Brands are constantly seeking ways to provide great customer experience and stand out in a crowded digital landscape. According to a recent study, 71% of consumers want to have easy access to communication with a business, while 95% of leaders say that providing a good customer experience can be considered as a top strategic priority.
Given what has been said, Viber has taken a bold step forward in introducing two major new features: Business Inbox and Commercial Account.
These features are designed to make it easier for users to interact with brands, and for brands to reach and engage with their customers. Users are looking for a single gateway to multiple services, “a superapp”, since according to the statistics, they spend almost 77% of their time on their top 3 apps and 50% of time in one single app.
What exactly is Business Inbox and Commercial Account and how will they affect brand-user interaction?
Business Inbox: A Single Gateway for Brand-User Interaction
Business Inbox is a new feature introduced by Viber, especially designed for brand-user interactions, which is accessible directly from the regular Chat screen.
Business Inbox is a single folder, where users can keep all their brand conversations in one place, making it more convenient for users and more effective for brands. Once the first Viber business message is received, a Business Inbox folder is created in the chat list. By default, all business messages go to this folder, which is pinned to the top of the chat list.
Users can pin a particular business conversation to the top of the Business Inbox, or move and pin it to the regular Chat screen. When there are no unread business messages, users can see the names of the last three brands they have interacted with. This feature makes it easy for users to quickly access their recent brand interactions, without having to scroll through a cluttered chat list.
When a new message arrives in Business Inbox, a notification is displayed on the locked screen.
Commercial Account: A Single Meta Business Entity
The Commercial Account is a another new feature introduced by Viber that allows users to search and discover all business information and channels of communication—in one place. The Commercial Account will be a convenient one-stop shop for all brand-user interactions, providing more features, services, and channels of communication, resulting in more value for both users and brands.
The Commercial Account represents an evolution of the brand-user interaction on Viber. In the past, Business Accounts on Viber were not searchable, and only brands could initiate conversations. Business Messages accounts were also separate from other communication channels such as bots and channels.
With the introduction of the Commercial Account, this changes! Starting from January 2023 release, users will be able to search for brands and initiate conversations!
Brands will become more accessible and the Commercial Account will provide a more seamless customer experience, streamlined communication via multiple channels, mini-website experience, more services and more value. Beyond the launch, Viber plans to add more advantages for brands such as one-stop shop for all brand-user interactions, more channels of communication at users’ fingertips, more services under a single account, special offers, extended features like booking, location, calling a business and more.
On launch, all existing Business Messages accounts that meet the criteria will receive a Commercial Account. The Commercial Account page will display the information from the current Business Profile as the brands’ primary InfoPage as well as the brand's Business Messages chat and, soon after launch, Chatbot(s).
The benefits of the upcoming launches
The upcoming launches of Business Inbox and Commercial Account on Viber represent a major milestone in the evolution of brand-user interaction on the platform. As part of Viber's superapp strategy, these new features offer a range of benefits for both businesses and users.
Enhance Brand Awareness
One of the key benefits of the new launches is improved brand visibility and awareness. With the ability for users to search for brands and share accounts, it will be easier for businesses to be found and for users to discover new brands.
More than 70% open rate
The Business Inbox folder is pinned by default, making it hard to miss, and test launches have shown an open rate of more than 70% for messages in the Business Inbox. This means that businesses will have a better chance of reaching their target audience and engaging with them.
Better Customer Experience = Increased Brand Loyalty
Another major benefit of the new launches is a better customer experience, which can lead to increased brand loyalty. With Business Inbox users can customize their Viber experience and make their interactions with brands more convenient, while the searchability and shareability of Commercial Accounts empower users to engage with brands when they want to.
Easier for businesses to provide a more seamless experience
Finally, the multiple channels of communication under a single entity in the Commercial Account will allow customers to choose the channel that works best for them. This will help to reduce block rates and increase open rates, making it easier for businesses to communicate with their customers and provide a more seamless experience.
User safety and trust
One of the key aspects of the upcoming launches of Business Inbox and Commercial Account is the emphasis on user safety and trust.
-The Business Inbox feature only admits messages from verified business accounts, ensuring that users can trust the business messages they receive.
-Commercial Accounts are marked with a "blue tick" that helps users easily recognize official pages of trustworthy brands, making it easy for them to identify legitimate businesses.
-The Commercial Account Page also displays all business information, making it easy for users to check and verify a brand's authenticity with just one glance.
Together, these features will create a more secure and trustworthy environment for both businesses and users on Viber.
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