabilities of Rakuten Viber Business Messages include:

• Exchange of files, videos, and pictures between brands and users
• SMS fallback: automatic delivery of texts via SMS if users don’t have Internet access
• Auto-reply feature
• TTL (time-to-live): a specific timeframe for delivering messages
• Ability for brands to send text up to 1000 characters, including emojis
• Interactive CTA buttons can be embedded in the messages
• CRM & CDP integrations

Advantages of Rakuten Viber Business Messages over Traditional Phone Calls

Now that we've introduced the capabilities of Rakuten Viber Business Messages, let’s  explore what advantages they offer over traditional calls. Let's take a closer look.

• Customers appreciate the non-disruptive nature of messaging apps. Of course, there are many circumstances where communication either in-person or over the phone is a necessity. However, when we talk about marketing activities, customers are getting more drawn to messaging apps, where interaction is non-intrusive and where they can engage with brands at their own pace.
• Messages boast impressive open rates, with 64% of people reading texts within 3 minutes of receiving them and another 31% — within an hour. It ensures that users receive important messages right away. In contrast, the success of calls depends on the recipient's availability, and even then, there's no guarantee they will answer an unknown number.
• Phone calls are limited to voice communication, whereas messaging apps offer many options to use separately or together. With Rakuten Viber Business Messages, you can send videos, pictures, files, format your text to make it more engaging and visually appealing, and even add interactive buttons (like CTA). This versatility allows companies to provide a richer, interactive experience that better showcases their products and services, ultimately leading to higher customer satisfaction.

The benefits of Rakuten Viber are not just theoretical; they have been proven to work for companies like Yespo which added Rakuten Viber to its omnichannel suite. In fact, Yespo's success story of integrating Rakuten Viber Business Messages is a testament to how Rakuten Viber can enhance business's capabilities, increase revenue, and empower clients to target various audience segments with personalized messages. Let's take a closer look at how Yespo's Rakuten Viber integration has made a significant impact on the success of the company and its clients.

Yespo Success Story with Rakuten Viber Business Messages

Yespo, a B2C omnichannel customer data platform, added Rakuten Viber to its portfolio of channels to enhance its reach. Rakuten Viber's high adoption rates in Yespo's target regions, rich media capabilities, ease of implementation, and cost-efficiency made it a suitable addition to Yespo's platform. Yespo's clients utilized Transactional and Promotional Rakuten Viber Business Messages to push customized offers, reduce cart abandonment, boost revenues, set up omnichannel cascade campaigns, and deliver important and time-sensitive notifications.

Integrating Rakuten Viber benefitted Yespo with a 17x increase in messages sent via their platform, a 245% YoY growth in supplier interactions, and a 4.5x increase in revenue. Yespo's clients also benefited from the Rakuten Viber integration, with an international eCommerce marketplace, Shafa, reporting a 2.5x rise in orders at half the operational costs. Superstore Auchan Ukraine reported 20% of total revenue coming from Rakuten Viber users, with 70% of that due to reducing cart abandonment through Promotional Rakuten Viber Business Messages.

The integration was set to expand the number of use cases for Yespo's clients, empower them to target various audience segments with personalized messages over Rakuten Viber. Yespo wanted to enhance its reach, increase the quantity of messages sent through its CDP as well as revenues, and expand its client base. The addition of Rakuten Viber has been a success, as Yespo's clients consider Rakuten Viber their #1 channel for repeat purchases. 

You can find inspiration in other success stories here.

Getting Started with Rakuten Viber Business Messages

If you’re wondering how to integrate Rakuten Viber Business Messages into your business workflow, here is a small step-by-step guide:

1. Choose one of our trusted messaging partners. Having the expertise and experience to ensure a smooth and efficient setup process, they will work closely with you to prepare the necessary application for creating your Rakuten Viber Business Account.
2. Your partner will set up your account on their interface. They will provide you with the relevant information to connect to their platform which in turn will allow for a seamless integration to your current workflows.
3. Via your chosen partner, Rakuten Viber will manually review your application for an official account. Once the business has been approved, the partner will receive a confirmation and your business account will get an authentication badge with a "blue tick". This badge helps establish trust and credibility with your customers, letting them know they are interacting with a verified business.

Incorporating Rakuten Viber Business Messages into your communication suite allows you to tap into the increasing popularity of messaging apps while delivering a smooth, enjoyable customer experience. With several benefits over conventional phone calls, Rakuten Viber Business Messages prove to be a crucial asset for brands aiming to excel. Don't wait any longer – enhance your communication strategy with Rakuten Viber Business Messages today and take your customer interactions to the next level.