2023 Recap: Top Mobile Messaging Marketing Trends

As we summarised in the review of 2022 trends in messenger marketing, the shift from traditional SMS to broader messaging platforms is becoming increasingly evident. Among these platforms, Rakuten Viber stands out with its extensive features and capabilities. It provides companies with a versatile, direct, and efficient way to communicate and engage with their customers, driving growth and client satisfaction. In this article, we'll be looking back at the top mobile messaging marketing trends that made waves last year and explore how they will continue to evolve in 2024.

Trend 1: Personalization and One-on-One Communication

Brands and businesses quickly realized the immense potential of leveraging messaging apps to connect with their customers in a more personalized and interactive way. In fact, studies show that 89% of people would prefer to initiate communication and respond to businesses using messaging applications and channels, 79% expect fast responses from brands, while 56% indicate that they are likely to become loyal customers following a personalized shopping experience. Messaging platforms emerged as the natural solution to meet these evolving customer expectations.

The modern consumer wants more control and prefers engaging with brands directly through their devices, and businesses must adapt accordingly. This trend is only expected to grow with the greater use of chatbots and AI-powered messaging apps. Personalized content and experiences can result in more captivating campaigns, potentially increasing customer loyalty and conversions. 

Here's how Rakuten Viber enables personalization and one-on-one communication:

1. Rakuten Viber allows integration with a brand's CDP or CRM system to easily gather customer information, use it to segment the audience, and send personalized messages, regardless of volume or type. This makes it an indispensable tool for brands aiming to reach a targeted demographic with their messages.

2. Brands can send personalized business messages to individuals or segmented groups. They tailor their messages based on customer preferences, purchase history, and other relevant data, creating a personalized communication experience.

3. Integration with chatbots also allows to gather customer information, provide relevant recommendations, and deliver personalized messages based on previous interactions.

4. Businesses can send personalized offers, discounts, and exclusive deals. By tailoring these promotions to individual preferences and purchase history, they can enhance the relevance and effectiveness of their marketing campaigns.

5. Brands can send timely, relevant notifications, including order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders, and more, ensuring that customers receive important information on time.

6. Companies can conduct real-time, two-way communication with their clientele. When customers ask questions, provide feedback, or seek support, businesses can respond promptly, fostering a personalized and interactive communication experience. It also allows companies to gather additional information about their customers and further personalize their messaging marketing.

Whether the goal is to reach new clients or strengthen relationships with existing ones, Rakuten Viber is equipped to support businesses in achieving their objectives.

Trend 2: Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Chatbots

In the era of digital technology and AI, customer expectations are continuously evolving. They desire immediate satisfaction -– customized, precise responses delivered swiftly and conveniently. Traditional customer service methods are being advanced as digital marketers adjust to these current expectations with limited budgets. 

Artificial intelligence became an important tool for supporting conversational marketing. AI chatbots are accessible 24/7, providing insights into customer engagement and buying behavior, vital for driving engaging conversations and delivering more consistent and personalized digital experiences. The fusion of chatbots with AI marketing has significantly transformed the industry, offering cost savings, improved customer satisfaction, personalization, and constant availability.

For example, Bizbike, a popular e-bike company in Belgium, was getting a lot of customer inquiries every day. Many of these questions were repetitive, which meant their support team had little time to address more intricate issues. To alleviate this challenge and enhance customer service efficiency, Bizbike turned to conversational AI technology by implementing a chatbot.

This move proved to be highly successful for Bizbike. The company was able to save over 40 hours a month, allowing them to engage more meaningfully with their customers. Consequently, their Net Promoter Score increased from 54 to 56. This indicates that over 62% of their customers actively promote the Bizbike service and its conversational chatbot solutions.

Rakuten Viber has effectively incorporated chatbots into its platform, offering users augmented and personalized experiences and businesses – an automated way of communicating with their audience. Coca-Cola presents an exemplary use case of Viber Chatbots for business. The company aimed to bolster its mobile presence, connect with existing and potential consumers, and deliver a seamless digital experience in Bulgaria. To accomplish these objectives, Coca-Cola chose Rakuten Viber, attracted by its active and connected user base in the country. Throughout a three-month campaign, Coca-Cola introduced a chatbot experience coupled with Viber Stickers, creating an automated and engaging promo code mechanism. The results were remarkable, with nearly 30,000 cap codes redeemed and an impressive 30% conversion rate, exceeding the industry average by 10 times.

Rakuten Viber chatbots offer great flexibility for integration into business workflows. Moreover, they are particularly useful for eCommerce, programmed to answer customer queries before a purchase is finalized. Brands have devised clever strategies for incorporating this tool into their campaigns to promote their products, ramp up engagement, and provide customer support. 

Trend 3: Creating Seamless Experiences

Omnichannel marketing is the way of using multiple channels to interact with customers in a seamless, synchronized manner. It proved to be a crucial part of marketing activities in 2023: according to HubSpot research, 92% of marketers already utilize more than one channel. This approach allows businesses to engage customers wherever they are and deliver a smooth experience across all platforms. For instance, if a person initiates their journey on your website but doesn't finalize a purchase, you can send a text message reminding them of their cart contents. 

Omnichannel strategy integrates brand communications across all channels and devices, enhancing reach, reducing friction, improving customer experience, and boosting brand equity. It also helps to drive sales and ROI by reminding about the brand through multiple touchpoints and increasing consumer awareness of the brand's latest products and services.

