You’ve probably already noticed: There is a major shift towards messaging in the customer service game. While call centers remain important, many brands are moving towards online conversations with customers over SMS, social media, and live chat. Need proof? Look no further than Shopify’s roll-out of Apple Business Chat to over 80,000 merchants. Or, look at WhatsApp Business, recently announcing that the app is now being used by 5 million small business owners.
From SMS to live chats, it’s clear that messaging is becoming an important part of any brand’s sales and customer service strategy. So, what’s all the hype about? Let’s take a look at a few reasons why messaging is becoming increasingly popular and how implementing a chat feature can benefit your business. Continue reading
Last week, Facebook announced that WhatsApp could now be used as a customer service platform. We now have an interesting race between Apple’s “Apple Business Chat”, Facebook’s own “Messenger for Business”, and Twitter. The goal is to grab a vital piece of the eCommerce landscape: The channel for customer service communication.
It’s been a year since Apple announced “Business Chat”. The company staked out an audacious goal: to become the preferred channel for customer service communication. A year ago, Facebook, a competitor on this front, was reeling from weeks of bad press over privacy issues. But now, Facebook stock has hit a new all time high, with those transgressions seemingly forgotten by the market.
Apple’s new Business Chat could have a huge impact on customer service by changing the balance of forces between consumers and companies.
Apple announced “Business Chat” in June, staking a claim to a vital piece of the ecommerce landscape: the channel for customer service communication. The product went into live beta this week with about 10 companies participating, and the timing could not be better for Apple. Facebook, their main rival in this field, is bloodied from weeks of bad press over privacy issues.![[Video] 3 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on Conversational Commerce](https://fonolo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Video-3-Takeaways-from-Our-Google-Hangout-on-Conversational-Commerce.jpg "[Video] 3 Takeaways from Our Google Hangout on Conversational Commerce")
Last week, Fonolo hosted a very insightful and engaging Google Hangout discussing the future of chat-for-commerce and if Apple is a legitimate threat. This expert panel discussed how messaging platforms are shaping the way we interact, and how businesses and consumers can embrace this new wave of communications. To save you some time, we’ve extracted video snippets showcasing highlights from the discussion.
The “chat” style of communication, where two parties type text back-and-forth, is wildly popular with consumers. Companies are eager to embrace this popularity because A) it’s smart to communicate in a way your customers like and B) it’s less costly than call center agents.