Sephora, a leading retailer in the beauty industry, is often recognized for its successful implementation of omnichannel marketing. This method seamlessly integrates their physical stores and online platforms, ensuring a consistent brand experience. In their physical stores, consumers enjoy expert advice, free makeovers, and the opportunity to sample products. Online, users can access their 'Beauty Bag' accounts to keep track of purchases, scan items in-store, view tutorials, maintain a wishlist, and much more. This comprehensive approach has significantly boosted customer engagement, resulting in an approximate 100% increase in mobile orders for the top-tier beauty retailer.

Sephora has also leveraged Rakuten Viber for its Black Friday campaign, attracting users to visit their website and enjoy sales by placing native and display ads on Rakuten Viber. It’s a great example of maximizing your marketing efforts through a variety of channels. 

Rakuten Viber can also be a powerful tool for businesses aiming to close customers' purchase cycles in one app. Here's how it can be achieved:

1. Leverage Rakuten Viber Ads, branded Lenses, and Stickers to capture consumer interest and guide them to an engaging Viber Chatbot. Soon, Rakuten Viber will offer brands an opportunity to drive customers from the ad directly to the advertised product inside the application, creating an additional opportunity for building seamless experiences. 

2. Use the chatbot to deliver customized offers, spark consumer interest in particular services or products, and let subscribers opt in to your marketing notifications.

3. Reach them via Viber Business Messages and assist consumers in making a purchase. 

4. Lastly, through post-sales support, transform a one-time purchaser into a loyal, repeat customer.

Trend 4: Data-Driven Decision Making

In our data-rich world, marketers can leverage a wealth of information to shape their strategies and drive success. Data-driven decision-making has become a vital part of effective marketing, with data science playing a key role in using its potential.

Data-driven decision-making includes using data and analytics to guide promotional initiatives and tactics. This approach allows marketers to optimize their campaigns, effectively target their audience, and achieve higher conversion rates. 

For example, sportswear company Under Armour utilizes data from its Connected Fitness community, which includes over 200 million consumers, to customize marketing efforts and develop potential new products. The data, derived from purchases of wearable devices and fitness apps like MyFitnessPal, helps dictate the frequency, timing, and product focus of messaging. This approach allows Under Armour to effectively engage with its fitness-focused audience and drive action.

Another example is QuadX, a retail logistics company specializing in cross-border digital logistics and e-commerce payment processing. To effectively engage with their customer base using the messaging app, QuadX turned to Promotexter, the official messaging partner of Rakuten Viber. Through their ShippingCart service, QuadX enables shoppers across the Philippines to receive orders from online vendors in North America and Europe.

Following the introduction of their UK delivery service, QuadX aimed to boost the volume of purchases from UK merchants. To accomplish this, they strategically segmented their audience, focusing on those who had previously made purchases from US sellers but had not yet utilized the UK shipping service. QuadX then crafted targeted Viber Business Messages, personalized according to individual interests, to reach this specific audience.

The outcome was impressive: 25% of individuals who had previously shopped in the US and were reached via Rakuten Viber purchased from the UK, achieving a 187% KPI and bringing a 300% year-over-year growth in UK transactions.

Rakuten Viber's features support collection of first-party data and its analysis in many ways, providing businesses with valuable insights from their messaging with clients. These features include:

1. Message Analytics: Tracking and analyzing various metrics related to messaging, such as seen and click-through rates.

2. Chatbot Analytics: Providing insights into the performance and effectiveness of AI-powered chatbots.

3. Integration with CRM Systems: Allowing the integration of messaging data with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

6. Ad Campaign Tracking: Offering insights into the performance of advertising campaigns.

Mobile Messaging: The Next Frontier in Marketing

There is a global surge in mobile messaging, with a staggering 3.32 billion people using phone messaging apps. This equates to nearly 40% of the global population. Interestingly, a Forbes survey indicates that nearly 93% of consumers are open to text-based communication with businesses, yet only a third of them currently receive such messages.

Here's why mobile messaging will continue to hold an important place in marketing strategies:

1. Catering to Busy Customers: Customers are constantly multitasking and value their time greatly. They prefer quick and direct communication over traditional, time-consuming methods.

2. Swift Responses: Clients often have simple queries that need instant responses. Text messaging provides a convenient platform for quick responses to common questions like order status or product availability.

3. Enhanced Customer Experience: According to a study by Drip, 56% of marketers have either observed or foresee an enhancement in customer satisfaction as a result of mobile messaging marketing. From helping to choose the right product to post-sales support, businesses can curate a comprehensive customer journey within a messaging app, potentially boosting revenue.

4. Engaging Content: Messaging apps like Rakuten Viber allow rich content like images, product videos, GIFs, emojis, and AR experiences. This approach can blur the line between professional and personal communication, making customers feel like they're interacting with a friend rather than an organization.

Outlook for Mobile Messaging Marketing in 2024

As we look toward the future of mobile messaging marketing in 2024, we expect to see more brands adopting it and further evolution of its features. The development of artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies will likely fuel personalized, real-time, and interactive messaging experiences. User privacy and data security will remain paramount, and businesses will need to balance personalization with respect for user boundaries. Moreover, the integration of mobile messaging with other digital channels and continuous growth of conversational commerce could redefine customer engagement and conversion strategies.

Rakuten Viber is actively developing its solutions and features for brand-user interaction to help businesses stay ahead of the curve. We are committed to remaining at the forefront of mobile messaging marketing, meeting future demands, and assisting businesses in leveraging the power of this transformative mode of communication. If you are enhancing your mobile marketing strategy in 2024, we can provide solutions tailored to meet your specific needs.

Feel free to reach out to us to discover the best solutions for achieving your goals next year.